Terry McDonell Elected to Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame

American Society of Magazine Editors to Honor the Editor of “Sports Illustrated” at the National Magazine Awards Annual Gala

The American Society of Magazine Editors is pleased to announce the election of Terry McDonell to the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame. Mr. McDonell, the editor of the Time Inc. Sports Group, will be honored at the National Magazine Awards Annual Gala at the New York Marriott Marquis on May 3, 2012.

“Editors everywhere have been influenced by Terry McDonell and his work,” said Sid Holt, Chief Executive of ASME.  “Terry is one of the legends of our craft—a supremely talented editor whose legacy to magazines will include not only unforgettable stories and images but also an inspiring vision of what magazines can be both in print and on digital platforms.”

After freelancing in the Middle East as a photographer and a stint as a staffer with the Associated Press in New York, Terry McDonell returned home to California in the mid-1970s and began his career in magazines at a succession of publications, including LA and Frances Ford Coppola’s City. He was one of the launch editors of Outside in San Francisco and launched Rocky Mountain Magazine out of Denver before joining Rolling Stone back in New York as managing editor in 1981. He was assistant managing editor at Newsweek from 1983 to 1984, then launched Smart between 1985 and 1989. He was editor-in-chief of Esquire from 1990 to 1993, editor in chief and publisher of Sports Afield from 1993 to 1996 and editor of Men’s Journal from 1996 to 1999. In 1999, he oversaw the relaunch of Us magazine as a weekly. Named managing editor of Sports Illustrated in 2002, he became editor of the Time Inc. Sports Group in 2005, overseeing Sports Illustrated, SI Kids and Golf as well as websites, digital development, international editions, and books.

The President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Paris Review Foundation, Mr. McDonell is also a novelist (California Bloodstock), poet (Wyoming) and screenwriter (Miami Vice, China Beach) and wrote the videogame Night Trap, in 1992.  In 1984 he created Newsweek Access, the first magazine dedicated to digital technology, and in the following years pioneered desktop publishing and the development of magazines on smartphones and tablets. His magazines have been nominated for 29 National Magazine Awards and received the award in 2003, 2005 and 2010.

The Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame was established in 1995 by the American Society of Magazine Editors to recognize the editorial achievements and career-long accomplishments of leading journalists and honors distinguished service to the magazine industry. Among the members of the Hall of Fame best known to the general public are Anna Wintour, Martha Stewart, Tina Brown, Hugh Hefner, Gloria Steinem, Jann S. Wenner and Helen Gurley Brown.

The American Society of Magazine Editors is the principal organization for magazine journalists in the United States. The members of ASME include the editorial leaders of most major consumer and business magazines published in print and on digital platforms. Founded in 1963, ASME works to defend the First Amendment, preserve editorial independence and support the development of journalism. ASME sponsors the National Magazine Awards in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and publishes the ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers.

For more information about the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame and the National Magazine Awards Annual Gala, please go to asme.magazine.org.