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Posted: February 26, 2013 Contents: Chapter 3 | Tags: King Richard III, king richard skeleton, London, Matt Bolton, new york times, new york times travel, Paul Theroux, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel research, travel writer, travel writing, university of leicester Leave a comment »Chapter 3 of the text discusses “Destination” as a major story type to reach the audience for travel journalism. The chapter includes a quote from Paul Theroux which states,
Today, the destination story means looking for places that have changed, or places to visit in a new way.
Following that notion, Matt Bolton, of NewYorkTimes.com, writes an article for the New York Times online travel section about the recent discovery of King Richard III’s skeleton under a local English parking lot. Here’s a tidbit from Bolton’s article:
Since Feb. 4, when researchers from the University of Leicester announced that a skeleton found during an archaeological dig at the parking lot in September 2012 was indeed that of Richard III, a monarch immortalized by Shakespeare, Mr. Jones [security] has been fending off…
Reverse outline
Posted: February 5, 2013 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: aaron hamburger, likewise, new york times, new york times travel, reverse outlining, travel advice, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel research, travel tips, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 gives advice to the travel journalists in regards to drafting and revising works. Likewise, Aaron Hamburgur of the NewYorkTimes.com offers his advice to writers specifically in the form of reverse outlining. Here is a tidbit from Hamburgers article,
I’ve come to prefer a more organic approach to creation, first laying out my raw material on the page, then searching for possible patterns that might emerge. But now,after I’ve completed a first draft, I compose an outline. I’ve found that this is the surest way to make sense of the work.
Essential skill: frugality
Posted: January 22, 2013 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: frugal, frugal traveler, new york times, new york times travel, seth kugal, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel skills, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 aids the travel journalist by outlining tips, tools, and cautions which should help journalists cover stories at a home market or on the road. Likewise, Seth Kugel of the New York Times Travel section updates travel tips for the new year. Kugel devotes the entire article to helping travelers master the technique of traveling frugally which can lead to more experiences which in turn contributes to the travel writers end goal.
Kugel encourages the aspiring traveler to adjust their mental budget. Instead of thinking about staying home for another average weekend one should be
subtracting what you save by not being home. Surely you would have gone out for dinner and a movie one night, at least, so knock off $100. Add in gas, groceries, electricity, etc., and you’ve got at least another $50.
Kugel also warns that…
Extremely important niche’ topics: Cruising & Eco
Posted: January 22, 2013 Contents: Chapter 3 | Tags: cruise, cruising, eco, eco-cruising, ecotourism, jennifer conlin, new york times, new york times travel, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing 1 Comment »Chapter 3 lists “Cruising” and “Eco” as important niche’ topics for readers. Jennifer Conlin of New York Times Travel section takes advantage of both markets as she explores the push for cruise lines to shrink their footprints. According to the article:
A one-week voyage on a large ship is estimated to produce 210,000 gallons of sewage, a million gallons of gray water (runoff from sinks, baths, showers, laundry and galleys), 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water, 11,550 gallons of sewage sludge and more than 130 gallons of hazardous wastes.
Hopefully the two niche’ topics can come together on better terms next go round. Combining niche’ topics is a great way to find unique angles to pursue.
Expatriates going home
Posted: November 19, 2012 Contents: Chapter 2 | Tags: expatriates, julia preston, new york times, new york times travel, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer Leave a comment »Chapter 2 discusses the expatriate as a fast-growing nontraditional audience for travel journalism. That may be changing. Countries are calling their expatriates back home. Julia Preston of the New York Times explains in an article,
Returning scholars and business people are offered housing subsidies and tax exemptions to locate new enterprises in government-designated districts. One program is designed to attract Chinese expatriates who hold overseas patents in specialized science fields, the report found. China is also recruiting Chinese managers in high-level positions in non-Chinese companies.
Chocolate travels
Posted: November 19, 2012 Contents: Chapter 3 | Tags: chocolate niche', chocolate travel, hotel chocolat, new york times, new york times travel, travel journalism, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 3 outlines several niches the travel journalist should consider when choosing a topic. One should consider chocolate. Check out this tidbit from travel.nytimes.com:
Hotel Chocolat’s union of tourism and agricultural development, specifically its devotion to all things cocoa, is part of a budding movement across the Caribbean. You might call it choco-tourism.
From Tobago to Dominica, Grenada to St. Vincent, the Caribbean cocoa industry, which has roots in colonial times, is being revitalized. This is excellent news economically: With free trade having all but destroyed the islands’ banana and sugar industries, fair-trade farming initiatives are a welcome boon.
One thing the chocolate traveler will have is energy.
Air and rail combo
Posted: November 19, 2012 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: air and rail combos, christine negroni, new york times, save time and money travel, travel column, travel journalism, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 encourages the travel journalist to investigate the misery of air travel. The travel column of nytimes.com offers travelers another route, take the train. According to an article by Christine Negroni, travelers in Canada, France, Germany, and Spain are all leading hubs for air and rail combo travelers. Negroni’s advice can save the traveler time and money.
Air travelers in Canada, France, Germany and Spain may increasingly find that they are doing part of their journey on the ground, as airlines work with rail companies to sell tickets for combined trips.
The travel writer as an ecotourist
Posted: October 20, 2012 Contents: Chapter 3 | Tags: bonnie tsui, ecotourism, ecotourists, new york times, new york times travel, travel journalism, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 3 teaches the reader how to identify and research the audience for eco-tourism. Bonnie Tsui, a writer at the New York TImes Travel section, offers insight to what ecotourists are looking for. According to Tsui’s research ecotourists are,
“looking for two things: access to unique areas that most tourists can never visit, and a way to improve the life of the people and places they do visit.”
Coincidentally travel writers seem to be seeking similar experiences. Ecotourism maybe a way for the travel writer to gain that unique perspective and story.
Getting it wrong on jet lag
Posted: August 27, 2012 Contents: Resources | Tags: jet lag, new york times, stephanie rosenbloom, travel journalism, travel writing 1 Comment »A New York Times travel advice column got it wrong on one aspect of jet lag.
Stephanie Rosenbloom, the Getaway columnist, advised that when flying east…
you must expose yourself to light early, advancing your body clock so that it will be in sync with the new time zone.
That’s the opposite of what experts advise, as the example she cited points out. When flying east, you should delay exposing yourself to light so as to retard your body clock’s syncing with the new time zone.
This isn’t new advice: I remember reading 15 years ago about air travelers from the U.S. arriving in London wearing welder’s goggles until noon or thereafter. Dark sunglassses are just as effective — and more fashionable.
