A city guide in 48 hours
Posted: May 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 2, Chapter 3 | Tags: Bill Addison, national geographic, national geographic traveler, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel research, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 2 makes a claim that guidebooks are essential to the tourism process. Taken a step further, Chapter 3 discusses the essential skills and knowledge for a travel journalist creating a travel guidebook such as: find the “hidden,” secret” attractions that “nobody knows.” Bill Addison a National Geographic traveler has offered his version of these valuable guides.
Here’s what’s good about Addison’s post: one, which is reflected within the title of the article, Addison tackles a city in 48 hours. He breaks down the article in sections depicting activities ranging from the historical MLK house, Oakland cemetery, & historic eateries to contemporary museums, hangouts and restaurants. Two: each day is broken down into morning, afternoon, and evening segments. Each segment is filled with activities that seem to ensure a complete Atlanta experience.
However, the traveler should use this guide much like other travel guides, as a suggestion to how to…
The lost-and-found story
Posted: May 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: budget travel, budgettravel.com, Kaeli Conforti, lost and found, southwest airlines, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 encourages the aspiring traveling journalist to explore her hometown through a professional journalistic scope. The text gives examples of various angles for the journalist to pursue. Kaeli Conforti for BudgetTravel.com follows a unique perspective, finding a hidden story covering the lost and found in his local airport. Judging by the vast amounts of expensive and inexpensive items found on planes there could be many stories to pursue. For example, the reuniting of a new bride and her only camera taken on a honeymoon trip, or a child and his favorite Disney memory.Take a look here.
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.
Discovering your personal Rome
Posted: May 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: budget travel, budgettravel editors, budgettravel.com, insider secrets of rome, pope, Rome, travel advice, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »The new Pope naturally brings with him an upsurge of new and returning tourists to Rome and the Vatican City. New tourists look for any excuse and a perfect time to travel to Rome while returning tourists are thankful for a reason to return to the city. Accompanying the tourists are travel journalists eager to report on the new excitement of the city. Isn’t this the same already heavily touristy Rome boasting millions of tourists annually?
However, as expected of the travel journalist, BudgetTravel.com’s editors collaborated to create a sure way guide to experience Rome without the long lines, expensive meals, and as the editors put it “crowds, crowds, crowds”. In other words the editors put their market in its true context. They have followed an approach to show how Rome is still truly unique. Take a look here.
Surely other guides will pop up…
Tourism’s dark side
Posted: May 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 6 | Tags: Heather Greenwood Davis, national geographic, national geographic traveler, travel advice, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 6 encourages the travel journalist to write about the “worst” in travel. Heather Davis of National Geographic.com describes her family’s tough experience while traveling in China. More important than her stories of locals snapping pictures of her family at random and reaching out to touch their hair, are the lessons she learned after the experience. Here’s a bit from Davis’ piece:
As a family that believes there are things to be learned from everything in life, we try to turn even the most frustrating experiences into teachable moments. — Having your every move documented gets old, and quickly. The celeb-obsessed culture prevalent in many parts of the world can desensitize us to what it’s like to be on the other end of the lens. Our experience in China showed us how photo taking can go over the line and taught us to be better at…
The South’s great features
Posted: May 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: Graham Averill, Graham Averill Southern Living, micro travel notes, micro-blogging, microblogging, Southern Living, southernliving.com, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 encourages the travel journalist to not only put their market in context but to really highlight the unique features of their hometown. Have a look at how Graham Averill uses short tidbits/factoids about 7 very unique locations in the South. Averill has put together a great read to get possible road trip ideas. The article adds a creative option/advice to explore locations such as: horse back, tram tour, or guided lantern tours. Graham Averill also includes his own subjective humor on why an individual would enjoy each one of these wonders. This is one way to attract tourists to your location using minimal text. This method forces Averill to use only the most important information to deliver a specific message. With micro-blogging catching steam, more articles like this will become more and more prevalent.
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…
Tourism is your destination’s villain
Posted: May 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 3 | Tags: Eco tourism, green tourism, Nomadic Matt, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writer, travel writing, www.nomadicmatt.com Leave a comment »Chapter 3 of the text teaches the travel writer how to reach the audience for travel journalism. Nomadic Matt is a renown travel writer and blogger; he writes for his own website www.nomadicmatt.com. A few days ago Matt wrote a piece explaining why and how travel writers and subsequently tourists often destroy “those off the beaten track destinations, those little local restaurants and quiet parts of the city where you are free of tourists.” Within the article Matt argues compelling points, even including a before and after picture of Ko Phi Phi, a once beautiful lush island that is now “overdeveloped.” Matt expresses such logical concerns as, “By driving people to the next ‘undiscovered’ place, do I just ruin it? Will I be that guy who returns and says, ‘Man, this place used to be cool 10 years ago.” Matt eventually passes the brunt of the blame off to tourists; specifically Matt blames those tourists who “end up supporting unsustainable tourism practices,”…
The quest: Brett Rogers’ India
Posted: April 3, 2013 Contents: Chapter 3 | Tags: Brett Rogers, Ganges River, national geographic, religious pilgrimage, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writing Leave a comment »Brett Rogers of National Geographic provides a proper example of other niche topics worth considering: Religious pilgrimages. Chapter 3 of the book explains, the value of the religious pilgrimage lies in the search for moral or spiritual significance — the quest. Roger’s quest begins with descriptions of the gripping landscapes of the mystical Ganges River in India before reverting to the reasons for his personal journey.
Here’s what’s good about Roger’s piece: The author uses journalistic techniques to compare and represent Western ideals against (Eastern) Indian culture. Through observation and interview Rogers seem to have completed his experience gaining a deeper understanding of death through the eyes of foreign culture….
