SATW FOUNDATION
LOWELL THOMAS TRAVEL JOURNALISM COMPETITION
25 Years of Rewarding Journalists for Outstanding Work in the Field
February 2009
Dear Journalists:
Welcome to the 25th Annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. We have added a new category this year, changed judges and held to the same low fees we’ve had for years. We are awarding more than $20,000 to winners.
Here is a quick glance at the 2009 competition and below are links to get all the details:
New category: We have added Category 25: Travel Blogs. This recognizes outstanding online journals that show knowledge in the field, contribute accurate information and offer useful, actionable advice, often encouraging interaction with readers.
Newspaper Travel Sections change: We now have two circulation categories for the Best Newspaper Travel Section — one for papers with 350,000 or more circulation and a second for those under 350,000 circulation. Note: Newspapers should include verification of the circulation for the day of the week the Travel section prints (such as the fall 08 ABC-reported number) with their entries.
New judges: About every five years, we change judges for the contest. Judges are paid to review hundreds of entries, choose the winners and comment on their choices. This year, we are pleased to welcome the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication, which will judge the 2009 contest, following the outstanding work in past years by the Missouri School of Journalism. Please note the new address for mailing entries.
Payments: If desired, this year you can pay for entries online with a credit card or your PayPal account through our PayPal button. On the lefthand menu under 2009 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition, click on 2009 Entry Form, which takes you to a page with the PayPal button. If you pay by check or money order, remember these must be in U.S. funds; we cannot accept them in other currency.
The basics:
- Deadline: Entries must be postmarked by April 3, 2009.
- Eligibility period: April 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009, except as noted in specific categories.
- Eligibility: Entrants must be North American journalists. Foreign journalists living/working outside North America are not eligible.
- Judges: Be sure to mail entries as instructed to the UNC-Chapel Hill.
- Questions: Contact us via email at awards@satwf.com or via our Web site, http://www.satwf.com/, or call Mary Lu Abbott, administrator, at 713-973-9985.
Getting materials: We now e-mail this call for entries and post all entry information and materials online for your convenience. If someone needs to receive printed materials, we can do that by request. Contact us as noted above.
Click here to download all the material – Rules, Eligibility & Preparation of Entries, Categories and Entry Form. Please look carefully at all materials and the list of categories.
Good luck with your entries.
David Molyneaux
President
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UNC School to Do Judging
Faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication will judge the 2009 competition. Recognized as one of the world’s leading journalism programs, the UNC school is on the cutting edge in today’s ever-changing world of communication via television, radio, the multimedia Web, photography and print. Dr. Jean Folkerts is dean. Click here to learn more about the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
The SATW Foundation pays the judges, who review approximately 1,400 entries, name the winners and provide comments on their choices. Over the 25 years of the competition, the Foundation has worked with several outstanding universities, most recently the Missouri School of Journalism. |
$20,750 Going to Winners
For the 2009 competition, we will award $20,750 in prize money, the largest amount in our 25-year history.
The Grand Award earns the gold winner $1,500, the silver winner $750 and the bronze place $500. In individual categories, first-place gold winners each receive $500. Silver and bronze winners receive $250 and $150. The categories for Best Newspaper Travel Sections, Best Magazines, Best Online Travel Journalism Sites and Best Travel Packages/Projects are not given monetary awards.
All grand award winners and gold winners in other categories receive an engraved crystal award, while silver and bronze winners receive certificates mounted on plaques.
The awards are named for Lowell Thomas, acclaimed broadcast journalist, prolific author and world explorer during five decades in travel journalism. |