One in a series of posts examining the best (and worst) of 2010.

This year several brands showed that "old media" can figure out the digital world, leveraging new technology such as the iPad and new business models to open up new revenue streams. Here are five that had an impact.

Gourmet Live

Gourmet is a contender for feel-good media story of 2010. Last year, Condé Nast shuttered the 68-year-old food magazine, a move that many saw as another Web-inflicted death of a print magazine. But the ink was barely dry on its obituary when Condé brought Gourmet back to life as an iPad app called Gourmet Live. The app offers features the print magazine never could, such as Foursquare-like games and the ability for users to easily share recipes with friends. Plus, you can prop it up right next to you while you cook. We don't know if the tablet will save the magazine industry, but it certainly saved Gourmet.

The Atlantic

The Atlantic has proved that old magazines can be relevant. This was a breakthrough year for the 153-year-old publisher, which reached new highs in digital revenue and web traffic thanks to a digital-first strategy with properties like The Atlantic Wire. The company has also invested in mobile with a few different apps that extend beyond repackaged magazine content.

In fact, the Atlantic is on track to turn a $1.8 million profit this year. How did they do it? "We imagined ourselves as a venture-capital-backed start-up in Silicon Valley whose mission was to attack and disrupt The Atlantic," Justin B. Smith, president of the Atlantic Media Company, told the New York Times.

NPR

National Public Radio is a misnomer for this non-profit organization, which has successfully established itself as a multiplatform news provider. The transformation began in earnest last year, when NPR relaunched its website and refocused its editorial strategy. The makeover was solidified this year with the launch of one of the year's most impressive iPad apps, along with an iPad-optimized website. NPR said in November that the iPad app had been downloaded 700,000 times.

As it explores new digital platforms, NPR has preserved its radio roots and continues to publish long-form audio content, at a time when many publishers are investing in video. It's a strategy that won't work for every publisher, but it certainly works for NPR.

Sports Illustrated

In the ever-crowded sports vertical, it's hard to keep up with the ESPNs and tireless sports bloggers of the world, but Time Inc.'s venerable Sports Illustrated has held its own. The sports icon aggressively built up its digital video library this year, fueling a surge in traffic and revenue. In June, SI launched its iPad app, giving the brand a renewed energy. A video of the HTML5-based app went viral ahead of the launch, generating even more buzz.

What's next for SI on mobile? Watch out, "sports" fans: the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition feed is coming to Flipboard.

The Journal Register Company

Makeovers in the newspaper industry are even more urgent than in the magazine sector, and publishers such as The Journal Register are leading the charge. The newspaper conglomerate, which owns more than 150 local publications, including 18 dailies, in Michigan and the Northeast has been radically refocusing on a digital-first strategy, led by new CEO John Paton. It's paying off: After being almost bankrupt last year, Paton said the Journal Register's profit margins will be about 15 percent this year.

Part of the company's strategy is to foster more community engagement alongside traditional reporting. This year the Journal Register pioneered the Ben Franklin Project, a publishing experiment that brings the audience into the news-gathering process. Most recently, the Journal Register-owned Register Citizen launched a bold experiment in hyperlocal journalism with a new community newsroom. If this forward-thinking  model takes off, it could pave the way for other newspaper companies to speed up their own digital makeovers.