Early today I was alerted to a fabulously waspish Tweet from Hanoi-based blogger and journalist Steve Jackson. He said: “Travel writing is second lowest form of writing. The lowest form is travel tips (don’t pack too much – remember to haggle).”
Sigh. Obviously I’m not going to agree with him, as that would damage my fragile [...]
Is there a point to travel writing courses, other than to provide people who don’t do much travel writing with a bit of extra cash at the expense of the clueless and unsuitable?
Student media lectures
On Saturday I went along to the Student Media Day at Sheffield University, where a few of my old university friends [...]
Continue reading about Travel writing courses: Selling dreams to dreamers?
Brown and bullying
Today’s brouhaha about British Prime Minister Gordon Brown being accused of bullying is a classic example of what is worryingly wrong about journalism today. It’s not about what happened, but who says it happened.
National Bullying Helpline
For those who haven’t been following the saga, here’s a quick recap: A Christine Pratt of the National [...]
Continue reading about The trouble with journalism: An over-reliance on ‘experts’
Corrections
My previous post – Bloggers vs Journalists: Why bloggers are second class citizens – seems to have stirred up quite a debate.
There are a few things that have been brought to my attention since that I thought I should add. First of all (and somewhat going against my argument), it seems as though the budget [...]
Continue reading about Postscript to bloggers vs journalists debate
Or The Curse of the Woman Who Didn’t Know When To Shut Up.
Difference between bloggers and journalists
A few weeks ago, the ever-excellent Matthew Teller hosted a debate on his blog about the difference between bloggers and journalists.
It’s something of a hoary old debate, but some excellent points were raised. Key amongst these are that journalists [...]
Continue reading about Bloggers vs Journalists: Why bloggers are second class citizens
On the tourist trail
Apologies for this blog being quiet of late – I am currently in the middle of a fairly exhausting jaunt through South Africa.
As part of this trip, I have been doing a lot of tours, and as a result, have come to a conclusion or two about how tour operators and tourism [...]
Continue reading about How tour operators should deal with journalists
This piece was originally written last year for Ninemsn.com.au. But I thought it was worth reposting here for anyone who fancies an insight into the glamorous life of a travel journalist. This isn’t a verbatim, true diary of one week, but it’s not far off the mark and should give a decent idea of proceedings…
Sunday
Day [...]
Continue reading about A week in the life of a travel writer
I’m sure many travel writers have encountered a situation where they have been offered a ‘media rate’ by hotels, airlines and tour operators. And I’m sure many of us have struggled to know how to word the most appropriate response.
Well never fear – just alter the details on this template letter to suit your individual [...]
What makes a good travel story?
I often get asked what makes a good travel story, and it’s something that hard to quantify. Evoking a sense of place, letting the reader in on things they don’t know, passing on useful information and skilfully managing to weave pertinent themes together are up there. But if there’s one [...]
Continue reading about Why we need more celebrity travel journalism
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