Endocrine News’ revamped design and refocused editorial has garnered it a Gold Award for Most Improved Magazine as part of the 2017 Association Trends Salute to Association Excellence awards, which were announced at a luncheon event in Washington D.C. on Thursday February 23.
The Association Trends All Media contest is one of the association community’s oldest and most prestigious competitions for associations and nonprofit communications. Each year the contest draws between 450 and 500 entries from associations across the country – national, regional, state, and local. This was the first year Endocrine News entered this particular contest.
“We are very honored and grateful for this award which shows what a transformation Endocrine News has gone through over the last couple of years,” says Endocrine News editor Mark A. Newman. “It doesn’t simply reflect the fact that the magazine has gone through a major design enhancement, but the professionals who looked at the entries in this category also saw how much the content has changed as well.”
Newman elaborated on the magazine’s renaissance: “As the design morphed into a more contemporary, elegant look from a traditional, technical publication, the content slowly refocused as well,” he explains. “Now instead of an abundance of articles that are simply a series of technical research wrap-ups – although scientific research is a huge component of the magazine’s content – the magazine now highlights more personal work of what Endocrine Society members are doing to further the advancement of the science and practice of endocrinology.”
Newman adds that Endocrine News has steadfastly realigned its content into more of a service journalism model, which means that most readers should be able to take something away from the magazine that they can put into practice almost immediately. “Whether it’s a new way to discuss obesity with y
our patients, apps that can help you run your research lab more effectively, or tips on how other Society members have accomplished certain feats, Endocrine News strives to provide its readers with a plethora of actionable items,” he says.
“Our greatest strength is something that other publications in our market all lack: Endocrine Society members,” Newman continues. “We have been making strides to put our members at the forefront of everything we do because our membership is by far the competitive advantage that Endocrine News has over other publications.”
To further this approach, Newman has instituted more articles not just about Society members, but written by them as well. In 2016, Endocrine News started running the “Why Endocrinology?” column where members wrote about why they chose this fascinating field. This endeavor started out primarily as a salute to the Endocrine Society’s 100th anniversary but has proven so popular that it is now a regular feature of the magazine.
“We have been making strides to put our members at the forefront of everything we do because our membership is by far the competitive advantage that Endocrine News has over other publications.”
In 2015, the magazine debuted “First Person” articles in which Society members give their own accounts about personal experiences being an endocrinologist. In the past, members have written about everything from their experiences using telemedicine to communicate with other professionals in rural areas to experiencing an endocrinology practice up close in Ethiopia as part of the Society’s Ambassador Exchange Program. An upcoming “First Person” article features a member detailing his involvement with a diabetes camp for kids.
According to Newman, Endocrine News is planning additional articles where Society members can play a large role. Among those are “Second Opinion” where two members will debate the merits on any number of topics, and “Peer Review” which would actually have professionals outside the ranks of the Endocrine Society membership discuss the importance of consults with endocrinologists or their own experiences with endocrinologists.
For years, Endocrine News has published the “Tri-Point” series of articles where members from each of the Society’s three constituencies – basic scientists, clinical scientists, and clinical practitioners – all write about their experiences on a given topic.
Newman points out that “Special Commentary” pieces and other opinion articles have been flourishing on the magazine’s website and have been dispatched via Twitter as well as the recently launched bimonthly electronic newsletter, Endocrine eNews. Both of these methods have been yet another way the magazine has been engaging with its readers in the everchanging media landscape.
The Association Trends Gold Award comes on the heels of Endocrine News receiving an honorable mention OZZIE Award from Folio: magazine in November for the redesign.
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