Press Trips

Recent press trips we’ve organized include:

• Jenna Vandenberg Moore – November 2011. Participating in an all-expenses paid trip to New Mexico. Media forthcoming on Matador.
• Stephen Chapman – November 2011. Participating in an all-expenses paid trip to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Media forthcoming on Matador.
• Christina Fields – October 2011. Participating in an all-expenses paid trip to Raleigh, North Carolina. Media forthcoming on Matador.
• Kyle Ellison – September-October 2011. Participating in an all-expenses paid trip to Nepal through MatadorU partner, Adventure Center. Media forthcoming on Matador.
• Keph Senett – September-October 2011. Participating in an all-expenses paid trip to Turkey through MatadorU partner, Adventure Center. Media forthcoming on Matador.
• Diana Ogilvie – September 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid trip to Amsterdam and Helsinki. Media forthcoming on Matador.
• Anne-Sophie Redisch – June 2011. Participated in a sponsored Italy cooking trip. Media forthcoming on Matador.
• Jenna Blumenfeld – June 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid Wisconsin trip. Media forthcoming on Matador.
• Allison Crnic – June 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid Michigan trip, focusing on technology and sustainable development. Media forthcoming on Matador.
• Lebawit Lily Girma – June-July, 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid Taiwan trip, focusing on food. Media forthcoming on her blog, Sunshine and Stilettos, and on Matador.
• Norbert Figueroa – June, 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid Belize trip, focusing on Mayan culture and architecture. Media forthcoming on his blog, Globotreks, and on Matador.
• Abbie Mood – May, 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid Ventura, California trip, focusing on sustainability, which resulted in this article at Matador Network and this article at Gardens to Tables.
• Christina Fields – May, 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid trip to St. Kitts, which resulted in this article at Matador Network.
• Lauren Quinn – April, 2011. Received complimentary lodging in Phnom Penh while working on assignment for Glimpse Correspondents. This article was published on Matador Network.
• Kristin Conard – Jan-April 2011. Participated in several event-based press trips in Orange County, California, Philadelphia, New York City, and Kearney, Nebraska. The Nebraska trip was to see the Sandhill Crane migration lodging, which resulted in this article at Matador Network.
• Lindi Horton – April, 2011. Participated in Rosemary, Florida-based press trip sponsored by Geiger & Associates to study a community based on new urbanism and traditional neighborhood development. This article was published on Matador Network.
• Abhimanyu Sabnis – April, 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid Samoa trip. Media published on Matador Network.
• Michelle Schusterman – March-April, 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid Puerto Rico trip, focusing on culinary tourism (for Saborea Food Festival). Produced this report at Matador Network.
• Jeff Bartlett – March, 2011. Participated in an 11-day all-expenses paid long-distance cycling trip with ExperiencePlus!, which took him through Argentinean and Chilean Patagonia, as well as Chiloe. He wrote about and published photos from the trip for his own website and blog, for Matador, and for Epic Thrills.
• Christina Koukkos – February, 2011. Participated in an all-expenses paid diving trip in Papua New Guinea which she reported on at Matador.
• Carlo Alcos – July, 2010. Participated in an all-expenses paid Thailand trip, which resulted in this photo essay.
• Tom Gates – May, 2010. Received comped lodging / golf lessons at San Diego’s luxury Gran del Mar hotel which resulted in this note at Matador Network, which was noted at TBEX 2010 as an example of transparency / excellence in a service article.
• Juliane Huang – April, 2010. Participated in an all-expenses paid trip to a the Riviera Maya, Mexico
  where she explored the cenotes and interviewed leading local conservationist Paul Sanchez-Navarro Russell.
• Hal Amen – March, 2010. Received comped lodging in San Antonio, Texas, which resulted in an article about the “greening” of US resorts.
• Paul Sullivan – January, 2010. Participated in an all-expenses paid Istanbul trip, which resulted in this photo essay.

Road Warriors Program, Belize. Canon in 2D

Road Warriors

In addition to traditional press trips, MatadorU is developing long term partnerships that essentially redefine how host countries and their tourism boards work with travel publishers to create authentic, ground level content. The
first is a partnership with the Belize Tourism Board. Known as “Road Warriors”, this program sends exceptional U grads to Belize for multi-month assignments– all expenses paid plus salary.

For Editors, Publishers, PR Firms, and other Media Outlets

Are you looking for reliable travel writers or travel photographers trained in social media, accurate reporting, and finding original stories? MatadorU has a community of highly-skilled writers and photographers around the world available for hire.

We have helped match dozens of employers – from large media companies to local tourism agencies – with award-winning candidates for press trips as well as permanent positions as writers and new media experts.

Here is why companies like AOL Travel, 10best.com, and Nile Guide come directly to MatadorU for hiring:

• MatadorU students and graduates are global. If you have a geographically specific project,
  most likely we can match it with someone on the ground.
• MatadorU students and graduates are trained in print and online media. They don’t just
  bring writing and photography skills–they bring an audience with them.
• MatadorU students and graduates are exceptional. Our graduates continue winning awards
  from organizations such as the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers’ Association.

If you’re interested in finding a travel writer, travel photographer, or other uniquely skilled new media pro, please
contact partners@matadornetwork.com