Did you hear?… Backpacker wins first National Magazine award, notes editors have great butts

Backpacker magazine received its first National Magazine Award (NMA) from the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME), the magazine industry’s highest editorial honor. Backpacker Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Dorn accepted the coveted “Ellie” for best Magazine Section at the 40th Anniversary National Magazine Awards event in New York on May 9.

Backpacker was recognized for its front-of-the-book, department “Basecamp,” which delivers a mix of first-person travel narrative and essential outdoors know-how within the sub-sections of Adventure, Nature and Skills. The title received two nominations this year, including one for General Excellence among magazines with a circulation between 250,000 to 500,000.

But that is not the end of the story by any imagination.

You see, our friends at Media Bistro reported that, “Jon Dorn of Backpacker, which received the biggest ovation of the evening, used his speech time to reflect on, among other things, fellow Rodaler David Zinczenko‘s ass. No, really. Dorn, who said he observed Zinczenko in the company gym: ‘He has the best ass at Rodale.'” (Ed note: Media Bistro oopsed in its reporting we imagine as there is no David Zinczenko. Perhaps they meant Eric Zinczenko…former Backpacker publisher?)

David or Eric debate aside, we’re now left wondering if the magazine had any back end influence over the judging, no if’s, and’s or butt’s about it — pun intended.

Assuming the magazine won on its editorial merits alone and not how good the editorial team looks in hiking shorts (and we are by no means saying either they do or they don’t), hearty and well-earned congratulations are in order.