As the premier category of the Azbee Awards’ Overall Excellence division, Magazine of the Year’s many entrants showcase the best of what business publications offer to their respective industries. To come away with the top honor is a testament to a year’s worth of elevated and dedicated reporting, sourcing and packaging. However, winning Magazine of the Year two years in a row? That’s an official notice for the rest of us to pay attention and take notes, which is exactly why we’ve reached out to ABA Journal — the publication Azbee judges call “head and shoulders above the competition.”
To gain insight on what makes a repeat winner of the Azbee Magazine of the Year (11 or Fewer Issues), ASBPE interviewed ABA Journal’s Editor and Publisher, John O’Brien, along with Managing Editor Kevin Davis and Creative Director Sara Wadford.
Your magazine has a wonderful balance that includes timely news, issues facing the industry, profiles and even pop culture crossover. Can you write about the importance of keeping your publication keyed into what your audience needs to know, as well as telling stories that reach them on a more human level?
John O’Brien, Editor and Publisher: It’s definitely a balancing act. We hear most frequently that readers want to hear about how to be a better lawyer, how to run a legal business, what tools and trends are out there to propel their development and success, etc. But we also know that people will always read a good story. So we don’t shy away from profiles of interesting attorneys, or attorneys who’ve found interesting career paths or — gasp! — attorneys who’ve maybe left the profession to do something interesting.
Likewise with things like our pop culture features or our lighter pieces — it’s good to bring some variety in so that everything isn’t always so serious. At the same time, though, it’s important not to shy away from the more serious topics — our cover story on the lawyer who tried to take his own life, for instance. While we’re proud of everything the staff does day in and day out, we were especially proud of that piece, hoping that by allowing him to tell his story we might literally be able to save a life. Or lives.
I think there’s room for all those things in a great publication, and I believe the readers ultimately win when they’re given a broad array of stories.
What have been a few of your favorite stories or packages published this last year that showcase ABA at its best?
Kevin Davis, Managing Editor:
Family Limbo: Movement to repeal a Clinton-era law sparks debate about foster care and adoption
This deeply reported story tells the human side of a government policy that has torn apart families affected by the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. After more than 25 years, the act sits at the center of a debate among legal scholars, attorneys and activists asking whether this law is in the best interest of children, or is it unjust and unconstitutional?
Missing Benchmarks: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are still underrepresented in the judiciary
This feature story closely examines how Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been left behind in the legal system. While progress has been made in the past 25 years, members of these communities continue to be underrepresented at the highest levels of the legal profession.
Creatures Great and Small: 9 court rulings that shaped the Endangered Species Act
We had a little fun with this feature that looks at the impact of the Endangered Species Act 50 years after its passage. It includes brief case studies along with terrific images of land and sea creatures affected by the act, widely regarded by legal experts as one of the world’s most powerful statutes for the protection of wildlife and ecosystems.
What are some of the ways you push yourself to find new ways of designing industry stories for print?
Sara Wadford, Creative Director: I often let the story guide me. I search for deeper connections and meaning within the text and try to come up with abstract ways to bring all the elements together. Sometimes the headline of the story immediately paints a picture in my mind of what I need to work towards visually. Other times I will pick up a small nuance from a line in the article that ties all of the pieces together. Digging deeper keeps the work interesting and provides me with a feeling of adventure.
Where do you find inspiration for your design work?
Sara Wadford, Creative Director: I’ve always been a creative, day-dreaming, doodler with a stack of books to read. Whenever something catches my eye in life, I take a photo, screenshot of it, or sketch it. I don’t use those shots in my art, but sometimes the way a shadow hits an object, or a color combination will evoke a feeling that matches what I feel when I put myself in the subject of the story’s “shoes.” I rely a lot on my imagination, and if something feels forced or too hard to visualize, something isn’t right and I give it a little time and space to simmer, go back to it, and it ends up clicking.
Based on your experience as a repeat Magazine of the Year winner, what advice do you have for B2B publishers/editors who hope to better serve their readers?
John O’Brien Editor and Publisher: I guess at the most basic level I’d say listen to what your readers are telling you. Whether it’s when they reach out with a letter to the editor, an angry (or maybe even a complimentary!) email or phone call, etc.
If you’re fortunate to have a budget for reader surveys, look at what respondents say they’re interested in. And look at your web pageview data, which is where we see readers letting their mouse clicks do the talking about what they want to read about more (or less …).
And while it’s always good to “give the readers what they want,” don’t neglect your news judgments and instincts — and by that I mean the news judgments and instincts of all the smart and talented people on your staff. Good journalists always know a good story when they see it, so don’t be afraid to try something different or new. Ultimately, I’ve found that doing so always seems to resonate with readers as well.