S3 E34: Becoming a Travel Journalist with Ashlea Halpern (Re-Release)

This week, we’re throwing it all the way back to October 2020, when we launched our Genius Womxn podcast.

If you’re a newer listener to our show, you might not have had the chance to work through our whole library yet, and that’s why I want to share with you this very special episode we did with travel editor Ashlea Halpern back then. Ashlea is the editor-at-large for AFAR Media, contributing editor to Conde Nast Traveler, and the founding editor of The Urbanist, a pop-up travel blog from New York Magazine. Ashlea has also worked as special projects editor at Bon Appétit, Strategist editor at NYMag, and senior editor at Time Out New York. She’s visited more than 65 countries and lectured about travel writing at Stanford University.

Ashlea’s favorite destinations from the last few years include Uzbekistan, Jordan, Swedish Lapland, Turkey, Tasmania, and Minnesota. (That last one she liked so much, she moved there in 2018 and co-launched a website, Minnevangelist, devoted to trumpeting its greatness.) I think it is safe to say that Ashlea has a passion for the world and for telling stories. 

In this episode, we talk about armchair reporting in the world of travel restrictions, what service journalism is and why it’s important, navigating the male-dominated journalism space without female mentors, and how we need to separate our sense of worth from our work when pitching our ideas.

In our chat, Ashlea also shares her brilliant advice for breaking into travel journalism (like finding a niche, something I always talk about too, and not giving up when you get a rejection). This episode is full of incredible insights and wisdom for anyone interested in getting started in travel journalism and I’m super excited to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it!

Want to start taking action on your creative dreams? Download my free guide to publishing your travel stories to get the 10 steps towards making this creative dream your reality!

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How being an only child helped Ashlea crystallize what she wanted to do in life

• How moving nearly 40 times planted a seed for Ashlea’s nomadic lifestyle

• The pressure of starting a storytelling career in New York—and why it doesn’t have to start there

• Why Ashlea had an epiphany during a study abroad in London

• The importance of service journalism in the travel journalism

• Navigating the male-dominated journalism space without female mentors

• Where Ashlea got her confidence of knowing she had what it takes to act on her ideas

• How we can learn to separate our sense of worth from our work when pitching our ideas

• The frequent reason stories get canceled (it’s not what you think!)

• Why Ashlea believes freelancers have to demand to be paid fairly

• How COVID-19 is disrupting travel and the way we work 

• Ashlea’s advice to aspiring travel journalists

Featured on the show:

• Follow Ashlea on Instagram | @ashleahalpern

• Follow Minnevangelist on Instagram | @minnevangelist

• Want more insights on pitching your travel stories? Get my private pop-up podcast, Three Secrets to Successful Pitching

• Check out our membership community, The Circle, the place where brilliant womxn creators in travel media go to claim their dreams, get support, take action, and build their dream creative lives.

• Come join us in the Genius Womxn Facebook Group

• Interested in travel writing or photography? Join the waitlist for our travel journalism masterclass, Storytellers In Action, in which we help womxn creators get a footing in the travel media space, dream big, work through our fears, and take action

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