SATW Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition 2011 Winners
Rick Steves, one of America’s best-known travelers as a guidebook writer, blogger, social media personality and TV/radio host, is the Journalist of the Year in the 2011 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle win top honors as the best travel publications in North America. National Geographic Traveler wins five awards, including best travel website and best cultural tourism article. Outside magazine also wins five awards, including best adventure travel and best investigative stories.
This is the 27th year of the Lowell Thomas competition, overseen by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation. The awards, recognized as the most prestigious in travel journalism, were announced at the annual conference of the Society of American Travel Writers, the premier professional organization of travel journalists and communicators.
The competition, for work from spring 2010 to spring 2011, drew more than 1,200 entries. Judges are the faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication, www.jomc.unc.edu.
Below are the winners:
Category 1: Grand Award — Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year
- Gold: Rick Steves,author and TV/radio travel show host, @RickSteves
- Silver: Andrew McCarthy, freelance writer, actor and director, @AndrewMcCarthy
- Bronze: Kate Siber, freelance writer
Category 2: Newspaper Travel Sections
2A — Newspapers with 350,000 or more circulation
- Gold: Los Angeles Times, Catharine Hamm, Travel Editor, @LATimesTravel
- Silver: The Dallas Morning News, Mary Ellen Botter, Travel Editor, @Dallas_News
- Bronze: The Washington Post, Joe Yonan, Travel Editor, @JoeYonan
2B — Newspapers under 350,000 circulation
- Gold: San Francisco Chronicle, Spud Hilton, Travel Editor, @SpudHilton
- Silver: The Oregonian, Alex Pulaski, Travel Editor
- Bronze: The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA), Gary Warner, Travel Editor, @RegisterTravel
Category 3: Magazines
3A — Travel Magazines
- Gold: Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel, Nina Willdorf, Editor-in-chief, @NinaWildorf
- Silver: Afar, Greg Sullivan, Editorial Director
- Bronze: National Geographic Traveler, Keith Bellows, Editor-in-chief, @NGSTravelEditor
3B — Travel Coverage in Other Magazines
- Gold: Southern Living, Rachel Hardage, Executive Editor
- Silver: Westways, Elizabeth Harryman, Travel Editor; John Lehrer, Editor-in-chief
- Bronze: Outside, Abraham Streep, Senior Editor
Category 4: U.S./Canada Travel Article
- Gold: John Flinn,“In Bay of Fundy, the Tides They Are a Changin’,” San Francisco Chronicle
- Silver: Andrei Codrescu,“Ten Reasons to Visit New Orleans,” The Rotarian
- Bronze: Wayne Curtis,“Main Street Takes a New Turn,” Via
Category 5: Foreign Travel Article
- Gold: Peter Gwin,“The Telltale Scribes of Timbuktu,” National Geographic Magazine
- Silver: Steve Hendrix, “Austria’s Zillertal, an Alpine Valley of Great Skiing and Domestic Fun,” The Washington Post
- Bronze: Robert Draper, “The Call of Crete,” Virtuoso Life
Category 6: Photo Illustration of Travel
- Gold: Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky, “The Road Less Traveled in South America,” Afar
- Silver: Carolyn Drake, “The Spirit of Istanbul,” Afar
- Bronze: Andy Isaacson, “Amazon Awakening,” The New York Times
Category 7: Special Package/Project
- Gold: Christopher Reynolds,“Southern California Close-ups,” Los Angeles Times print/online
- Silver: Mark Boster,“Yosemite in Four Seasons, Los Angeles Times print/online/other media
- Bronze: Andrew Evans, “Bus2Antarctica,” National Geographic Traveler print/online/multimedia
Category 8: Cruise Travel
- Gold: Jill Schensul, “Back Channels of Eastern Europe,” The Record (Hackensack, NJ)
- Silver: Jad Davenport, “Galapagos: Does Darwin’s Laboratory Still Hold a Lesson for the World?” Islands
- Bronze: Craille Maguire Gillies,“In Praise of Slow,” Canadian Geographic
Category 9: Adventure Travel
- Gold: Rowan Jacobsen,“Heart of Dark Chocolate,” Outside
- Silver: James R. Petersen, “The Long Road,” Playboy
- Bronze: Michael McRae,“Rolling With Thunderbolt,” Outside
Category 10: Travel News/Investigative Reporting
- Gold: Joshua Hammer,“A Mountain of Trouble,” Outside
- Silver: Gary Stoller,“Are These Batteries the Next Threat to Flier Safety?” USA Today
- Bronze: Nancy Trejos and Andrea Sachs,“Amtrak Ridership Is Up, But Passenger Grouse About Frequent Delays,” The Washington Post
Category 11: Service-Oriented Consumer Article
- Gold: Dan Askin,“The Free Cruise Offer: Scam or Legit?” Cruisecritic.com
- Silver: Carol Pucci,“Travelers Lose as Airlines, Online Sites Square Off,” The Seattle Times
- Bronze: Maria Lenhart,“Labor Pains: How Should Meeting Planners Deal With Hotel Union Disputes?” Meetingsfocus.com
Category 12: Environmental Tourism
- Gold: Melanie Radzicki McManus, “On the Backs of Giants,” Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
- Silver: Kim Brown Seely, “Out of the Mist,” Virtuoso Life
- Bronze: Gregory Dicum, “Peru’s Lovely Bones,” Afar
Category 13: Cultural Tourism
- Gold: Daisann McLane, “Ghosts of Hong Kong,” National Geographic Traveler
- Silver: Edward Readicker-Henderson, “Acoustic Venice,” Islands
- Bronze: Andy Isaacson, “Amazon Awakening,” The New York Times
Category 14: Personal Comment
- Gold: April Orcutt,“Loneliness the Same in Any Language,” San Francisco Chronicle
- Silver: Gary Warner, “Stepping Behind Enemy lines at a Tiny Japanese Bar,” The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA)
- Bronze: Don George, “Making Roof Tiles in Peru,” Reece: Literary Journey for the Discerning Traveler
Category 15: Special-Purpose Travel
- Gold: Margo Pfeiff, “The Last Hike With Philip,” Explore magazine
- Silver: Lawrence Osborne, “Drinking in Islamabad,” Playboy
- Bronze: Brian Mockenhaupt, “The Other Side of the Mountain,” Outside
Category 16: Short Article on Travel
- Gold: Nathan Myers, “Little Nibblers,” Islands
- Silver: Don George, “The Aerogramme and the Email,” Gadling.com
- Bronze: Jeannie Ralston, “The Dinner Hour,” National Geographic Traveler
Category 17: Travel Book
- Gold: Vanessa Woods,“Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo,” Gotham Books
- Silver: Ian McNulty, “Louisiana Rambles: Exploring America’s Cajun and Creole Heartland,” University Press of Mississippi
- Bronze: Julian Smith,“Crossing the Heart of Africa: An Odyssey of Love and Adventure,” HarperCollins Publishers
Category 18: Guidebook
- Gold: Sara Benson, coordinating author, and team, “USA’s Best Trips: 99 Themed Itineraries Across America,” Lonely Planet
- Silver: J.W. Ocker,“The New England Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre and Ghastly Sites,” The Countryman Press
- Bronze: Ayun Halliday,“Zinester’s Guide to NYC: The Last Wholly Analog Guide to NYC,” Microcosm Publishing
Category 19: Online Travel Journalism Sites
- Gold: Traveler.NationalGeographic.com, National Geographic Traveler, Keith Bellows, Editor-in-chief; Jerry Sealy, Art and Web Director; Kathie Gartrell, Managing Editor, e-Publishing
- Silver: MatadorNetwork.com,Matador, David Miller, Senior Editor; Julie Schwietert Collazo, Managing Editor
- Bronze: BudgetTravel.com,Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel, Nina Willdorf, Editor-in-chief; Lisa Schneider, General Manager digital; Laura Michonski, Deputy Editor online
Category 20: Travel Broadcast — Audio
- Gold: Rick Steves, “Travel with Rick Steves,” public radio
- Silver: Willie Weir, Spain/Portugal Commentaries, “Weekday,” KUOW Public Radio, Seattle
- Bronze: Joseph Rosendo, “Ireland — The West Is the Best,” Travelscope.net podcast and radio
Category 21: Travel Broadcast — Video
- Gold: Susan McNally, Richard Bangs, John Givens, “RichardBangs’ Adventures With Purpose/Hong Kong: Quest for the Dragon,” American Public Television
- Silver: Joseph Rosendo and Julie Rosendo, “Thailand — From Golden Triangle to White Sands,” KQED/PBS stations
- Bronze: Rick Steves, “Rick Steves’ Europe — Season Six,” American Public Television
Category 22: Travel Blog
- Gold: Rick Steves, Blog Gone Europe, ricksteves.com/blog
- Silver: Brad A. Johnson, food and travel journalist, Brad A. Johnson, the blog, blog.bradajohnson.net
- Bronze: Ben Mutzabaugh, Today in the Sky, USAToday.com
