California magazine blog

Laurels

Folio, the magazine of the magazine biz, has announced the winners of its 2008 Eddie/Ozzie Awards. For the second year running, California garnered a Gold Eddie (for editorial excellence). The judges singled out the September 2007 issue, "Start-up U," for top honors in the Association/Non-Profit category.

Lisa Margonelli's article "Start-up U" was also a finalist for best single article. It took bronze. Earlier in the month, Margonelli won an Excellence in Journalism Award for feature writing from the Society of Professional Journalists, also for "Start-up U."

Our gal in New Zealand

Our former colleague Eleanor Black and her husband/collaborator Tim Watkin have just launched a new, and New Zealand-based, current affairs magazine on the Web. It's called Pundit and it's 100 percent Kiwi-made, featuring news, views and debate from some of the country's finest journalists.

Eleanor wrote about the "prickly beauty" of her homeland last year while still an editor at California. You can read that story here.