The year 2009 was a remarkably troubled year for magazine publishing — filled with lay-offs, declining ad revenue, and serious questions about the viability of the medium as a whole. Yet, in this sea of bad news, a few titles were able to eke out some positive attention and influence over the field — thanks, in part, to the vision and leadership of their editors. Who among them did we find to do his or her job the best? Jon Meacham, Editor-in-chief for Newsweek. His runner-up and reader poll winner after the jump.

Who knew that the cover of a gay magazine could put everyone in such a bad mood. Adam Lambert used an interview with Entertainment Weekly to respond to allegations made earlier in the week by Out magazine editor Aaron Hicklin that Lambert didn’t want to be seen as “too gay” in the magazine devoted to being, well, openly gay.

Desperate times. Entertainment Weekly, the magazine that is consistently rumored to be going web-only, is including a video ad (literally) in its upcoming print issue. Is it merely another desperate sign of magazines trying to bring what interest on the web to print? Aren’t we post-novelty?