The multimedia award was for Robert Draper's story "The Last Chase," about the final days of scientist and tornado researcher Tim Samaras, who was killed by a twister on May 31, 2013, in El Reno, Oklahoma.

Chris Johns, the outgoing editor in chief of National Geographic, said at the award ceremony that it was a difficult win because Samaras was "a dedicated researcher who spent his life pursuing science and lost his life in the storm." Johns dedicated the award to Samaras and his family. Samaras's son, Paul Samaras, and fellow tornado researcher, Carl Young, were also killed in the storm.

The annual National Magazine Awards are considered the premier awards for magazine journalism and are administered by the American