Houston, Texas
National Geographic Adventure magazine ran away with top honors today at the presentation of the 24th annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition.
National Geographic Adventure is well-edited and well-researched, which impressed the judges, as the magazine gathered 10 awards, including Best Travel Magazine.
Among newspapers -- a dying breed in travel journalism -- the Boston Globe won five awards, including the gold for Online Travel Journalism and the gold for Special Projects, combining traditional print journalism with high-quality video, sound and photojournalism on the Web.
Travel Journalist of the Year is Christopher Baker, a freelance writer and photographer who specializes in articles and guidebooks on the Caribbean, with a concentration on Cuba and Costa Rica. Baker will receive $1,500. In the grand-award category, the silver went to Jane Wooldridge, travel editor of the Miami Herald. The bronze was awarded to freelance journalist Sarah Wildman.
New categories this year included broadcast, won by Paul Lasley and Elizabeth Harryman for their work on XM Satellite Radio, and video, won by Joseph Rosendo for shows on PBS TV stations.
The contest is overseen by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation (www.satwfoundation.org) and was judged by the faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Travelers are reading on the Internet
I am president of the SATW Foundation. Our goal is to recognize and reward the best of travel journalism in all its forms, including print, the Internet, audio and video. Each year, travelers explore farther, beyond traditional places, for information, expertise and authenticity in the journals of fellow travelers. And each year, journalists find new ways to provide insights, reviews and good reads to the traveling public.
Total prize money for individual winners this year was nearly $20,000. Among the winners:
Newspapers: The Chicago Tribune and Seattle Times won multiple awards. The Los Angeles Times earned the gold for Best Newspaper Travel Section with a circulation of at least 500,000; the Houston Chronicle won silver, the Boston Globe bronze. In the circulation class of 350,000 to 499,999, the Globe and Mail in Toronto took gold, the St. Petersburg Times silver, the Miami Herald bronze and the Cleveland Plain Dealer honorable mention. For circulation under 350,000, The New Orleans Times-Picayune earned gold, California’s Orange County Register silver, Fort Worth Star-Telegram bronze and Ottawa Citizen honorable mention.
Travel magazines: National Geographic Traveler, Departures and Budget Travel each won multiple awards. Travel + Leisure, Brides Magazine, and Coastal Living won awards.
Online Travel Journalism Sites: BudgetTravel.com, from Budget Travel, won silver. Southernliving.com/southernbyways, from Southern Living, won bronze.
Travel books: The gold winner for best travel book was “Encounters with the Middle East,” Nesreen Khashan and Jim Bowman, editors, published by Travelers’ Tales/Solas House. The gold winner for best guidebook was “Secret Hotels,” by Erik Torkells and the editors of Budget Travel, Stewart, Tabori & Chang
The competition is open to all North American journalists. First-place gold winners in individual categories each receive $500. Silver and bronze winners are awarded $250 and $150, respectively. The awards are named for Lowell Thomas, acclaimed broadcast journalist, prolific author and world explorer during five decades in travel journalism.
A list of the winners and the judges’ comments are available on the Foundation Web site, www.satwfoundation.org, or from the Foundation administrator, Mary Lu Abbott, at [email protected]. For information about the contest or the Foundation, visit the Web site. For information about SATW, visit the organization’s Web site, www.satw.org.
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