(Potcake Place in Providenciales - One of my first video efforts)

Recently I received a query from Tim Shisler, a freelance travel journalist in Colorado who will be speaking on the importance of multimedia at the upcoming SATW conference. We had struck up a conversation on Twitter and he asked me for my thoughts on how freelancers can incorporate multimedia into their pitches in order to get more work.

Tim’s questions were definitely ahead of the curve. He suggested that freelancers could add GPS-supported maps and photos to their pitches, as well as the ubiqutous video. He even suggested that freelancers start developing city-specific iPhone mobile apps that readers could download when they arrive. If you are a freelancer going to Guadalajara, I’d plan to attend his session – he has lots of good ideas.

Anyway, these were my thoughts on the issues he brought up. Keep in mind that our travel section is different than other travel publications (no first person, stories have to have a strong news angle, etc.) that many freelancers encounter.

Video: There is a big push going on for video right now at online sites. That’s because ad people can charge 5 times as much for an ad that appears within an online video than one that simply appears on a web page. Our travel staff has been trained in video, with several starting to excel in the medium. Freelancers who can submit a quality video (edited with Final Cut, not just a Flip) would definitely stand out.

iPhone apps: This is certainly an innovative idea. It wouldn’t work at a big company like ours where we have people in-house developing branded applications. I just can’t see that team taking an application submitted by a freelancer,as the ones we have are carefully planned out and developed to support our brand. I would think that the NYT would feel the same way. BUT…it’s not a bad idea for freelancers who are have the tech skills to come up with their own apps. Who knows, you could have the next Sit or Squat!

Pitching multimedia: The travel editor isn’t always in charge of the website. Freelancers should take the time to find out who runs the website and if that person has any editorial control separate from print. Freelancers should also realize that there’s a lot more inventory online than space in print – which means that it’s probably easier to sell pieces to an online editor (if they have a budget) than a print editor. Sometimes, however, a story that started out as an online-only piece will run both places – I’ll often take extra stories from the Travel section online if I have a quick space that needs filling.

Multimedia’s effect on travel writing industry: There’s good and bad with any innovation, of course. The good is that multimedia improves the readers’ experience. A video of the Galapagos can help inspire and excite readers as much as a story and photos. Taped interviews of Navajos facing changes to their lands in Monument Valley adds a touching component to a regular story.

The bad is mostly for us already in the industry – we have to work harder in the face of increased competition, not just from other writers and editors, but bloggers and regular Joes who post trip reports on travel forums (because these latter groups of travelers actually have a lot to positive things to add to travel writing – I planned my entire 3-week honeymoon through Thailand and Cambodia based on recs from the Fodors forum).

I honestly think if people want to stay in the business, they need to learn these alternative forms of story telling. I may never be as good at filming video as I am at writing and editing. But I can certainly learn enough for it to be passable. On my last work trip to Italy, I asked myself at nearly every turn, “What tool should I use here?” I ended up taking notes, snapping pictures, shooting video, and sending out Facebook and twiter updates. Is it hard? Of course. But did I get satisfaction from performing in more than one medium? Of course.

I think that travel writers who have been making a living for years are more than up for the challenge, if they want to be. They have the writing skills, news judgment, professionalism and presentation skills that put them a few steps ahead of others. If they apply those skills to multimedia, their work will rise to the top.