Media contact: Mary Lu Abbott

MaryLuA@satwf.com

National Geographic Adventure, Boston Globe

Head Winners in Travel Journalism Awards

Houston, Texas – National Geographic Adventure magazine and the Boston Globe are top winners in the 24th annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition.

National Geographic Adventure gathered 10 awards, including Best Travel Magazine. Among other magazines, National Geographic Traveler won four awards; Departures and Budget Travel won three each.

The Boston Globe led newspapers with five awards, including the gold for Online Travel Journalism Site and gold for Special Projects, combining traditional print journalism with high-quality video, sound and photojournalism on the Web. The Chicago Tribune won four awards, plus an honorable mention, and the Seattle Times three. The Los Angeles Times earned the gold for Best Newspaper Travel Section with a circulation of at least 500,000.

Travel Journalist of the Year is Christopher P. Baker, a freelance writer and photographer who specializes in articles and guidebooks on the Caribbean, with a concentration on Cuba and Costa Rica.

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.

The competition for work from spring 2007 to spring 2008 drew 1,356 entries in 27 categories. The awards, recognized as the most prestigious honors in travel journalism, were announced today in Houston at the annual convention of the Society of American Travel Writers, the professional organization of travel journalists and communicators.

As Travel Journalist of the Year, Baker will receive $1,500. Judges lauded Baker for his insights into the people of the Caribbean, his surveys of the landscape and how-to hints for travelers. Also 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.

“Our goal is to recognize and reward the best of travel journalism in all its forms, including print, the Internet, audio and video,” said David Molyneaux, president of the SATW Foundation and editor of TravelMavens.net. “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 Houston Chronicle won silver, the Boston Globe bronze and the Chicago Tribune honorable mention for best travel sections with a circulation of at least 500,000. 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: Budget Travel won silver and Travel + Leisure bronze. In travel coverage in other magazines, Brides Magazine won gold, Departures silver and Coastal Living bronze.

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 MaryLuA@satwf.com. 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.

See the complete list of winners, the judges’ comments and a video of the awards.