Are you interested in things that are ‘hard, fast, and shiny?” If spaceships and supercars are your thing, you might think about pitching to Popular Science. This mag is freelancer-friendly (75 percent of its content is written by freelancers!) and is always looking for news from around the corner. After all, their motto is, “the future now.”

“The one central tenet of our magazine is that it’s a really relentlessly optimistic magazine,” said editor-in-chief Jacob Ward. “We believe that technology and science are gonna make the future better than it is today.” So, if you’ve got a scoop on the next innovation that will save us from the apocalypse, better pitch it before anyone else does.

Read more in How To Pitch: Popular Science. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

Here’s a look at what FishbowlNY stories made the most buzz this week.

1. Fallout from ESPN-FM Deal: Syndicated Tom Joyner (left) and Michael Baisden Fight Back Without KISS, New York Outlet, May 1
2. New York Wins ASME ‘Best Cover’ of 2011 Award, May 3
3. Time Inc. Experiences a Rough First Quarter, May 2
4. Sports Illustrated Dedicates Issue to Title IX, May 2
5. Jacob Ward Promoted to EIC of Popular Science, May 1
6. New York Daily News Hires Web Editor, May 2

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Jacob Ward has been promoted from West Coast Bureau Chief to Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. Ward had been the bureau chief since 2010, but has been with the magazine since 2006. Ward succeeds Editorial Director Mark Jannot, who joined RDA Milwaukee, a subdivision of Readers’ Digest Association.

“Jake Ward is the perfect choice to lead Popular Science into the future,” said Bonnier Technology Group Vice President and Group Publisher, Steven Grune. “During his time with the magazine, he has elevated the brand’s stature in the consumer and advertising marketplace, and he embodies the technology savvy qualities that our audience values. Jake is ‘The Future Now’ and will successfully move the brand into the next generation.”

Ward will now split his time between the New York and San Francisco offices of Popular Science.

New York-based Adweek has named the finalists for this year’s Hot List. For the first time, the list expands from best in magazines to include television, print, and digital banners.

The winners will be revealed next week, but FishbowlNY has learned exclusively about several of the honorees.

CBS has been chosen for the Hottest Drama on broadcast television, while ABC has been awarded for the Hottest Comedy. On cable, MTV was picked for Hottest Reality show. Adweek does not reveal the hottest shows by name.

In digital, the Hottest Celebrity Website is TMZ. Spotify is taking home two awards: Hottest Startup and Streaming Web. Zynga is selected as Hottest Gaming Company.

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According to Ad Age, the iPad version of Popular Science is doing quite well. In February the magazine added Apple’s subscription system, and now it has over 10,000 downloads.

Gregg Hano, Vice President, Group Publisher at Bonnier Technology Group, says that no matter the numbers, the goal is always getting people to subscribe:

We’ve been averaging 10,000 to 12,000 unit sales per month almost since the beginning. Now we’re going to be above that in March. We’re inching up over that. And we look forward to continuing to see subscriptions grow. Hopefully people keep testing Popular Science on their tablets and then hopefully come back and subscribing.

As Ad Age notes, even if consumers do subscribe, Bonnier won’t know much about them. One of the issues publishers have with Apple’s system is that it doesn’t allow them to view any information about the consumers who purchase the titles. When you’re trying to sell advertising and sustain a business, this is obviously a problem.

But for now at least, it appears Apple’s system isn’t hurting. Another feather in Steve Jobs’ hat, should he ever decide to wear one.

When Apple says jump, publishers – starting with Bonnier Corporation – apparently, ask how high. Popular Science will now be available using Apple’s subscription model at $14.99 per year, or $4.99 for a single issue.

The incentive to buy an annual subscription is that it’s almost 70 percent cheaper than buying a single issue each time. Once users opt for this option, it automatically renews each year.

Gregg Hano, Vice President, Group Publisher, for Bonnier, said the in-app subscription model will benefit readers:

A yearlong subscription to the digital magazine will bring the cost per issue down significantly, rewarding loyal customers while still giving them access to the high-quality extra interactive content, video and custom design that only the digital experience can offer.

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

When Sports Illustrated revealed plans for content for the not-yet-released tablet reading device, we were impressed. The prototype seemed like a great way to integrate traditional magazine content, with large, full-color photography, bold headlines and lengthy text, into an e-reading format that has yet to be experienced by anyone.

But that was just the first of its kind. Expect other magazines and publishers to be revealing tablet prototypes in the coming months. Like publisher Bonnier Corp., which has titles like Popular Science and Saveur in its stable. Last week, the publisher released the above video of its tablet technology, created with design shop BERG.

Unlike Time Inc.‘s SI demo, Bonnier’s focuses in vertical scrolling to read articles. There is no “digital page turning,” that is common among a lot of digital versions of magazines today. As the video explains:

“The concept aims to capture the essence of magazine reading, which people have been enjoying for decades: an engaging and unique reading experience in which high-quality writing and stunning imagery build up immersive stories.”

What do you think of this concept? Is it better or worse than SI‘s? We don’t know about you, but we’re intrigued.

Previously: Sports Illustrated Puts Money On Tablet Technology

Longtime science journalist Mariette DiChristina has been named the first female editor-in-chief of Scientific American in the magazine’s 164-year history.

DiChristina, who joined the magazine in 2001 as executive editor, has been serving as acting editor-in-chief since her predecessor, John Rennie, left in June. Although she admits to feeling a sense of responsibility as the venerable mag’s first female leader, DiChristina seemed humbled by our sense of awe in her accomplishments.

“I have two young daughters; one of them wants to be a scientist, and the other one wants to be the editor of Scientific American,” she told FishbowlNY. “I think anybody who is a position of leadership should feel a sense of responsibility. And I don’t know if mine is any greater or less because I’m a first for the magazine. I know I’m very honored and grateful.”

DiChristina, who has worked in science journalism for over 20 years, also downplayed the experience of working as acting editor for the past few months. When we asked if it had been a “trial period” of sorts, she said, “In a sense, every magazine editor, every publication editor, is there to please the readers. Every article I do, every story I put out, is always a trial. Every editor who is working should be living in terror that they are not pleasing their readers. In that sense, the last several months was a trial in the way any day in the office is a trial.”

In her new role, DiChristina will oversee Scientific American as well as Scientific American Mind, a bimonthly magazine that focuses on the brain and behavior that she herself helped launch. Before joining Scientific American, DiChristina worked for nearly 14 years on the edit staff at Popular Science, working her way up to executive editor there. She is also the president of the National Association of Science Writers.

Full release after the jump

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Mark Wildman is leaving Reader’s Digest to join magazine publisher Bonnier Corp. as senior vice president of corporate sales and marketing. Wildman was most recently vice president of integrated marketing at Reader’s Digest Association, but his replacement, Maureen Polo, was announced last week. He will start at Bonnier on November 6.

While at RDA, Wildman worked to establish the integrated sales and marketing group for the company’s Food & Entertaining Affinity. Before joining Reader’s Digest in 2007, Wildman worked as executive director at Conde Nast Media Group.

“Bonnier is a strong, forward-thinking organization with more than 50 consumer media brands like Saveur, Popular Science, Field & Stream and Parenting,” Wildman said. “As consumers continue their shift toward real and meaningful, the Bonnier brands are very well-positioned, delivering specific well-defined audiences which are highly engaged and emotionally invested in the content.”

Full release after the jump

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There’s news of two moves among sales teams at magazine publishers Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Bonnier Corp.

MediaDailyNews reports that MSLO has brought on Janet Balis (left) as executive vice president of media sales and marketing. She will oversee sales across the publishing, broadcast and digital properties and will report to MSLO’s executive chair Charles Koppelman. Balis joins MSLO from her own consutling company Digital Media Strategies, where she has worked for the past year and half. She also previously worked for Time Warner, where she served in positions at Time.com, People.com and AOL.

Over at Bonnier, Chris Allen, VP of group publishing and corporate sales for nine of the company’s travel, shelter and lifestyle titles, is departing after less than a month on the job, Mediaweek reported. Allen was hired to serve in one of two group publishing roles created by Bonnier when it acquired five titles from Hachette Filipacchi last month.

Mediaweek said Allen, who had previously served as publisher for Cooking Light, is leaving without another job lined up.

“It was more of a three- to four-week consulting trial,” Allen told Mediaweek. “I just think the nature of the job to be done on the particular titles was not what I expected it to be. I think I thought it was a larger, more strategic task than it was.”

Photo via MediaDailyNews