SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition
The SATW Foundation was launched in the early 1980s by a group of member editors concerned about the future of travel journalism. They wanted to encourage higher standards and honor prestige in the field, thus the Foundation’s mission to improve travel journalism by recognizing and rewarding excellence. To accomplish these goals, the SATW Foundation established the first broad-based independent competition for travel journalists: The SATW Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The Foundation funds its work through donations, tax-deductible under IRS Code Section 501(c)(3).
Today the competition awards more than $20,000 annually in prize money for outstanding print, online, and multimedia works, for travel photography, and both audio and video broadcast. It is the premier competition in this field, akin to the Pulitzer Prizes for travel journalism. It has gained its stature as it is:
• open to any particular destination or travel product;
• open to all North American journalists, not just SATW members;
• judged independently by the faculty at top U.S. schools of journalism.
The competition and awards are named for Lowell Thomas, an acclaimed journalist, prolific author, and modern-day world explorer who achieved numerous “firsts” during five decades in travel journalism. Thomas is primarily known as a broadcast journalist, but his career touched nearly all disciplines. His indefatigable spirit of adventure and discovery epitomizes that of the inquiring travel journalist.
