Wired is Still Putting Out a Print Magazine …and It’s Still Fantastic

Last year we wrote about Wired, the print magazine that targets a decidedly digital audience. At the time, Wired’s new EIC Nick Thompson was asked by Recode Media’s Eric Johnson about the future of the magazine.

“Will Wired still be putting out a magazine in 10 years? I don’t know,” Thompson said.  “Will Wired still be putting out a magazine in a year? Yeah, absolutely!”

So, it’s been a year … and how are things going for Wired? Not only are they still putting out a fantastic magazine; they just won some massive kudos for their efforts.

“Thrilled and delighted the Wired won the National Magazine Award for design and photography last night,” gushed Thompson on LinkedIn over the weekend. “It’s been an amazing year!”

Indeed it has — not just for Wired but for print magazines in general.

“Known as the Ellies for the elephant-shaped statuettes presented to each winner, the National Magazine Awards are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia Journalism School and are administered by ASME,” notes this press release from ASME.

Among the award winners last night were several titles we’ve talked about over the past year — from National Geographic to The Atlantic, the Virginia Quarterly and the New York Times Magazine.

Interestingly, many of these award winners made news this year for other reasons — like going dark on social media, and eschewing Facebook’s Instant Articles. I’m not implying it’s a cause/effort … it’s just interesting that award-winning publications are taking a decidedly forward-thinking approach to their marketing strategy.

Meanwhile, congratulations the 67 winners and their achievement.

“Print and digital magazines continue to achieve new levels of excellence,” said Sid Holt, chief executive of the American Society of Magazine Editors. “Reporting, writing, photography and design—the 67 magazines and websites we honored tonight do it all.”

Wired magazine is certainly in good company, and we congratulate them on their excellence. Can a print magazine for a digital audience survive and thrive in today’s climate. Clearly, the answer is a resounding YES.