Travel Journalist of the Year Award Goes to Missoula Writer

 WENZHOU, CHINA (Oct. 25, 2016) — National Geographic Traveler won three gold places among eight awards and The New York Times garnered seven awards in the 2016 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition, overseen by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation. The Los Angeles Times earned Gold for best Newspaper Travel Coverage.

Freelance writer Aaron Teasdale of Missoula, MT, is Travel Journalist of the Year for his stories about hurtling on a bicycle down mountainsides, skiing where others don't and camping in Glacier National Park in the dead of winter. “If you want to write for cyclists, skiers, paddlers, climbers, whoever, you've got to live it,” says Teasdale, who was lauded by judges from the University of Missouri School of Journalism for narratives of character, tension and resolution. Teasdale also won a Gold award for Audio Travel Broadcast in Yellowstone National Park. Also honored for Grand Award travel portfolios were freelance writers Kim Brown Seely of Medina, WA, (Silver) and Peter Guttman of New York City (Bronze).

National Geographic Traveler won Gold as Best Travel Magazine because it “bursts with excitement about the wonder of traveling. Its content is inspiring, yet grounded in the service details that readers need to know.” Among the magazine's awards for adventure, culture, cruising, photography, short stories and video online, Catherine Karnow won Gold for Photo Illustration in “The Glow of Vietnam,” and Tara Isabella Burton earned Gold for Cruise Travel in “Gently Down the Stream” on England's Oxford Canal.

Afar won Silver among Best Magazines; Southbound took Bronze. For Travel Coverage in Other Magazines, Coastal Living was the Gold winner, followed by Departures placing Silver and Private Clubs Bronze.

The Los Angeles Times won newspapers' Gold because its “articles are deep and wide and solid with accompanying maps and always more information online,” said the judges. The Silver winner was The New York Times, which also took honors for special packages/projects, adventure, culture, environment, personal comment and foreign travel, which was a Gold award to Sarah Khan for “7 Days, 1,500 Miles in Namibia.” The San Francisco Chronicle earned Bronze for Newspaper Travel Coverage with “an eclectic mix … to create a strong section,” said the judges.

The Lowell Thomas awards, recognized as the most prestigious in travel journalism, were announced in Wenzhou, China, at the annual conference of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the premier professional organization of travel journalists and communicators.

The competition, for work from spring 2015 to spring 2016, drew 1,307 entries. This year, the SATW Foundation is giving 80 awards in 24 categories and nearly $20,000 in prize money to journalists in recognition of outstanding travel journalism.

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“Judges were impressed by the deep, nuanced reporting they encountered, combined with the creative approaches to storytelling,” said John Fennell, University of Missouri associate professor, who holds the Meredith Chair in Service Journalism and coordinated the judging with Prof. Jennifer Rowe. “Evaluating and then ranking work in a journalism competition can be difficult, but when the entries display such excellence, judging can be pure pleasure.”

In Culinary-Related Travel, a new category for 2015-2016, Tienlon Ho earned Gold for “Winter Worm, Summer Grass” in Lucky Peach magazine. Tim Neville won Silver for “Rites of the Caquelon” in Ski Magazine, and Shira Rubin took Bronze for “Land of Pork and Honey” in Roads & Kingdoms.

Among Gold winners were Michael Callahan in U.S./Canada Travel for “Small Town, Big Story: Monroeville, Alabama,” in Departures magazine; Ryan Bell in Special Packages/Projects for “Comrade Cowboys,” a Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship in National Geographic; Bill Donahue in Adventure Travel for “Kindergarten Can Wait” in Backpacker; and Bill Fink in News/Investigative Reporting for “To Hunt or Not to Hunt, That Is the Question” in Yahoo Travel.

Other Gold Winners: Kari Bodnarchuk in Service-Oriented Consumer Work for “Separation Adaptation: With Planning (and Socks), Kids Will Be All Right When You Travel Without Them” in The Boston Globe; Joel Clement in Environmental Tourism for “Kio-Kio Economy: Can Bonefishing Help Anaa Atoll?” in The Flyfish Journal; Thomas Chatterton Williams in Cultural Tourism for “In Another Country” in Smithsonian Journeys; Kim Cross in Personal Comment for “The King of Tides” in Southwest: The Magazine; Peter Frick-Wright in Special-Purpose Travel for “Cache Money” in Outside; and Melanie Radzicki McManus in Short Work for “Island Disputes” in Islands.

Gold for best Travel Blog went to LegalNomads.com (Jodi Ettenberg), Silver to NerdTrips.net (Sharon Boston), Bronze to SlowTravelStockholm.com (Lola Akinmade Akerstrom) and Honorable Mention to YoungAdventuress.com (Liz Carlson).

Best Travel Journalism Websites: Gold to BBC.com/travel; Silver to OutsideOnline.com/adventure-travel; and Bronze to MapHappy.org.

Two of the best Travel Video Broadcasts were awarded to CBS Sunday Morning, Gold for “Northern Exposure” and Bronze for “Aurora Borealis.” Silver went to Bob Krist's “Gombeys: Behind the Mask” in National Geographic Traveler.

The Gold winner for best Travel Book was Matt Goulding for “Rice, Noodle, Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture,” from Roads & Kingdoms/Harper Collins Publishers. Gold for best Guidebook was Charles W. Mitchell, “Travels Through American History in the Mid-Atlantic: A Guide for All Ages” from Johns Hopkins University Press.

The awards are named for Lowell Thomas, acclaimed broadcast journalist, prolific author and world explorer during five decades in travel journalism. The competition is open to all North American journalists.

“We thank this year's many supporters who help sustain this contest to recognize and reward outstanding travel journalism, led by a generous donation from Carnival Corp,” said David G. Molyneaux, SATW Foundation president.

A list of the winners and the judges' comments are available on the Foundation website, www.satwf.com. Also, for updates and reactions find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SATWFoundation and follow us on Twitter via @SATWFoundation. For information about SATW, visit www.satw.org.

 

 

LOWELL THOMAS TRAVEL JOURNALISM COMPETITION

Awards for Work Published in 2015-2016

 

Faculty members of the Missouri School of Journalism judged the competition, with Prof. John Fennell,

Prof. Jennifer Rowe and administrative assistant Kim Townlain coordinating. There were 1,307 entries.

In the following list of winners, numbers in parentheses denote number of entries in the category.

For questions, contact: Mary Lu Abbott, SATW Foundation administrator, 281-217-2872, or awards@satwf.com.

The results, along with judges' comments, also may be viewed online at the Foundation website, www.satwf.com.

 

Category 101:  Grand Award — Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year (32)

Gold:   Aaron Teasdale, freelance writer-photographer

Silver: Kim Brown Seely, freelance writer

Bronze:           Peter Guttman, freelance photographer, writer and author

 

Category 102:  Newspaper Travel Coverage (5)

Gold:   Los Angeles Times, Catharine Hamm, Travel Editor

Silver: The New York Times, Monica Drake, Travel Editor

Bronze:           San Francisco Chronicle, Spud Hilton, Travel Editor

 

Category 103: Magazines (14)

       103A — Travel Magazines

       Gold:       National Geographic Traveler, Maggie Zackowitz, Editor-in-Chief

       Silver:      Afar, Julia Cosgrove, Editor-in-Chief

       Bronze:    Southbound, Kevin Benefield, Editor-in-Chief

 

       103B — Travel Coverage in Other Magazines

       Gold:       Coastal Living, Steele Thomas Marcoux, Editor-in-Chief

       Silver:      Departures, Richard David Story, Editor-in-Chief

       Bronze:    Private Clubs, Don Nichols, Editor-in Chief

 

Category 104:  U.S./Canada Travel (110)

Gold:   Michael Callahan, “Small Town, Big Story: Monroeville, Alabama,” Departures

Silver: Susan Nerberg, “In Your Wildest Streams,” Air Canada enRoute

Bronze:           Sandy Lang, “Chebeague: Island Town So Near,” Maine magazine

      

Category 105:  Foreign Travel (134)

Gold:   Sarah Khan, “7 Days, 1,500 Miles in Namibia,” The New York Times

Silver: Ellen Himelfarb, “On Holiday With the Mob,” The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, UK

Bronze:           Catherine Watson, “A Return Visitor to Cuba is Drawn to its Contradictions,” Los Angeles Times

Honorable Mention:  Edward Readicker-Henderson, “Dream Weavers,” Afar

 

Category 106:  Photo Illustration of Travel (69)

Gold:   Catherine Karnow, “The Glow of Vietnam,” National Geographic Traveler

Silver: Dave Bouskill, “Meteora Magic in Photos: Sacred Monasteries on Monoliths,” ThePlanetD.com

Bronze:  Susan Portnoy, “15 Incredible Photos of a Tribe You've Probably Never Heard Of,” TakePart

 

Category 107:  Special Packages/Projects (25)

Gold:   Ryan Bell, “Comrade Cowboys,” a Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship,

            National Geographic

Silver: Dave Seminara and Ellie Cobb, “Announcing 2015's Travel Pioneers,” BBC Travel

Bronze:  Leslie Mieko Yap, Elizabeth Harryman and Eric Van Eyke, “We Salute the National Park Service Centennial,”

            Westways

Honorable Mention: The New York Times staff, “52 Places to Go in 2016,” The New York Times

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Category 108:  Cruise Travel (57)

Gold:   Tara Isabella Burton, “Gently Down the Stream,” National Geographic Traveler

Silver: Aaron Gulley, “Uncharted Territory,” Virtuoso Life

Bronze:  Kim Brown Seely, “A World Away,” Virtuoso Life

 

Category 109:  Adventure Travel (70)

Gold:   Bill Donahue, “Kindergarten Can Wait,” Backpacker

Silver: Tim Neville, “Skiing Kosovo, Abandoned Lifts and All,” The New York Times

Bronze:           Joyce Maynard, “Peak Experience,” National Geographic Traveler

Honorable Mention:  David Noyes, “The Everest Highway,” TravelPlus

 

Category 110:  Travel News/Investigative Reporting (30)

Gold:   Bill Fink, “To Hunt or Not to Hunt, That Is the Question,” Yahoo Travel

Silver: Jeff Greenwald, “Nepal: We Shall Rise Again,” Travel Weekly

Bronze:           David Koenig and Scott Mayerowitz, “Airlines Carve U.S. Into Markets Dominated by 1 or 2 Carriers,”

            The Associated Press

 

Category 111:  Service-Oriented Consumer Work (71)

Gold:   Kari Bodnarchuk, “Separation Adaptation: With Planning (and Socks), Kids Will Be All Right

When You Travel Without Them,” The Boston Globe

Silver: Kate Siber, “This Is How You Do It,” Outside

Bronze:           Millie Ball, “Tips to Ease the Journey When Traveling With Portable Medical Devices Needing Power,”

Los Angeles Times

 

Category 112:  Environmental Tourism (49)

Gold:   Joel Clement, “Kio-Kio Economy: Can Bonefishing Help Anaa Atoll?” The Flyfish Journal

Silver:  Christopher Solomon, “Can Montana's Smith River Survive a Nearby Mine?” The New York Times

Bronze:            Beth Ann Fennelly, “Flight Pattern,” Garden & Gun magazine

 

Category 113:  Cultural Tourism (89)

Gold:   Thomas Chatterton Williams, “In Another Country,” Smithsonian Journeys

Silver:  Tara Isabella Burton, “Cafe Society,” National Geographic Traveler

Bronze:            Michael Gross, “Mexico City … is One of the World's Greatest Cultural Destinations.

            So What Are You Waiting For?” Departures

Honorable Mention:  Elisabeth Eaves, “A Hundred Cities Within Seoul,” The New York Times

 

Category 114:  Personal Comment (112)

Gold:   Kim Cross, “The King of Tides,” Southwest: The Magazine

Silver:  Marcia DeSanctis, “Time or the Sahara Wind,” Tales To Go

Bronze:            Joseph Berger, “In Poland, Searching for Jewish Heritage,” The New York Times

 

Category 115:  Special-Purpose Travel (93)

Gold:   Peter Frick-Wright, “Cache Money,” Outside

Silver:  JK Nickell, “Freedom Riders,” Southwest: The Magazine

Bronze:            Michele Bigley, “Nurturing Romance in California's Carmel Valley,” The Boston Globe

Honorable Mention:  Maureen Orth, “How the Virgin Mary Became the World's Most Powerful Woman,”

                                          National Geographic

 

Category 116:  Short Work on Travel (53)

Gold:   Melanie Radzicki McManus, “Island Disputes,” Islands

Silver:  Don George, “Finding Peace in 21st-Century Kyoto,” National Geographic Intelligent Travel blog

Bronze:            Christopher P. Baker, “My City: Cuba on the Cusp,” National Geographic Traveler

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Category 117:  Culinary-Related Travel (130)

Gold:   Tienlon Ho, “Winter Worm, Summer Grass,” Lucky Peach magazine

Silver:  Tim Neville, “Rites of the Caquelon,” Ski Magazine

Bronze:            Shira Rubin, “Land of Pork and Honey,” Roads & Kingdoms

 

Category 118:  Travel Book (17)

Gold:   Matt Goulding, “Rice, Noodle, Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture,”

            Roads & Kingdoms/HarperCollins Publishers

Silver:  George Steinmetz, “New York Air: The View From Above,” Abrams books

Bronze:            David Noyes, “The Photographing Tourist: A Storyteller's Guide to Travel and Photography,”

            D.F. Noyes Studios

 

Category 119:  Guidebook (19)

Gold:   Charles W. Mitchell, “Travels Through American History in the Mid-Atlantic: A Guide for All Ages,”

            Johns Hopkins University Press

Silver:  Fodor's Travel Staff, “Fodor's Brooklyn,” Fodor's Travel

Bronze:            Candy B. Harrington, with photography by Charles Pannell, “Resting Easy in the US: Unique Lodging Options

            for Wheelers and Slow Walkers,” Candy & Charles Creative Concepts

 

Category 120:  Travel Journalism Websites (15)

Gold:   BBC.com/travel, BBC Travel, Allison Busacca, Editor, and Anne Banas, Deputy Editor

Silver:  OutsideOnline.com/Adventure-Travel, Outside, Scott Rosenfield, Editor

Bronze:            MapHappy.org, Map Happy, Erica Ho, Publisher, and David Lytle, Editor  

 

Category 121:  Audio Travel Broadcast  (26)

Gold:   Aaron Teasdale, “Just Ahead: Yellowstone National Park,” Just Ahead

Silver:  Tonya Fitzpatrick and Ian Fitzpatrick, “In the Footsteps of Birmingham's Civil Rights Movement,”

            World Footprints Media

Bronze:            Thomas Wilmer, “Ann Arbor — Arts, Culture and History,” National Public Radio Podcast

Honorable Mention:  Bob Howells, “Just Ahead: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks,” Just Ahead

 

Category 122:  Video Travel Broadcast (50)

Gold:   Lee Cowan, Dustin Stephens, David Bhagat and Mike Hernandez, “CBS Sunday Morning: Northern Exposure,”

            CBS Sunday Morning

Silver:  Bob Krist, “Gombeys: Behind the Mask,” National Geographic Traveler

Bronze:            Lee Cowan, Dustin Stephens, Lauren Barnello and Mike Hernandez, “CBS Sunday Morning: Aurora Borealis,”

            CBS Sunday Morning

Honorable Mention:  Scott Mayerowitz, “Labor Day Flying: Behind the Scenes at a Busy Airport,” The Associated Press

 

Category 123:  Travel Blogs (37)

Gold:   LegalNomads.com, Jodi Ettenberg

Silver: NerdTrips.net, Sharon Boston

Bronze:           SlowTravelStockholm.com, Lola Akinmade Akerstrom

Honorable Mention:  YoungAdventuress.com, Liz Carlson

 

 

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