American Society Of Magazine Editors Unveils Top 40 Magazine Covers Of The Last 40 Years

The 40 greatest magazine covers of the last 40 years were unveiled today at the American Magazine Conference (AMC) 2005 at the Wyndham El Conquistador in Puerto Rico, by Mark Whitaker, President of American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) and Editor of Newsweek magazine, and AMC Chairman Evan Smith, Editor of Texas Monthly.
Of the top multiple-winners, Esquire, Time and Life magazines each had four covers, which were ranked among the top-40 submissions.
Other winners* in the Magazine 40/40 Competition included everything from large-circulation magazines such as Vanity Fair, Newsweek and People to a wide range of smaller magazines and niche publications, including Details, The Economist, Fast Company and The Nation.
"The breadth and quality of the 444 submissions we received was striking, and showed the creativity and innovation of our industry," said ASME Executive Director, Marlene Kahan. "Clearly, the top-ranked covers were resonant and iconic, striking a deep chord with our judges. In total, these covers provide an evocative snapshot of our nation and its preoccupations throughout the past four decades."
The array of submissions included: Gourmet (whose March 1970 cover dared to present a raw fish entree), urban music and culture magazine Vibe, PC World (whose cover "How to Connect to the Internet" in 1995 reflected a watershed moment in connectivity), The Advocate (whose February, 1983 cover featured a little known epidemic among gay men), Travel & Leisure, Spy, Forbes, Texas Monthly, BusinessWeek and the online magazine Slate (whose November 2003 cover carried the chilling headline, "Another way terrorists can down passenger planes").
ASME created the "Magazine 40/40" competition earlier this year. A judging panel of 52 magazine editors, design directors, art directors and photography editors was charged with picking the 40 top covers from a pool of 444 images representing 136 magazines. The contest was open to all consumer magazines published in the United States. Magazines were invited to submit up to four entries from their respective publications. Entrants were also encouraged to nominate covers of magazines that were not published by their company or were no longer being published.
"This diverse and surprising spectrum of covers is a fascinating cultural montage, and beyond that, points to the role that magazines play in shaping our culture and telling our history," said Whitaker. "From newer magazines, such as Budget Living and Details, to venerable titles such as Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, these images reflect and shape decisive moments in American society - revolutions in design, technology and landmark geo-political events."
In total, of the 41 winning covers, 32 were photographs, seven were illustrations, and two displayed typeface, only. The decade-by-decade breakdown was as follows: 11 winning covers from the 1960s; eight winning covers from the 1970s; three winning covers from the 1980s; ten winning covers from the 1990s, and nine winning covers from the 2000s.
from American Society of Magazine Editors

View the full list of the winners and high-resolution images of the winning covers at Magazine.org.