Find the controversy in travel
Posted: May 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: bbc.co.uk, Hal Amen, matador network, matadornetwork.com, regan morris, Should parents drug babies on long flights?, travel journalism, travel writing, world's first airline to charge passengers by weight Leave a comment »Chapter 4 urges the travel journalist to cover the misery of air travel. The text offers advice in searching for these stories. Regan Morris of bbc.co.uk provides an example of on such story in her coverage of a controversial topic: Should parents drug babies on long flights? Take a look here. Another fitting example of the misery of air travel is a piece by matador network’s Hal Amen commenting on the first airline to charge passengers by weight… Their personal body weight that is… Have a look here.
A travel story, or four, about a knife
Posted: May 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: Andrew Welsh, Andrew Welsh matador network, Japanese culture, matador network, matadornetwork.com, traditional Sashimi knife, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 gives the travel journalist tips and cautions drawn from many sources, which should help him cover travel and tourism in his market. A major tip the text encourages is for the travel journalist to “travel for one story; come back with four.” Take for example Matador Network’s Andrew Welsh’s story about his one-of-a-kind, “good enough for you” Sashimi knife. Welsh’s trip to Japan on the outset was focused on taking cooking lessons to become a Japanese cuisine chef.
After becoming accustomed to the customs of the Japanese culture, Welsh developed ambitions to acquire a traditional Sashimi knife from a legendary swordsmith. This experience of acquiring the knife adds another dimension or rather adds another story to his experience. Andrew Welsh does an excellent job of painting the scenery and mood for his audience balancing history of the legendary swordsmith with the eerie feeling of the antique shop.
This article provides a prime example…
Food and wine — or moonshine
Posted: May 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 3 | Tags: food and wine travel, matador network, matadornetwork.com, moonshine, Tereza Jarnikova, Tereza Jarnikova matador network, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Tereza Jarnikova begins her piece with a confession — “I FEEL a bit strange to be writing an article about moonshine (or homemade alcohol) while living in Czech Republic.” However, Jarikova can feel more comfortable knowing that about 65 percent of travel editors interviewed in the text responded to a survey stating “food and wine” is an important niche’ topic to readers.
Tereza Jarnikova of the Matador Network takes her readers around the world, via an “incomplete” list of countries and their respective traditional homemade alcohol practices. In her article Jarnikova lists a common name for a homemade alcohol then lists the country it’s known for. She starts with Slivovice from the Czech Republic, followed by a description of its ingredients and creation process. Jarnikova also explains in brief the history of the alcohol and its significance for the home country. The travel journalist can use Tereza Jarnikova’s article to gain unique angles when covering…
Digital divide
Posted: March 6, 2013 Contents: Chapter 6 | Tags: Corey Breier, digital divide, digital generation, matador network, matadornetwork.com, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel research, travel technology, travel writer, travel writing 1 Comment »This digital divide has less to do with socio-economic status and its relation to the inability of poor class people to access information electronically. Instead this division spreads older and younger generations apart in their views toward traveling, according to Corey Breier. Corey Breier an (young) author/contributor for the Matador Network identifies himself as a part of the “Digital Generation.” As a member of the digital generation Breier admits to spending months in front of a digital screen of some sort in contrast to an older generation who may have spent their time say, playing in the mud. This exposure to the digital world according to Breier has somewhat spoiled his traveling experience. Here’s an example of the author’s opinion:
To be fair, it does make life more interesting — I keep expecting cloned dinosaurs to pop out at me in the Hawaiian jungle, and graboids from Tremors to snatch me out of the sands of Anza-Borrego.
Yet…
Volunteering properly
Posted: February 5, 2013 Contents: Chapter 3 | Tags: jade keller, matador network, matadornetwork.com, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel research, travel volunteer, travel writer, travel writing, volunteer, volunteer traveling Leave a comment »In Chapter 3 volunteering is listed as one of the twelve important niche’ topics. Assuming volunteer writers, well volunteer — Jade Keller of the Matador Network advices the aspiring volunteer on how to be a helper any NGO wants. First, Keller breaks a few assumptions. Take a look at an excerpt of her article,
I’ll start by dispelling the myth that nonprofits should bend over backwards in gratitude for your offered time. Most people, for valid reasons like they need money to eat, cannot afford to donate much of their time. So they can only put in a few hours a month, or, if they want to work in developing regions like South East Asia, Africa, or Latin America, they will come out for a few weeks or a few months, ready to go pedal to the metal…and then leave.
There are some organizations that have short-term volunteering programs, but they are…
Useful captions to enhance visuals
Posted: January 22, 2013 Contents: Resources | Tags: david miller, matador network, matadornetwork.com, photography, photography captions, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel photography Leave a comment »The text concludes with Resources for every travel journalist to consider taking advantage of. The matador Network’s David Miller drops another gem for the journalist. No doubt photographs have the ability to add value to a travel journalist’s work. Miller explains how to enhance these visuals with useful captions. Miller explains,
Instead of simply reducing / restating what’s already obvious in the photo, strong captions — what we at Matador call “narrative” captions — give the viewer context, backstory, information that the viewer CAN’T see for him or herself. This includes things like:
- Place names
- Subject names
- Backstory on the scene (example: at what point of the trip the shot occurred)
- Backstory or technical info on the shot itself
- Challenges or special circumstances not identifiable in the shot itself
- Information on future events the shot puts into perspective
Read…
Inner travel – working locally
Posted: January 22, 2013 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: backyard traveling, inner travel, local, matador network, matadornetwork.com, sarah menkedick, travel advice, travel blog, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 discusses the importance of travel writing without the traveling. Sarah Menkedick of the Matador Network encourages the concept of “inner travel.” Menkedick describes the process of inner travel as
It is a full-on sensory experience that yanks all those dormant parts of oneself, the parts that go plodding through the day to day in familiar places without really seeing, to life. The best way to experience “inner travel,” the process of moving oneself out of a familiar mental space, is to take no detail for granted.
Real culture
Posted: January 22, 2013 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: local foreign culture, matador network, matadornetwork.com, sarah menkedick, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 suggests several criteria to guide the travel journalist in bridging cultural divides. Sarah Menkedick of the Matador Network encourages the travel journalist to consider modern aspects of foreign culture as authentic. In her article Menkedick compares traditional Chinese culture symbolized by dumpling restaurants versus modern culture represented by adolescence pulling all nighters in the local McDonalds. In Menkedick’s view both equally represents the local culture. Here’s an excerpt:
This idea of authenticity often reinforces the same set of power relations travelers hope to undo: the control of dominant, technologically advanced, “modern” countries over more “primitive”, poor countries. Why is it that “modern” countries are free…
Facing the fiscal cliff
Posted: January 22, 2013 Contents: Chapter 6 | Tags: frugal, frugal traveler, Julie Schwietert, matador network, matadornetwork.com, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 6 discusses the opportunities for the travel journalist. As tensions build with all the media attention surrounding America’s economic situation, travel journalists may find themselves gaining more opportunities during tough times. Julie Schwietert of the Matador Network helps the journalist find opportunities as unemployment lingers around the country. Here’s one tip,
1. One sector’s pain is another’s gain.
The somewhat diluted value of the dollar has had an effect on other countries’ currencies that benefits travelers.
Consider the Mexican peso, for instance. After enjoying a lengthy period of relative stability (with the exchange rate being about 10 pesos to every 1 US dollar), the peso’s…
Indie tour guide
Posted: November 5, 2012 Contents: Chapter 6 | Tags: eileen smith, indie tour guide, matador network, matadornetwork.com, tour guide, travel journalism, travel research, travel writing, vayable, vayable.com Leave a comment »Chapter 6 discusses opportunities as a entrepreneurial travel journalist. Eileen Smith of the Matador Network encourages the travel journalist to make easy cash as an indie tour guide. Smith tells writers to “Monetize your expertise” and show travelers what your city is really like. Getting started is easy as signing up at vayable.com. Smith offers this:
It’s got a couchsurfery-element to it, but instead of giving your couch, you give expertise (for a price you set) while leading tours around where you live, taking people to secret haunts, hikes, or whatever it is you do wherever you are. All you do to get started is upload a picture and description of the service you offer, and wait for people to take you up on it. Afterwards, feedback (called “vouching” on the site) is key, as most people won’t want to spend…
