Welcome to the world of Internet Streaming Audio on TravelReporter.com.  These guidelines will explain how to create audio versions of your travel writings, the format requirements for audio articles, and submission process.

General

We are not seeking professional announcers, although if you have professional speaking or announcing experience, great.  We are looking for friendly, conversational presentations, written in easy to understand phrases.  It is important to remember that the listener will probably just listen to your report one time. Sentences must be kept shorter than those you would write for print articles.  Since this is "on-demand" streaming audio, the listener could go back and listen to the report again, but probably won't.

We encourage the inclusion of "natural sounds" from the travel locations involved.  This could be recorded on audiotape or on the audio track of videotape.  You need not "mix" the natural sound and narration, although this kind of production work can be fun, so if you wish to try to produce a finished product, let us know and we'll gladly help you do it.  In most cases, natural sound should be included on a separate tape from the narration, or on the same tape, but after the voice recording.  We will then do the final "mixing" to achieve the finished presentation.

We prefer the total length of audio presentations to be under three minutes, although four to five minutes may be acceptable for presentations which include interview segments and/or generous use of natural sound.  Interviews with well-known travel authorities or other popular personalities talking about travel experiences are also invited.  The acceptable length of these interviews will be determined on a case-by-case basis.  We may edit them before presentation on our site.  Please query before submitting lengthy interviews.

We can accept submissions on standard audiocassette, micro-cassette, or on VHS videotape.  If you use a VCR, be sure to have a video source going into your machine while you are recording.  If you record into a camcorder, no special video source is necessary.  Please review technical recommendations below for more information and contact us at travelsound@travelreporter.com with any further technical questions.  Tapes can only be returned if the are accompanied by a SASE with sufficient postage.

Writing Style

As mentioned above, the writing style for broadcast is different from print.  Writing for television involves writing copy to complement the video pictures on the screen and to set up context for the short "sound bites" commonly used in TV news reporter.  In your TravelReporter Streaming Audio Reporter you will essentially be writing radio copy.  This means extremely economical style, with no extraneous words.  The challenge is to write short and still be interesting.  This is often achieved in reports on National Public Radio, although their format allows reports to run longer than would be appropriate for Internet presentation.  The most expendable word in broadcast-style writing is the word "that."  In conversation we often leave it out of sentences, such as "I know you're going home soon" vs. "I know that you're going home soon."  The best way to deal with "that" is to write your copy, and then go back and cross out every "that" in the piece.  Read it again and only reinsert the "thats" which are absolutely essential for understanding.  Conversational writing makes generous use of contractions.  In most cases "I'm" will be preferable over "I am" and "you'd" is better than "you would."  One of the exceptions is "can't."  The "'t" often gets lost in pronunciation, so many times it is better to say "cannot," especially if the phrase is important to the story.  (And, since we are placing a premium on brevity, every phrase is important to the story.)

Delivery

You probably won't like the way you sound.  Few people are happy with the sound of their own voices.  If you feel there are characteristics such as nasality you would like to work on, there are easy exercises to reduce or eliminate them.  Just send me a note and I'll give you some pointers.  (I spent 20 years in radio and television news.  You can hear a presentation by me on one of our other web services, http://www.soundcasting.net )  Don't be overly critical of your voice.  Just speak enthusiastically and sincerely, as if you are telling a friend a story you know they will enjoy.  Number each take on your tape starting with "take 1."  If you make a mistake, start all over again with "take 2."  Listen back to all of your takes and tell us which is your best take, when you send in the tape.

Technique

If at all possible, use an external microphone, rather than the little mic built into your recorder.  This will help eliminate machine motor noise and usually produces better over-all results.  Don’t spend a lot of money on a microphone.  Use a mic stand or some device that makes it possible for you not to have to hold the mic in your hand.  Place the stand on a table using some kind of padding such as a mouse pad to keep vibration from telegraphing up from the hard surface.  For most mics, keeping your mouth 6 to 8 inches from the mic gives best results.  The microphones rock stars seem to put in their mouths are specially designed for that kind of work.

The two biggest problems people have with microphone technique are sibilance (excessive "s" or "sh" sound) and exploding consonants such as P, B, D and T.  Of these, popping P's are the most common.  In your practice, listen for harshness in these sounds and experiment with microphone placement, mouth and lip movement and breathing to reduce or eliminate these problems.

Be sure to sit up straight or stand, take a deep breath, start the tape recorder, count down from three (3-2-1).  Then, after "1," wait a full second before starting to talk.  Once you are speaking, try to make your breaths as silent as possible.  And, above all, SMILE while you read.

Submission

Once your tape is ready for submission, put a label on it with your name and the date.  Include a printout of the script and a SASE, if you want the tape returned.  No release is necessary.  We consider submission to be your statement of agreement with our guidelines and permission to use the material based on those guidelines.  If your submission is used on TravelReporter.com, payment is $50US, paid 30 days from initial posting.  Mail submissions to: TravelReporter.com, 1650 8th Avenue, Suite 303, San Diego, CA 92101.

For most travel writers, audio reports are a new area.  We believe that audio will play a huge role in the future of the Internet, since it has the potential for interactivity beyond anything text, graphics or video alone can achieve thanks to ever-improving voice recognition technology.  Most of all, we hope you will enjoy your participation in the new and growing medium of Streaming Audio.  Please email us at travelsound@travelreporter.com with any questions, or call us at (619) 234-3110.  Good luck.

Text Article Submission Guidelines

We're excited that you're considering submitting articles for possible publication on the TravelReporter.com web site.  We have been working for several months to develop TravelReporter's format into a colorful, entertaining, informative Internet resource.  If you have not surfed through all the elements of TravelReporter.com, we recommend that you take a few minutes and look at what we've done so far to have a better idea of how your writing (and photography) will complement the current content.  The "Ten Ways To Participate" page provides a rundown of all of the different forms of freelance material we are inviting, some paid and some not paid. (Well, there are some fun prizes)

Brevity rules on the Internet.  Experience shows that most web site visitors will not stay with a site to read lengthy articles.  But, this doesn't mean articles can be short on information.  The Internet writing style is much like good broadcast journalism (Yes, there is some good broadcast journalism.), where reporters are expected to give meaningful accounts of complex events in just a few seconds.  Most television news stories run less than two minutes.  Radio news reports are usually less than a minute.

Paid Articles

We prefer submission of completed articles for consideration.  It is a major challenge to write compelling information in three to five hundred words.  That's the target length we're looking for.  Payment for these is 10 cents per published word to a maximum of $50.00.  Longer articles may be accepted (no more than 1000 words) but, for now, the maximum payment for each article is $50.00.  Payment will be made within 30 days of initial publication.

Photographs are a great enhancement for any travel article.  But, because of the nature of the Internet (slow loading of graphics) we need to use them sparingly.  We encourage the submission of photographs with articles.  For now, there is no additional payment for photos, but a good picture may make the difference in deciding what articles to publish.  Photos should include a cut line (caption) and information about where, when and by whom the picture was taken.  Photos may be submitted as prints, on floppy disc (in any PC format) or may be transmitted as attached files via email.  A by-line and photo credit will always be included with the publication of articles and pictures.  We will also include your email address and a brief author bio, if you wish. 

Articles should be submitted via email as attached files.  No zip or PDF files please.  Articles may also be submitted by mail in a PC word processing format on floppy disk accompanied by printed hard copy.  A TravelReporter submission form is no longer required. But a model release, is necessary if any individuals are specifically featured or prominently positioned in your photos.  a signed model release, if required, must be received by us (via US mail) before any photo article can be accepted for publication.  A sample model release is available on the forms page on the TravelReporter web site.

We are also looking for interviews and commentaries on audio tape, which we will digitize and offer as streaming "Soundcastings" for visitors to listen to in the Real Audio format.  Payment for these is determined on a per case basis and may be as high as the print limit of $50.00. 

Unpaid "Prize" Articles

We are also seeking short, reviews and tips. There is no cash pay for these, but you'll receive a TravelReporter prize, such as a Logo Mug, T-shirt or TRTravel Journal, upon publication.  Please review the "10 Ways to Participate" page for more information.

Legal Stuff

Articles may have been previously published either in print or electronically.  By submitting material for publishing consideration, you are certifying that you own all rights to the material, that there are no copyright limitations on this work, that payment from TravelReporter, in cash or prizes, constitutes full compensation for use on the TravelReporter Web site and that you have read and accept the provisions of these guidelines.  The author or photographer retains full republication rights.  We hope your participation in TravelReporter leads to many other opportunities for publication of your work.   Unless otherwise agreed upon, submission of your work means that TravelReporter may display or offer the material (writing, photos, audio or video) on the our main site for a period of 60 days and then make it available on our archives for an indefinite period.  Archived material may be deleted from our server at the publisher's discretion or at the request of the author (30 days notice required).

The author or creator accepts all legal liability for statements made in their submitted work.  Contributing photographers certify that there are no copyright restrictions on their submitted photos.  Signed model releases must be in submitted for any persons prominently identifiable in photos or videos, and for non-public persons interviewed in audio and video presentations.  Non-public persons are people who do not customarily appear before the public and are not the focus of ongoing news coverage.  TravelReporter.com reserves the right to edit submissions as necessary, as determined by our editors.  The TravelReporter Writers Guidelines are subject to change without notice.

Submissions can only be returned if they are accompanied by sufficient postage and packaging (SASE).  Please contact us with any questions about freelance submissions to TravelReporter.com.

Good Luck,
Bob Lawrence
Co-Publisher