2020-21 SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition
111 Travel News/Investigative Reporting ( Newspapers,Travel Magazines,Travel Coverage in General Magazines,Travel Audio-Radio,Travel Audio-Podcasts and Guides)Back
Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Miami Herald Entry Title: Covid Cruises Entry Credit: Taylor Dolven, Sarah Blaskey, Nicholas Nehamas, Alex Harris, Forrest Milburn Judge Comment: This is an excellent investigation on a breaking news story of enormous importance to the travel industry and its customers. The reporters turned a complex reporting job around in a timely fashion, providing actionable information to readers while the pandemic was happening. They painstakingly ran down leads and built their own database to make up for gaps in the information safety net to give customers and regulators a picture of a crisis that the industry was trying to hide. By doing so, they were able to discover patterns, showing how ships affected by one outbreak became super-spreaders when they were sent out on a second cruise. They continuously updated their data and explained their methodology. This story should raise questions about reaction time and accountability in the travel industry that will have to be addressed as business gets back to normal.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Doug Clark Entry Title: Inside the Nightmare Voyage of the Diamond Princess Entry Credit: Doug Bock Clark Judge Comment: This is a different take on the cruise scandal of this COVID year, a meticulously reported and beautifully crafted narrative about the passengers and crew of the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship that became an emblem of the failure of industry leaders and government regulators to respond to the pandemic. Clark’s ability to track down passengers and crew members is a remarkable job of writing and reportage. Having accomplished that, he tells their story in beautifully written and restrained prose. The power of his writing comes from the vivid details that help readers understand the fear and loss of control and dignity that all too many passengers and crew members unnecessarily experienced.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Elaine Glusac Entry Title: Travel Insurance: Is It Worth It? Entry Credit: Elaine Glusac Judge Comment: A hard-hitting and extremely timely piece on the joke that is travel insurance and how little it assisted travelers in a year they really needed it. This draws from an impressive multiplicity of sources and effectively interweaves nuts and bolts reporting on the industry and the laws governing it with powerful personal anecdotes from people who were failed by both. This is a great example of investigative reporting that serves readers.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: National Geographic Traveler Entry Title: As Lunar New Year approaches, many Asians worry about future journeys Entry Credit: Qin Xie Judge Comment: This is an important story that makes a legitimate link between the other big story of 2020 – the recurrence of racial hate—and the travel industry. It illustrates both the human and economic consequences of prejudice in reporting how Asians with spending power will avoid countries whose leaders have tolerated prejudice.
