Luna Media Press Release | 21 November 2008
COSMOS, Australia’s #1 science magazine, has taken out its 27th award in less than four years, while its sister title G Magazine won another four awards at the 2008 Bell Awards for Publishing Excellence in Sydney.
STAGED ANNUALLY BY the magazine industry body Publishers Australia, COSMOS took out a total of three awards: Best Analytical Writing, Sustainability in Publishing and a Highly Commended for Best Single Article.
Best Analytical Writing was won by Alan Finkel, whose essay “Mind Gap” in the June/July 2008 issue described attempts to reverse-engineer the human brain and why this is vastly more complex than anyone had anticipated. Finkel – a neuroscientist and the Chancellor of Monash University – is one of the founders of COSMOS and chairman of its publisher, Luna Media.
Last year the same category was won by his wife, the Melbourne-based contributing editor of COSMOS, Elizabeth Finkel, who also won Best Single Article and a highly commended certificate as Writer of the Year.
Luna Media collected the inaugural Sustainability in Publishing award for its efforts to reduce its impact, among them using 100% recycled paper in its magazines, offering free parking to staff who cycle to work, running two worm farms and conducting a carbon audit and offsetting its emissions – becoming the first publisher in Australia to go carbon neutral.
John Pickrell, the Deputy Editor of COSMOS, took out a Best Single Article highly commended certificate for “Drowned Reef”, a feature in which he joined CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research scientists seeking to understand an ancient sunken reef discovered beyond the Barrier Reef which may well be the world’s largest fossil.
“Our passion is to create quality products that engage our readers. Both have a loyal following, and both have been recognised again and again – we have now won 35 awards in less than four years.”
Luna Media’s consumer sustainability title, G: The Green Lifestyle Magazine, was also feted. Editor Sara Phillips picked up the coveted Editor of the Year trophy for leading the overhaul of design and editorial and making G Magazine Australia’s #1 sustainability magazine. She beat a tough field that included Fairfax Media’s AFR Smart Investor and the respected current affairs title, The Monthly.
Carolyn Barry, Editor of G-Online, the newly-launched sustainability portal that is a sister of G Magazine, scooped up the Best Internet Site award. Accompanying her was former Technical Director Anthony Willis, who previously won the same award for COSMOS Online in 2006.
G Magazine’s new annual products and services directory, The Green Book – launched in September 2008 as a free tip-on to the cover of the magazine – won Best Magazine Supplement. The award was collected by A.J. Epstein, Luna Media’s former Advertising and Marketing Executive, who led the project; Valter Di Cecco, Luna Media’s talented Art Director; and Hoe Yin Kwan, Luna Media’s Publishing Executive.
“There is no media company in Australia which understands science, technology and the environment as much as Luna Media. We are the leading players in this space and our excellence continues to be recognised with awards such as these.”
A campaign of online ads for COSMOS – created by John Pickrell and Valter Di Cecco and published in G-Online – also won a highly commended certificate for Best Digital Advertisements for G-Online. This makes it the 14th award won by the G Magazine brand since it launched two years ago.
“Our passion is to create quality products that engage our readers, and we have succeeded in doing that with both the COSMOS and G Magazine brands,” said Wilson da Silva, editorial director and co-founder of Luna Media. “Both brands have a loyal following that our advertisers appreciate, and both have been recognised again and again – we have now won 35 awards in less than four years.”
Luna Media’s CEO and co-founder, Kylie Ahern, said both brands had strong pull with readers and the company would continue to expand opportunities in the science and environment space – areas in which the company dominates.
“There is no media company in Australia which understands science, technology and the environment as much as Luna Media,” she said. “We are the leading players in this space and our excellence continues to be recognised with awards such as these.”
The awards were held before an audience of 500 on November 21 and were hosted by James O’Laughlin, the comedian and media personality who also hosts The New Inventors on ABC TV. They were judged by a panel of 30 independent industry specialists and academics who selected winners in 34 categories.
Publishers Australia was founded in 1964 and represents the country’s magazine publishers. It has 120 publisher members who produce 500 magazines. In 2008, the Bell Magazine Awards attracted 343 entries across 34 categories.
The full list of 2008 awards winners and finalists for COSMOS and G Magazine appears below:
Winner, Best Analytical Writing: Alan Finkel, COSMOS
Winner, Sustainability in Publishing: Luna Media – COSMOS, G Magazine and The Green Book
Highly Commended, Best Single Article, John Pickrell, “Drowned Reef”, COSMOS
Winner, Editor of the Year: Sara Phillips, G Magazine
Winner, Best Internet Site: G-Online – Carolyn Barry, Anthony Willis, Alex Brooks
Winner, Best Magazine Supplement: The Green Book: A.J. Epstein, Valter Di Cecco, Hoe Yin Kwan, Alex Brooks, Caitlin Howlett
Highly Commended, Best Digital Advertisement: John Pickrell and Valter Di Cecco, G-Online
Finalist, Consumer Magazine of the Year: G Magazine – Kylie Ahern, Wilson da Silva, Sara Phillips, Alex Brooks
Finalist, Best Consumer Magazine Launch or Relaunch: G Magazine – Kylie Ahern, Wilson da Silva, Sara Phillips, Alex Brooks
Finalist, Best Single Article: “Skin Deep” by Elizabeth Finkel, COSMOS
Finalist, Best Digital Advertisement: G Magazine and G-Online: John Pickrell, Valter Di Cecco, Justine Morrison
Finalist, Best Publishing Printing Project: Offset Alpine Printing – COSMOS