Yesterday afternoon, the Global Traveler editorial staff completed work on the January 2010 issue of the magazine. As usual, it was a fast and furious push to get the final approved files to the printer by deadline. That is not to say that we aren’t well organized, but it is the nature of the business that there may be last-minute changes to the layout due to the purchase of additional ad space and late-breaking news that requires changes to content. Generally, too, the editor’s and publisher’s letters are written close to deadline to allow for timely commentary.

Allow me to draw aside the veil on producing an issue of Global Traveler, from my somewhat limited perspective:

Sometime in early fall, editor in chief Lisa Matte produces the editorial calendar for the coming year. It outlines the proposed major features and destination articles, aiming to provide an interesting mix of subjects from around the world relevant to our readers. Nothing is set in stone, however, to accomodate events which may affect travelers. For example, late in November of 2008 Mumbai suffered attacks by terrorists on sites frequented by foreign visitors. Six weeks later, contributing writer Patrick Adams was in Mumbai, and his article in the February 2009 issue of Global Traveler described the city’s reaction to and recovery from the assault.

While Lisa and associate editor Jan Hecht may receive the raw text for articles well in advance of the deadline for the issue in which they will appear, most of the work on an issue occurs within the four weeks prior to the “files to printer” date. Plying their red pens, they address length and formatting issues, edit for clarity and focus and confirm facts and details. The text then passes on to art director Tracey Cullen, who fits the words and accompanying photos and graphics into the allotted space for each piece. Often, if the writer has not done so,  she must chase down images for obscure places and activities. I don’t pretend to know how she works her magic, but I am always impressed with the results!

Generally, Lisa or Jan look over the first pdf of the proposed article before it is presented to me. I then do my grammar-teacher bit on punctuation, spelling and sentence structure as well as checking for consistency in style and format (bold this, italicize that) and confirming facts, web addresses and the like. I send my list of edits to Tracey, and she then sends back an amended pdf reflecting those changes. We continue that dance until I send a final “No correx” message, and Lisa gives her final seal of approval for release to the printer. 

Most of this occurs via email, as each of us lives in a different city (and I live in an entirely different time zone). Although it may sound quite dry and isolated, we actually have established a very lively communication. While we debate style issues and confer on editorial content, we also share personal anecdotes and the occasional silly photo from our pasts. It makes for a friendly, fun and intellectually interesting working relationship that I very much treasure.

I will enjoy a bit of a lull now (and hopefully my co-workers will, too) before work begins on our February issue. I’ll spend the next week catching up on my Christmas to-do list, but I look forward to reading the next batch of articles coming my way — and yours –  soon!

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader 

I was quite the celebrity this past week as I traveled to and from and around the West Coast. Bill Noonan, our experience-laden new vice president of the western region, and I flew up to San Francisco (SFO) on Wednesday night on United (one of GT’s award winners). We were flying out of the United concourse, from gate 75, and I suggested we check out the first-class lounge. As all the international flights were leaving slightly later than us, the lounge was completely empty.

We were able to chat about the industry with UAL Global Services Manager Rebecca Frazier. Rebecca is a warm, wonderful person who welcomed all the lounge guests as if they were entering her home. She also told us how valuable the placement of Global Traveler is to guests who frequently read GT in the lounge or take the lounge copies with them on their trips around the world.

Bill and I settled down with a cocktail and discussed the day’s meetings while working on proposals in the comfort of the lounge prior to our San Francisco-bound flight.

On my return east, I flew Continental Airlines‘ red-eye flight on Friday. I got to the airport at about 8:15 p.m. and passed the time before my departure at the Presidents Club Lounge. There I also had fun talks with the managers on duty, who were thrilled to meet me, as Global Traveler is a must-read for their guests. GT was prominently displayed on their shelves and was the only business-focused publication for lounge guests.

Global Traveler’s lounge placement is only a fraction of our circulation, but I feel it is important. With placements in Delta Sky Clubs, Continental President Clubs and United Red Carpet Clubs and first-class lounges — as well as a host of others — GT really reaches out to business travelers. I was treated like a real VIP, not because of me but because of the magazine.

Just so you know where you can get your GT fix while traveling, you can always find us in the following lounges: Air France, Alitalia, Asiana, Continental, Delta, EVA, Finnair, Korean Air, KLM, Kuwait Airlines, Lufthansa, Royal Suites, SAS, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Turkish Airlines, United, USAirways and Virgin. Some are placed system-wide, while others are in selected lounges. Enjoy reading GT!

Display of  Global Traveler in United’s LAX lounge.

– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

The time has come to close our December awards issue. I find myself stopping and thinking about the past year often recently. It’s hard to believe that around this time last year, I was entering my second year at GT. And now, I am at the threshold of my third year. This year definitely was not easy, and I don’t expect 2010 to be a breeze. However, to me, the awards issue is a reminder of Global Traveler’s success.

As with every year, we had a great response from our readers. I think the GT Tested Awards reflect an honest and accurate evaluation of the premium products our clients continue to provide for the high-end traveler. Stay tuned for the survey results! We had a successful 2009 MRI survey, in which our numbers continued to jump. On the other hand, though, we have learned circulation and years of stability can mean essentially nothing. If someone had told me three years ago that T&L Golf and Gourmet would go out of business, I wouldn’t have believed them.

As we close our last 2009 issue and enter into 2010, I feel focused and a little excited for the new year. I predict budgets will be tighter, media plans will be more conservative and procedures will be more strict. However, I am hopeful we are entering a new era, one where it is less about the large corporations and the mass audiences and more about the value of the niche audiences that make sense for the product. I predict a challenge, but I think it will be a healthy one.

Congratulations GT on another year of success. Thank you to our readers for a wonderful response to the GT Tested Awards and to our MRI survey.

– Courtney Centeno, account executive

In this day and age of Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, Bing, Yahoo (the list could go on forever), handwritten letters sent through snail mail are few and far between. So whenever I receive a letter in the mail, I take the time to sit down and read it, as opposed to whizzing through my email every morning.

My father loves to write. He has the penmanship of a calligraphist and collects rare fountain pens for pleasure. As I was growing up, he always told me that there is nothing like a handwritten letter. I went to college a mere 30 minutes from my hometown, and my father still wrote me at least once or twice a month. Even in New york I know my dad is just a phone call away, but taking the time to write a small note takes just enough effort that the person on the receiving end feels genuinely cared about.

Thank-you emails are quick and efficient enough so that one can easily follow up after meeting someone. Perhaps the person you met will be more likely to remember you if you shoot them a quick email later that day. But a handwritten note is rarely forgotten.

I feel the same way towards print and online. We are all beginning to see publications dwindle in numbers (T & L Golf, Gourmet) as we are overwhelmed with new blogs and online information. My friends and I communicate frequently through email, and we often share articles and blogs we’ve read online with one another. With a click of a button, I can share an article with my friend before I’ve even finished it. However, on several occasions where I have received an article in the mail that was torn from its publication, I’ve truly felt touched.

These days, we can achieve tasks so quickly and efficiently that the few extra steps of stamping and addressing a letter have much more meaning. With publications becoming a rarity, we will start to see the true value with the print that remains. Like a handwritten note, information seems to carry more weight and value when you can physically hold it in your hand.

– Courtney Centeno, account executive

This week I enjoyed two great examples of the power of words and the pleasure truly well-crafted writing can provide. One came in the form of a fairly traditional format for the written word, and the other came from a medium which has often been blamed for severely damaging the literacy of those raised under its influence.

This past Sunday PBS began airing Ken Burns‘ latest multi-hour documentary. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea provides a history of the development of America’s national park system, along with stunning pictures from some of the most beautiful natural landscapes on earth. As Burns has done with his other documentary subjects, he quotes extensively from the writings of historical figures who played major roles in the establishment of individual parks and the National Park Service. While I drank in the images from Yosemite, Denali, Yellowstone, Glacier, Rainier, Everglades, Acadia, Crater Lake, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon and more, I also reveled in the words written by the lovers and supporters of these wild places when the country was just beginning to consider setting them aside for future generations.

I was especially taken again with the poetry inherent in the writings of John Muir. Here was a man with an engineer’s mind whose writings are full of such grace, imagery and sense of place that one wants to get out immediately and be immersed in what he so beautifully and lovingly describes. As I listened to the voices reading Muir’s words, and even those of ordinary citizens writing in that bygone era, I reflected that we have lost a great deal in our ability (or desire) to communicate so eloquently and beautifully with the written word in an age when the speed and ease with which we can exchange our thoughts has grown so exponentially. Texting and tweeting don’t seem such grand advancements when placed alongside the thoughtful writings of an educated and seeking mind.

Ah, but I am not here to rant about our cultural wasteland, for wonderful writing is still to be found and relished and shared. One such piece came before me this week in the form of a wonderful article written by Gary Smith in the Sept. 28th issue of Sports Illustrated.  ”The Power of One” tells of a young woman from a tiny town in Texas who, two years in a row, won the state 1A track team championship title — all by herself. Now, Bonnie Richardson’s feat alone makes the article worth reading, but Smith’s ability to draw a clear picture of the small town, a life developed in its confines and the girl’s struggle to live her life and seek her goals on her terms keeps drawing my mind back to it. This piece is a gem, and it reminds me of others I have found in SI and other “mainstream” media. When I was teaching, I would often find articles in newstand publications and share them with my students to show them examples of “good” writing that existed in their world and covered subjects they understood and could enjoy. The idea was to expose them to the power and beauty of words, whether in a Shakespeare play or a Rolling Stone interview.

I guess it figures that someone who makes her living working with words would get so excited about a piece of writing that really burrows into the brain and makes one ponder a life or a place outside of his or her own known world. But it seems to me we all need to remember and respect what words can do and how they can transport us — for good or ill.

I hope you find a bit of the written word that you can treasure and mull over and share this week.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader