ABSTRACT
This chapter looks more closely at how travel journalists interpret the concept of news in their work. It seeks to distance travel journalism from more normative views of journalism, to understand how existing values apply, and which new ones might exist. When a tourism-related news event occurs, professionals need to walk a fine line between sounding like a press release and presenting themselves as reliable critics. All journalists might face such trials, but this chapter will sketch out how travel journalists actually engage in their reporting, to highlight their unique concerns and practices. This study outlines the basic types of ‘news’ reported by travel journalists, based on my interviews with travel journalists in Paris. According to journalists interviewed, there are a few distinct ways that they frame how they think of news in travel journalism that relate to traditional news stories, revisiting non-newsworthy items, and trendspotting. Furthermore, these practitioners discuss their sources of news, including primary sources involved in tourism experiences, public relations, and travel editors, who all influence what travel journalists report and how they produce their work. The chapter ends with suggestions for how social media can help guide news production for travel journalists.
