The BSME is the only society exclusively for magazine editors in the UK. Our aim is to represent the needs and views of all magazine editors, and enhance their status, acting as a voice for the industry. Members of the Society include the editors of magazines and websites as diverse as Prima, Glamour, YOU Magazine, Supply Management, Elle, Take a Break, Handbag.com and Waitrose Food Illustrated.

BSME members are entitled to:

• Attend regular functions and editorial forums
• Apply for a BSME Press Card
• Get discounts at selected retailers

The majority of our events are a mixture of forums and networking events, mostly held in the early evening and, where possible, in new and/or ‘different’ types of venues that the committee feel members would want to go to. There is also a traditional Christmas Lunch – with a bumper Christmas goody bag! As well as an annual Summer Party.

The focus for 2010 is to make the BSME great value for money and genuinely useful.  We hope to make our events innovative, targeted and indispensable but also fun. Our events are planned by the BSME committee, a panel of 12 which includes the editors of Glamour, BBC Good Food, Men’s Health, and BBC Top Gear. The majority of our events are a mixture of forums and networking events, mostly held early evening and, where possible, in new and/or ‘different’ types of venues that the Committee feel members would want to go to.
 
We started 2009 in the traditional way with a networking party for Editors and Publishers –  at the uber cool Zaha Hadid Bar at Home House. This was followed by a fascinating Credit Crunch Forum – an upbeat seminar with speakers including Nicholas Coleridge, Managing Director of Condé Nast and Claire Beale from Campaign - and a forum on How To Be An Award Winning Editor with past BSME winners John Dale, Michele Lavery and Dylan Jones giving their tips. Film preview screenings are always popular with members, particularly when relevant to the industry.This year there has been three: the sell-out screening of The September Issue about Anna Wintour’s largest ever issue of US Vogue; State of Play, the Russell Crowe thriller about the rising congressman and the investigative journalist, and, most recently, An Education, the new Nick Hornby movie based on journalist Lynne Barber’s Memoir.

The annual BSME Summer Party was held, this year,in the Garden at Gibson Hall in the City. Turnout was good and £380 was raised for the charity War Child.

The Autumn is always a busy time for BSME events with two being held in October this year, both free to members. At the beginning of October John Dale, editor of Take A Break, took members on his historic Fleet Street Walk, and just after the Conservative Party Conference, leader David Cameron hosted a drinks reception in his office for BSME members, a hugely popular event that filled as the email went out.

The final event of the 2009 BSME Calendar was the ever-popular Christmas Lunch which was held this year at the newly refurbished Albannach Restaurant and Bar.

The main event in the BSME calendar is, however, the Awards Dinner, now held at The London Hilton. It is an opportunity to celebrate the best in our industry, with awards presented to 12 Editors of the Year. Other categories include Business Website, Consumer Website, Launch, Art Director, Innovation/Brand Building Initiative, Campaign, The Fiona Macpherson New Editor Award and the much coveted Editors' Editor of the Year Award, voted on by full members of the Society. It is currently free for BSME members to enter the Awards.

Full membership is open to serving editors, website editors, editors-in-chief and editorial directors of recognised consumer, business or customer magazines published in the UK. The cost is £80 plus VAT (£94) per annum.  

Associate membership is open to former editors, website editors, editors-in-chief and editorial directors, and to serving deputy editors, managing editors, art directors, fashion editors, beauty editors, assistant editors and chief subeditors. It may also be granted to other senior editorial staff at the discretion of the BSME committee. The cost is £55 plus VAT (£64.63) per annum. Associate members cannot vote for the Editors' Editor of the Year Award, nor do they have full voting rights at the AGM, unless the committee deems the subject demands an all-member vote.

All applications for membership are at the discretion of the committee. Membership runs until 31st December 2010 and is personal to the applicant, regardless of the method of payment. Many publishing houses allow editorial staff to claim the cost of membership back on expenses, although rules vary from company to company.