OU MAGAZINES JEWISH ACTION AND IGNITE WIN SIMON ROCKOWER AWARDS AT AJPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Jewish Action, the quarterly magazine of the Orthodox Union, and Ignite, the NCSY | Jewish Youth Leadership magazine, won Simon Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism at the recent 2013 Annual Conference of the American Jewish Press Association in Seattle.
The awards ceremony brought together leading Jewish editors and journalists throughout the country. The Rockower Awards decisions were made by a panel consisting of 27 judges with expertise in journalism, writing/reporting, editing, graphic design and cartooning in both the Jewish and non-Jewish media.
The magazine of NCSY, the OU’s international youth movement, Ignite sparked interest from AJPA judges, earning it two First Place awards in its initial year of participation. Ignite Spring (Passover) 2012 (Duvi Stahler, editor; Tova Flancbaum, assistant editor; and Scott Saunders, art director) was awarded First Place in the Organizational Hard Copy Division for Excellence in Organizational Newsletters. “Your compelling stories, particularly the ‘Spotlights’ section, and bright colors convey energy and likely will appeal to your target audience,” noted the judges.
Ignite Fall (Rosh Hashanah) 2012 (Duvi Stahler, editor; Tova Flancbaum and Michael Orbach, assistant editors; Andres Moncayo, art director; and Benji Cheirif, photographer) earned First Place for the Magazine Division in the category of Excellence in Graphic Design: COVER. The judges commented, “Excellent photo choice, restrained design. Matching the color in the masthead to the photo is a nice touch.”
“All of us at NCSY are extraordinarily proud of our editorial team and congratulate them on this outstanding achievement,” stated Allen I. Fagin, Chairman of the OU’s Youth Commission (which oversees NCSY). “Ignite carries the NCSY message across the United States, and throughout the world; its content highlights the remarkable work being done each day by hundreds of devoted NCSY professionals.”
Jewish Action (JA) received Second Place for the Magazine Division in the category Excellence in Feature Writing for its cover story “Striking a Balance: Work & Family” with text by Barbara Bensoussan, Azriela Jaffe, and Tova Ross; and edited by Jewish Action Editor Nechama Carmel and Assistant Editor Rashel Zywica.
“As Commission Chairman, I am very proud of our exceptional team and Jewish Action’s extraordinary editor Nechama Carmel,” said Gerald M. Schreck, commission chairman of the OU Communications Department (which oversees JA). “Our popular magazine is the glue that keeps Modern Orthodoxy together.”
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