The just-completed year of 2009 was a busy one for the Traveler, as our output grew exponentially compared to 2008. It also was heavy in reader traffic, as nearly 1 million stopped by to see what was going on in the national parks. That readership was more than twice what we counted in 2008, and we'd like to thank those who stopped by in 2009 for taking the time to visit and hope you'll both bookmark the Traveler and encourage your friends to check us out.
For all of 2009, we posted 1,619 articles, or roughly four on an average day. That total was an increase of nearly 83 percent over 2008, when there were 887 articles posted.
Understandably, quantity isn't always an indicator of overall quality, and reading tastes differ greatly in terms of what you'd like to see on the Traveler. While there certainly is an audience interested in some of the more heavily news-oriented posts surrounding the managing of the national parks and the National Park Service, we recognize that many readers are more interested in learning about what they can do in the parks or testing their brains on Bob's quizzes and puzzlers or chuckling over Jim's anecdotes from his 30 years rangering in the parks.
So, where will we head in 2010? We hope to offer a redesigned Traveler that is a bit crisper appearing and somewhat easier to navigate. We also plan to bolster our travel-related coverage of the parks, delve more into the natural and cultural history of the parks, and, hopefully, integrate more multi-media content in that regard.
To those in the National Park Service reading this, please keep us in mind with what's going on in your parks. While we receive a number of emailed releases from a handful of parks, and take RSS feeds from about a dozen or so, we'd like to hear from more parks, particularly with news of tours such as the one at Petersburg National Battlefield that we highlighted on Sunday and monthly activity calendars such as the one from Saguaro National Park that we posted today.
We'll also continue to leave the door open to guest columnists. We'd love to hear from park superintendents who have something to say, whether it focuses on a unique aspect of their parks or tips visitors can use in exploring their parks; to friends groups that want to explain their latest campaign; folks such as Dr. Tyler Nordgren, an astronomer and associate professor of physics at the University of Redlands in California, who has written a book about dark skies over national parks, or; even our elected politicians who have something to say about the national parks or National Park Service. And we're always looking for new voices to add to the Traveler (although there currently is no budget to afford them other than "thanks!" and a great and growing community to share your experiences with.)
If you want to take us up on this offer, simply use the "contact us" link in the Visitor Center box in the upper right-hand column.
To our readers, we hope we continue to meet your expectations and, as always, remain open to suggestions and comments regarding our coverage. What do you like, what don't you like? What type of stories would you like to see more of?
We also encourage you to check out our sponsors, as they provide some of the means that enable us to bring you a daily dose of commentary, news, and life in America's parks.
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Comments
@ mcghiever, you've put your finger on something that has been a constant source of introspection and debate at Traveler. While the criticism you raise is legitimate, it remains that reader response, the single best indicator we have of what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong, is absolutely unequivocal on the matter of incident reports. When treated as breaking news, they garner more reader interest that just about anything else we post here at Traveler. To be honest, we'd like to do more in-depth reporting and followups on these incidents. I wouldn't be surprised to see us move in that direction after we resolve some issues of a more immediate and pressing nature.
That's an interesting suggestion, Jonathan. The redesign that Kurt refers to in the main article may open the way to offering reader polls on a regular basis and getting feedback in a quicker, more organized way. Anything that will help us produce a better Traveler for our readers -- budget and staff permitting -- is on the table. Keep those suggestions coming!
It would be a service to readers if NPT were to more carefully delineate editorial opinion from factual news reports. Some NPT articles mix fact and opinion without distinction. This leads to confusion.
I love the Traveler!! And, contrary to RodF, I actually like that NPT has a critical (e.g. analytical, questioning) perspective. I always feel that I can rely upon the information / facts that I find here, but I like knowing that I will come here to find thoughtful commentary on the parks from people who can be loving critics.
I also really like the mix of stories -- from travel, to issues, to books, to (yes, am I voyeuristic?) even the various tragedies (which do have the effect of reminding me that one needs to be more careful than people sometimes are).
Let me especially commend you on your pieces (which I've occasionally contributed to) on the history OF the parks (in addition to the history IN the parks). I find when traveling to the parks that sometimes they don't do as good a job as I would like of telling you more about the park's history as a park -- how and why it came to be, what management challenges it has faced or is facing, how the park has related to nearby communities, etc. Some parks simply seem to see themselves as transparent conveyors of some others’ history (e.g. Lincoln's birth, Appalachian culture) while not recognizing that they themselves have fascinating histories and are actors that have influenced the history of the regions where they lie. I like the pieces that Bob Janiskee and Chance Finegan do on park history, and love the pieces on decommissioned parks, which remind us that there is nothing about the continued existence of a National Park that is inevitable.
As for suggestions, I’d love to see:
(1) even more commentary on history and cultural resources in the parks with even more attention to things like:
debates over historical interpretation (e.g. at the President’s House site at INDE or many other sites)
revisions that are happening with historical sites and exhibits (or that desperately need to happen – what about all those Mission 66 visitor centers with Mission 66-era exhibits?!). Maybe some folks could be induced to do exhibit reviews for you?
the unmet needs of cultural resources divisions at all levels
the relationship between cultural resources and interpretation (an odd bureaucratic division throughout NPS that sometimes prevents professional NPS historians from having much role in historical interpretation)
archives in the parks, at the National Archives and at Harpers Ferry Center – interesting materials that are available, new partnerships aiding archival management, problems with public access to archives, unmet needs, or whatever
(2) ability to browse content by park
(3) I agree that the CAPTCHA thing has been problematic for me
Here’s to a fantastic 2010 for National Parks Traveler! I hope to be able to write for you again this year.
Anne Mitchell Whisnant, Ph.D.
Historian & Author of Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History
and When the Parkway Came (a book for children, with David E. Whisnant)
Chapel Hill, NC
Anne,
Much thanks for your praise, your suggestions, and your past (and hopefully future) contributions. We're constantly evaluating how we approach stories. Indeed, if anyone looked back to the Traveler's style of four years ago and compared it to the current one, they'd see a sea change. And we're constantly evaluating what we'd like to add to our content. There is no shortage of ideas, just a shortage of hands on deck and hours in a day.
As to browsing content by park, you can already do that. Simply click on the "Browse Content By Topic" link in the upper right-hand column and then scroll alphabetically to the park of your choice.
Now, while there have been quite a few complaints about the Captcha, there are even more from the Traveler's staff about the search function at our disposal. In a word, it's "miserable." That said, we have plans on the drawing board to both enhance the ability to search articles by park and to inject the search engine with a dose or two of steroids. We hope to bring those upgrades to you later this winter, or early this spring (nothing worthwhile is ever easily attained).
Kurt,
That's all great -- yes, better searching would be fantastic. And I will hope to find time to write another piece again soon -- to do my part in furthering the conversation about history in the parks. Meanwhile, I'm amazed at all you have been able to do here and at the very high quality of the articles and information, given the shoestring (?!) budget. THANK YOU!
Anne
Anne Mitchell Whisnant, Ph.D.
Historian & Author of Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History
and When the Parkway Came (a book for children, with David E. Whisnant)
Chapel Hill, NC