A FEW YEARS AGO, I found myself among the hopefuls at my first media awards dinner. It was a regional competition, sponsored by Women in Communications, a well-respected organization that, despite the name, included the area’s top journalists and public relations professionals, both men and women.

After the cocktail hour and dinner, the winners in a variety of categories would be announced. My publication was a finalist for several awards, and I must admit I was anxious as I nursed a glass of red wine before the dinner began. Not wanting to be anti-social, I forced myself to politely mingle with the others in attendance.

I ended up chatting with Martha Rial, who was a staff photographer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the area’s most widely read daily newspaper. Martha was more than just another local media professional. In 1998, she won perhaps the most prestigious of all journalism awards—the Pulitzer Prize. Her photographs of the ethnic conflict in central Africa garnered a Pulitzer in Spot News Photography.

After mentioning to her that I admired her work, I sheepishly admitted that I was nervous about the outcome of the evening’s awards ceremony. She smiled and proceeded to put things in perspective for me. It turns out that the year she won the Pulitzer Prize, she had also entered the same photograph series in a local contest. Prior to learning that she won a Pulitzer, she received an Honorable Mention locally.

Since that conversation, I don’t get overly excited about awards. Sure, they’re nice, and my magazine teams have won more than a few, including that evening I talked with Martha. But awards aren’t what motivate me as a magazine editor. My ultimate objective could be found on my office wall within days of my arrival at Carnegie Mellon last winter. I hung up the covers of the New Yorker, Harper’s, Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, Esquire, and another half-dozen magazines that value good journalism. I wanted stories in Carnegie Mellon Today to be that good.

I imagine that some of my new colleagues probably thought I was a bit eccentric if not outright delusional. Well, I think the work of this issue’s writers has vindicated my wall. It’s a Wonderful Life (pages 16–19) will make you cry. No Hands on the Wheel (pages 22–26) will make you pound your chest. Sunny Disposition (pages 12–15) will make you think about the future, and Stressed Out (pages 28–31) will make you take better care of yourself. And if you appreciate those features as much as I do, I believe that you will find the rest of the stories, large and small, to be just as inspiring, thought-provoking, and entertaining.

I suspect this issue will win some awards. In fact, I’m pleased to announce that the three previous issues have won two awards for magazines: one from PRSA—Pittsburgh and one from CUPRAP. But I’m even more pleased to announce that there is another magazine cover on my office wall. It’s Carnegie Mellon Today.

Robert Mendelson
   Executive Editor