2009-2010 SATW FOUNDATION
LOWELL THOMAS TRAVEL JOURNALISM COMPETITION
Faculty members of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication, coordinated by Winston Cavin, judged the competition. There were 1,161 entries. In the following list of winners, numbers in parentheses denote number of entries in that category.
Awards For Works Published in 2009-2010
FULL LIST OF AWARDS
Category 1: Grand Award — Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year (29)
Gold: Andrew McCarthy, freelance writer
Silver: Catharine Hamm, Travel Editor, Los Angeles Times
Bronze: Gary Stoller, reporter, USA Today
Category 2: Newspaper Travel Sections (16)
2A — Newspapers with 350,000 or more circulation
Gold: The Washington Post, Joe Yonan, Travel Editor
Silver: Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Kerri Westenberg, Travel Editor
Bronze: Los Angeles Times, Catharine Hamm, Travel Editor
2B — Newspapers under 350,000 circulation
Gold: San Francisco Chronicle, Spud Hilton, Travel Editor
Silver: The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA), Gary Warner, Travel Editor
Bronze: The Ottawa Citizen, Laura Robin, Travel Editor
Category 3: Magazines (16)
3A — Travel Magazines
Gold: Afar, Greg Sullivan, Editorial Director
Silver: National Geographic Traveler, Keith Bellows, Editor
Bronze: Via, Bruce Anderson, Editor
3B — Travel Coverage in Other Magazines
Gold: Midwest Living, Kendra L. Williams, Travel Editor
Silver: Southern Living, Warner McGowin, Executive Editor
Bronze: Bon Appétit, Victoria von Biel, Executive Editor
Category 4: Newspaper Article on U.S./Canada Travel (59)
Gold: Tony Perrottet, “America’s Outback: Southern Utah,” – The New York Times
Silver: Reed Glenn, “End of the Road: Alaska,” – The Miami Herald
Bronze: Barney Mann, “Across the Snowy Crest,” – The Oregonian
Category 5: Magazine Article on U.S./Canada Travel (68)
Gold: Wells Tower, “The Tuber,” Outside
Silver: Tony Perrottet, “Behind the Scenes in Monument Valley,” – Smithsonian
Bronze (tie): Guy Saddy, “Big Apple Turnover,” enRoute
Andrew McCarthy, “Driving: The Maui Loop,” – Travel + Leisure
Category 6: Newpaper Article on Foreign Travel (55)
Gold: Amit R. Paley, “A Village, or a Zoo? I Wanted to See Thailand’s Long-Necked Women. Some Would Say That Makes Me Part of the Problem.” – The Washington Post
Silver: Andy Isaacson, “Pamir Mountains: At the Crossroads of History,” – The New York Times
Bronze: Spud Hilton, “River Murray Keeps Australia Riverboats Afloat,” – San Francisco Chronicle
Category 7: Magazine Article on Foreign Travel (78)
Gold: Neil Shea, “Africa’s Last Frontier,” – National Geographic
Silver: Toby Saltzman, “War Song,” – Zoomer
Bronze: James Vlahos, “Nepal’s New Path,” – National Geographic Adventure
Category 8: Newspaper Photo Illustration of Travel Article (27)
Gold: Andy Isaacson, “Pamir Mountains: At the Crossroads of History,” – The New York Times
Silver: Kari Bodnarchuk, “Picture Perfect,” – The Boston Globe
Bronze: Torsten Kjellstrand, “All Aboard for Angling,” (View Photo Essay of Story)- The Oregonian
Category 9: Magazine Photo Illustration of Travel Article (45)
Gold: Jimmy Chin, “Why Am I Here Again?” – Outside
Silver: Jad Davenport, “Greenland’s Ghosts,” – Islands
Bronze: Brown W. Cannon III, “Lost in Time,” – Islands
Category 10: Special Package/Project (26)
Gold: Jill Schensul, “Namibia,” The Record and northjersey.com, Hackensack, NJ
Silver: Cruisecritic.com staff, “Oasis of the Seas Launch Party,” – Cruisecritic.com
Bronze: The Seattle Times staff, 2010 Winter Olympics and Vancouver guides/coverage, – The Seattle Times print/online
Category 11: Article on Marine Travel (41)
Gold: Kristen Bellstrom, “Cruise Ships on Steroids,” SmartMoney
Silver: Matt Hannafin, “Here Be Monsters: The Secret Story Behind Cruising’s Most Cherished Traditions,” – Frommers.com
Bronze: Chris Riemenschneider, “The Reluctant Cruisers,” – Star Tribune, Minneapolis
Category 12: Article on Adventure Travel (47)
Gold: Patrick Symmes, “Hugo’s World,” – Outside
Silver: Patrick Symmes, “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” – Outside
Bronze: Jordan Rane, “Three Men and a Mountain,” – Los Angeles Times
Category 13: Travel News/Investigative Reporting (15)
Gold: Gary Stoller, “Since 2003, 65,000 U.S. flights with maintenance problems have taken off anyway.” – USA Today
Silver: Joshua Hammer, “Heartbreak. Chaos. Mayhem. Hope?” – Outside
Bronze: Catharine Hamm, “A Different Journey Than the Bride Bargained For,” – Los Angeles Times
Category 14: Service-Oriented Consumer Article (102)
Gold: Arianne Cohen, “The Budget Travel Challenge: The Connected Traveler,” – Budget Travel
Silver: William J. McGee, “Think Flight Times are Being Padded? They Are,” – USAToday.com
Bronze: Paul Eisenberg, “Are ‘Operation Vacations’ Worth the Trip?” – FoxNews.com
Category 15: Environmental Tourism Article (47)
Gold: Jeff Greenwald, “Bedeviled Island,” – Afar
Silver: Paul Kvinta, “Cat Fight,” – National Geographic Adventure
Bronze: Bob Morris, “A Fish With Hair,” – Islands
Category 16: Cultural Tourism Article (97)
Gold: Daniel Brook, “The Architect of 9/11,” – Slate
Silver: Edward Readicker-Henderson, “Everything Is Illuminated,” – Westways
Bronze: David Noyes, “The Sacred City of Shiva,” – Lifestyle + Travel
Category 17: Personal Comment (102)
Gold: Tim Wu, “Bipolar Disorder,” -Slate
Silver: Daisann McLane, “Why Not Linger?”- National Geographic Traveler
Bronze: Ed Hewitt, “What’s Wrong With Airport Security (and What to Do About It),” – Independenttraveler.com
Category 18: Special-Purpose Travel (83)
Gold: Don J. Snyder, “Clubbed,” – Outside
Silver: Jad Davenport, “Greenland’s Ghosts,” – Islands
Bronze: Steven Rinella, “Me, Myself, and Ribeye,” – Outside
Category 19: Short Travel Article (66)
Gold: Laura Daily, “Decoding the Alphabet Soup,” Dallas Morning News
Silver: Rick Steves, “Ride the Buses for City Sights,” – Tribune Media Services/The Seattle Times
Bronze: Jason Overdorf, “Watching Over Delhi’s Soul,” – Afar
Category 20: Travel Book (18)
Gold: Rick Steves, “Travel as a Political Act,” Nation Books
Silver: Tom Coyne, “A Course Called Ireland,” Gotham Books
Bronze: David Farley, “An Irreverent Curiosity,” Gotham Books
Category 21: Guidebook (55)
Gold: Andrew Mersmann, “Frommer’s 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference,” – John Wiley & Sons Canada
Silver: Brian Kevin, Compass American Guides: “Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks,” – Fodor’s Travel
Bronze: Jeanette Foster, “Frommer’s Hawaii Day by Day,” – Wiley Publishing
Category 22: Online Travel Journalism Site (11)
Gold: BudgetTravel.com, Budget Travel, Stephen Merrill, General Manager Online
Silver: MatadorNetwork.com, Matador, David Miller, Senior Editor;Julie Schwietert Collazo, Managing Editor
Bronze: Traveler.nationalgeographic.com, National Geographic Traveler, Jerry Sealy, Web director
Category 23: Travel Broadcast — Audio (17)
Gold: Joseph Rosendo, “South African Adventure,” – Travelscope.net podcast
Silver: Ron Bernthal, “Lost & Saved,” – WJFF Public Radio
Bronze: Laura Del Rosso, “San Francisco’s Ferry Building and Embarcadero,” – Visual Travel Tours, CD/podcast/mobile phone
Category 24: Travel Broadcast — Video (8)
Gold: Patricia Conroy, Richard Bangs and John Givens, “Richard Bangs’ Adventures With Purpose/Assam, India: Quest for the One-Horned Rhinoceros,” – American Public Television
Silver: Joseph Rosendo and Julie Rosendo, “Guatemala — the Maya of the Western Highlands,” – PBS stations
Bronze: No award
Category 25: Travel Blog (33)
Gold: Ben Mutzabaugh, Today in the Sky, USAToday.com
Silver: Chris Gray Faust, Chris Around the World, caroundtheworld.com
Bronze: Kayt Sukel and Jamie Pearson, Travel Savvy Mom, travelsavvymom.com
The Society of American Travel Writers Foundation was begun in 1981 by a group of SATW writers, editors and public relations professionals who were concerned about the future of travel journalism.
SATW (the Society of American Travel Writers) is the pre-eminent professional association of travel journalists and communicators. Learn more about this premier networking organization by visiting its website, www.satw.org.
