ABSTRACT

This chapter takes a brief look at the actual craft of producing travel journalism, addressing the writing considerations for digital journalists. Some indications are timeless recommendations that continue to resurface as more and more writers across a spectrum of ability publish online. These include discussing cliché, stereotype, and more narrative writing. Others are specific to changes brought on by the internet, which will help digital travel journalists think about the environment that their work will inhabit. Such changes include the prevalence of lists, or ‘listicles’. It also includes thinking about how words relate to search engine optimization as well as addressing stories to more global audiences instead of national one. Publishers cannot be sure who will click on their websites, so it becomes more important to create content accessible to readers from around the world. Interviews with journalists reveal how these considerations play out on a professional level. For some, these are welcomed challenges to their profession, while others feel limited and restricted by having to tailor their writing to a digital environment.