Society of American Travel Writers Foundation
Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition
Awards for Work Published in 2007-2008
Members of the Missouri School of Journalism faculty, coordinated by Professor Katherine Reed, judged the contest. There were 1,356 entries. In the following list of winners, numbers in parentheses denote number of entries in that category. For questions, contact: Mary Lu Abbott, SATW Foundation administrator, 713-973-9985, or awards@satwf.com. The results, along with judges’ comments, also may be viewed online at the Foundation Web site, www.satwfoundation.org.
Category 1: Grand Award — Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year (37)
Gold: Christopher P. Baker, freelance writer-photographer
Silver: Jane Wooldridge, Travel Editor, The Miami Herald
Bronze: Sarah Wildman, freelance journalist
Category 2: Newspaper Travel Sections (27)
2A — Newspapers with 500,000 or more circulation
Gold: Los Angeles Times, Catharine Hamm, Travel Editor
Silver: The Houston Chronicle, Harry Shattuck, Travel Editor
Bronze: The Boston Globe, Anne Fitzgerald, Travel Editor
Honorable Mention: Chicago Tribune, Randy Curwen, Travel Editor
2B — Newspapers with 350,000-499,999 circulation
Gold: The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Karan Smith and Julie Traves, Travel Editors
Silver: St. Petersburg Times, Janet K. Keeler, Travel Editor
Bronze: The Miami Herald, Jane Wooldridge, Travel Editor
Honorable Mention: The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Betsy O’Connell, Travel Editor
2C — Newspapers with up to 350,000 circulation
Gold: The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Millie Ball, Travel Editor
Silver: The Orange County Register, Santa Ana, CA, Gary Warner, Travel Editor
Bronze: Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Judy Wiley, Travel Editor
Honorable Mention: The Ottawa Citizen, Laura Robin, Travel Editor
Category 3: Magazines
3A — Travel Magazines (15)
Gold: National Geographic Adventure, John Rasmus, Editor-in-Chief
Silver: Budget Travel, Erik Torkells, Editor-in-Chief
Bronze: Travel + Leisure, Nancy Novogrod, Editor-in-Chief
3B — Travel Coverage in Other Magazines (12)
Gold: Brides Magazine, Sherri Eisenberg, Senior Travel Editor
Silver: Departures, Richard David Story, Editor-in-Chief
Bronze: Coastal Living, Kay A. Fuston, Editor-in-Chief
Category 4: Newspaper article on U.S./Canada Travel (99)
Gold: Jane Roy Brown, “After Alice’s Restaurants,” The Boston Globe
Silver: Janet Forman, “Oh, men and their spas,” The Globe and Mail, Toronto
Bronze: Diane Daniel, “Home Exchanges, A bit at a Time,” The New York Times
Category 5: Magazine Article on U.S./Canada Travel (73)
Gold: James Vlahos, “The Arch Hunters,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Dana Cowin, “What Defines a Great Food City?” Food & Wine
Bronze: Stephanie Mansfield, “How the Sunset Tower Got Its Cool,” Departures
Category 6: Newspaper Article on Foreign Travel (79)
Gold: William Ecenbarger, “A Small Ship in a Big Jungle,” Chicago Tribune
Silver: Yvonne Horn, “Spanish Wineries’ Star Power,” San Francisco Chronicle
Bronze: Richard Read, “Amsterdam, Dual and Cool,” The Oregonian
Category 7: Magazine Article on Foreign Travel (90)
Gold: Scott Anderson, “Fast Track to Tibet,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Laurie Werner, “Asian Beauty,” ForbesLife
Bronze: P.F. Kluge, “America’s Best Kept Secret,” National Geographic Traveler
Category 8: Newspaper Photo Illustration of Travel Article (40)
Gold: Richard Sennott, “Room for the Soul, and photos” Star Tribune, Minneapolis
Silver: Torsten Kjellstrand, “Amsterdam, Dual and Cool,” The Oregonian
Bronze: Michele McDonald, “A Gloriously Gritty Groove,” The Boston Globe
Category 9: Magazine Photo Illustration of Travel Article (66)
Gold: Gordon Wiltsie, “The Vanishing Breed,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Tierney Gearon, “Malibu A-Go-Go,” Departures
Bronze: Catherine Karnow, “Authentic Paris,” National Geographic Traveler
Category 10: Special Packages/Projects (44)
Gold: Tom Haines, project director, and Boston Globe staff, “At the Edge of Europe,”
The Boston Globe/boston.com
Silver: Terry Tazioli, Travel Editor, and Seattle Times staff,
“Pike Place Market at 100,” The Seattle Times/seattletimes.com
Bronze: Toni Salama and Randy Curwen, “The Next Big Thing,”
Chicago Tribune/chicagotribune.com
Category 11: Article on Marine Travel (48)
Gold: Carl Hoffman, “Take Me to the River,” National Geographic Traveler
Silver: Gayle Keck, “Pirates of the Mediterranean,” The Washington Post
Bronze: Alan Solomon, “How Do We Love Baja? Let Us Count the Whales…,”
Chicago Tribune
Category 12: Article on Adventure Travel (60)
Gold: Aaron Teasdale, “Across Maasai Land,” Adventure Cyclist
Silver: Gary McKechnie, “Prairie Hog,” Hog Tales
Bronze: Matthew Power, “Escape to Mount Kenya,” National Geographic Adventure
Category 13: Travel News/Investigative reporting (26)
Gold: Steve Friedman, “The Long Trail to Jail,” Backpacker
Silver: Christopher Ketcham, “A Death at Outward Bound,”
National Geographic Adventure
Bronze: William J. McGee, “Air Security: Why You’re Not as Safe as You Think,”
Consumer Reports
Category 14: Service-Oriented Consumer Article (80)
Gold: Jill Schensul, “Ever Ready for Mishap,” The Record (Hackensack, NJ)
Silver: William J. McGee, “The Ultimate Guide to Travel Web Sites,”
Condé Nast Traveler
Bronze: Carol Pucci, “The Exchange Game: Pay Attention When It’s Time to Pay,”
The Seattle Times
Category 15: Environmental Tourism Article (45)
Gold: John Falk, “Why the Bonobos Need a Radio…and Other (Unlikely) Lessons
From the Deepest Congo,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Ellen Creager, “This Little Traveler Saved the Planet,” Detroit Free Press
Bronze: Susan Pigg, “The Plane Truth About Flying,” Toronto Star
Category 16: Cultural Tourism Article (92)
Gold: Matthew Polly, “Bangkok Vice: Buddhas, Boxers, and Bar Girls,” Slate
Silver: Gretel Ehrlich, “The Vanishing Breed,” National Geographic Adventure
Bronze: Jerry Shriver, “Finns Call the Shots,” USA Today
Category 17: Personal Comment (121)
Gold: Steve Friedman, “It’s Not About the Hole,” Bicycling
Silver: Silvano Marchetto and Marisa Acocella Marchetto, “Italian Road Trip:
So, What Should We Eat?” Bon Appétit
Bronze: Sebastian Junger, “Running Away” National Geographic Adventure
Category 18: Special-Purpose Travel (118)
Gold: John Falk, “Downward Facing Boyfriend,” National Geographic Adventure
Silver: Paula Bock, “Burma: Healing and Hand Puppets,” The Seattle Times
Bronze: Leigh Ann Henion, “The Longest Yard,” The Washington Post
Category 19: Short Travel Article (70)
Gold: Christopher P. Baker, “ Baracoa,” Cuba Absolutely
Silver: Arthur Golden, “ Stolen Kisses,” National Geographic Traveler
Bronze: Tom Downey, “A Manhattan in Tokyo,” Outside’s Go
Category 20: Travel Books (16)
Gold: Nesreen Khashan and Jim Bowman, editors, “Encounters with the Middle East,”
Travelers’ Tales/Solas House
Silver: Susan Fox Rogers, editor, “Antarctica: Life on the Ice,”
Travelers’ Tales/Solas House
Bronze: Anita Alan, author, “Big Sur Inn: The Deetjen Legacy,” Gibbs Smith, Publisher
Category 21: Guidebooks (46)
Gold: Erik Torkells and the editors of Budget Travel, “Secret Hotels,”
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
Silver: Andrew Evans, author, “Iceland,” Bradt Travel Guides
Bronze: Debbie Harmsen and Michael Nalepa, editors, “Fodor’s
Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West
,” Fodor’s Travel Publications
Category 22: Online Travel Journalism Sites (24)
Gold: Boston.com/travel, The Boston Globe, Christine Makris, Senior Producer
Silver: BudgetTravel.com, Budget Travel, Steve Merrill, Online General Manager Bronze: Southernliving.com/southernbyways, Southern Living, compiled by
Annette Thompson, Associate Travel Editor
Category 23: Travel Broadcast — Audio (18)
Gold: Paul Lasley and Elizabeth Harryman, “On Travel — Kansas City,”
XM Satellite Radio
Silver: Joseph Rosendo, “Ontario, Canada’s Far North,” Travelscope Radio Network
Bronze: Ron Bernthal, “Lost and Saved,” WJFF Public Radio
Category 24: Travel Broadcast — Video (10)
Gold: Joseph Rosendo, “Colors of Malaysia,” PBS TV stations
Silver: Joseph Rosendo, “Churchill, Manitoba’s Beluga Whales and Polar Bears,”
PBS TV stations
Bronze: Toni Salama, chicagotribune.com, Hawaii’s Big Island, Galveston, Kemah,
Greek cruise and Dubai shorts