Travel coverage wins honors

HONOLULU -- The Travel section of the St. Petersburg Times has been honored for its coverage of events following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

The Times shares the bronze award with the San Francisco Chronicle for "Post 9/11 Coverage" in the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The results were announced in Honolulu on Wednesday at the national convention of the Society of American Travel Writers.

The award is the eighth in the past eight years for the Times.

This year, the Washington Post placed first and USA Today second in the post-9/11 category, created for the 18th annual competition. Entrants submitted three sections published between the Sunday after the attacks through January. The Times entered the three successive issues after the attacks.

Judges, from the faculty of the University of Florida, said of the entry:

"Travel editor Robert N. Jenkins initiates a thoughtful commentary about travel after the terrorist attacks, in the Times on Sunday following the Tuesday attacks. Then, (staff writer) Tom Zucco crafts a masterful composite, 'Flight Paths,' by developing a comprehensive view of U.S. travel based on reporting from (Times writers) Jennifer Farrell, Jenkins and Mary Jane Park, from Montreal, St. Louis and Los Angeles.

"Times readers in Florida were given a thorough portrait of travel in America in a very uncertain environment. The strength is the blend of writing and good supplemental graphics and photography."

The competition, sponsored by the travel writers Foundation, drew a record 1,470 entries in 23 categories, for articles and photos published in print or online.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright