NATJA - North American Travel Journalists Association

News & Events

Redefining Professional Development for the Travel Industry


Cleveland Conference Moves into High Gear.


Yesterday was full of exciting options for conferees. NATJA opened its Wednesday plenary session with Fran Golden focusing on techniques to help journalists facing reduced print opportunities and new forms of competition. Jeffery Lehman, host of PBS' Weekend Explorer, showed us new markets for our journalists. The professional development sessions ranged from sessions on how to catch an editor's eye to new opportunities in new media and cracking into the exciting (and enjoyable) food and travel market segment. The afternoon tours drew rave reviews, providing a multiplicity of story ideas.


As provocative as the day was, the evening held more delights. The dine around featured some of Cleveland's finest restaurants (including Iron Chef Michael Symon's Lola). And the highlight of the evening was a special session at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame featuring its many exhibits (Springsteen!), a look at how the Rock Hall has evolved, and of course a wonderful band and dance contest. A packed day, to be sure, but a great one for professional growth and some good old fun.

Cleveland Conference Opens with a Riveting Presentation by Keynoter Keith Bellows


The 2009 NATJA Conference in Cleveland promised an outstanding lineup of presenters, and conferees were in for a treat at tonight's opening dinner.
Keith Bellows, Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic Traveler, wowed attendees with a thought-provoking review of the travel writing market and a dozen points of interest foreshadowing changes we should be expecting and adaptation strategies we should be considering. Concluding a visionary tour-de-force, Bellows emphasized, "I believe this is the most exciting time for journalists ever."

NATJA's not-for-profit educational foundation video taped Bellows' presentation and will make it available for all members after the conference. It's a must-see for all travel journalists!

The next two days offer many other tantalizing speakers, including:
Joe David, author of Gourmet Getaways
Christopher Elliott, Travel Blogger and National Geographic Traveler’s Reader Advocate
Kevin Fliess, CEO and Co-Founder of TravelMuse
Fran Golden, Travel Editor, Gatehouse Media
Jeffrey Lehmann, PBS’ Emmy-Winning Host of Weekend Explorer

Conferees will also enjoy an outstanding slate of workshops and professional development sessions. Stay tuned for further reports.


Awards Results Are In! NATJA's Crystal Globes Go To...


We received the last of the 17th Annual Awards results Saturday evening. Three Grand Prize and thrirty seven First Place Winners were notified shortly after judges' ballots were crosschecked. Additionally, over 100 Merit Award Winners were recognized. A full listing of all Award Winners can be viewed by clicking Award Winners.


NATJA's Crystal Globes will be presented to Grand Prize Winners and Crystal Rounds to 1st Place Award Winners. Merit Award Certificates will be sent out to Merit Award Winners. Media Members who are Grand Prize or 1st Place Award Winners will also be eligible to select trip prizes from the selection developed by our Advisory Board. Information of the prize selection process has been emailed. Congratulations to all NATJA Award Winners. You earned special recognition!

The number of entries and the overall quality of this year’s submissions made judging especially difficult and time consuming. Distinguishing among entries was very challenging. In several categories, judges were tempted to award substantially all the entries. In order to recognize truly superior work where multiple entries in a category made a traditional award hierarchy somewhat meaningless, the judges recognized several Merit Award Winners.

While waiting on the final results in the last few categories, we started tabulating some data on this year’s submissions. Four hundred twenty nine valid submissions were received. Member submissions outnumbered non-member submissions, but not significantly. Individual submissions outpaced institutional submissions about 2:1. There were a few multiple award winners, but awards seemed very well distributed across a broad spectrum of submitters. Helen will be doing a detailed analysis of the awards and the process before our Cleveland Conference and we plan to do an informal review there.



Winter Wayfarer has News, Views, and Trips.


The Winter Wayfarer brings important industry news, provacative viewpoints from several of our writers, and, of course, a host of trips available for winter-weary writers. Check out the new issue at Wayfarer.

Advisory Board Launches New NATJA.


Last month, we launched the new look for NATJA's Travelworld International Magazine. Most people loved the new look and we will continue with this format. Some did not, however. Though comments ran about 10:1 in favor of the new look, a few members wanted to retain the historic HTML format which we will do with the next issue. Viewers will be able to enjoy either format. (FYI, there will be some special benefits for contributors to the new format, to be announced before our Cleveland Conference.) This month will also see the launch of additional elements of the New NATJA. Look for a revamped presentation of The Wayfarer. And we will begin the beta test on the new NATJA website, likely next week. The new site will feature community elements to facilitate how we work and enjoy. Details will follow very soon.

Michael DeFreitas Joins Advisory Board.


Many of you know Michael DeFreitas, the newest Member of our Advisory Board. An award-winning photographer and writer, Micheal brings a wealth of journalistic experience which promises to help our five-year plan for development of NATJA. Michael's credits include National Geographic Traveler, Geographical (UK), Canadian Traveller, Caribbean Travel & Life, Coast to Coast, Outside and Sports Diver. His affiliations include SATW, TMAC and CAPIC. Michael will head our professional development function on the Advisory Board. A warm welcome to our newest Advisory Board Member!