There are two steps to the 2024 MTJA Active Membership Renewal process. All renewals forms and payments need to be received by 5 p.m. (Central time) on November 15, 2023.
Step 1:
Fill out the membership renewal form. Please review the Active Membership Requirements before proceeding to the form to make sure you have gathered all necessary materials, then click on your category to access the correct renewal form:
Step 2:
Pay your membership dues, the2024 MTJA Active membership dues are $125. If dues are not received in full by 5:00 p.m. (Central time) on November 15, 2023, a $25 late processing fee will be added to your payment.
An application to renew your MTJA Active Membership means:
- You are committed to the principles of fair, accurate and unbiased reporting on travel subjects.
- You are a professional travel journalist who receives compensation for work produced.
- Content generated during press trips, hosted/sponsored events, FAM tours or MTJA conferences is eligible for submission as long as the hosting organization or entity has not paid the writer directly to produce that copy (i.e. content produced for a city, state or regional travel guide and paid for directly by the sponsoring organization).
Active Membership Renewal Checklist Overview
- Plan to submit all renewal forms and pay dues by 5 p.m. (Central time) on Nov. 15, 2023.
- Fill out all required fields completely and accurately. Information submitted will be used to inform your listing in the 2024 MTJA Directory, an important source of information for other members, editors, publishers and travel industry leaders.
- 2024 MTJA Active Membership Dues are $125. If dues are not received in full by 5 p.m. (Central time) on Nov. 15, 2023, a $25 late processing fee will be added to your payment. We encourage dues payment via credit card.
- If you need to request a one-time year of grace because of an inability to meet membership requirements, please send a letter of explanation to Erin Schmitz at admin@mtja.us on or before Nov. 1, 2023 for review by the Board of Directors. Members seeking a year of grace still need to complete the Membership Information section of the renewal form.
- If you have questions, please contact Erin Schmitz at admin@mtja.us or Amy Lynch at amy@amylynch.com.
Procedure
- Determine your renewal category:
- Book Authors
- Broadcast Journalists
- Digital Publishers
- Editors of Publications with audited circulations of at least 10,000
- Photographers
- Staff Writers, Freelance Journalists and Online Content Producers
- Provide your contact information:
- Name
- Company (if applicable)
- Job Title
- Website
- X (formerly Twitter)
- Threads
- Blog
- Address
- Phone Number
- Photo for your 2024 MTJA Press Card
- Birthday, month and day only (optional)
- Provide 2024 MTJA Membership Directory information:
- Media Outlets (members may list up to 5 outlets you’ve worked for within the past 7 years. If more than 5 outlets are submitted, we will include the first 5 listed only.)
- Specialties (members may select up to 5 specialties. If more than 5 specialties are submitted, we will include the first 5 selected only.)
- Books (authors may list up to 5 titles published within the past 7 years. If more than 5 book titles are submitted, we will include the first 5 listed only.)
- Awards/Honors/Affiliations (members may list up to 5 items from within the past 7 years. If more than 5 items are submitted, we will include the first 5 listed only.)
4. Complete the form for your Active membership category
Book Authors must submit:
- A screenshot of the cover of your travel-related title with a minimum press run of 3,000 copies published between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023.
Broadcast Journalists must submit:
- A dated letter from station management carrying your programs that details program length, program frequency, station call letters or other identifying information, size of audience and how long the program has aired.
- Proof of payment for your work.
- Five episodes or segments via MP3, MP4, links to podcasts, cassette, DVD, CD air-check or active public link that you have produced over the last year. Each file must contain the original broadcast date.
Digital Publishers must submit:
- Five unique PDFs or screenshots of blog posts (minimum 250 words each) published between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023 for a blog that has been active for least two years prior to membership renewal. Submissions should be first-run, previously unpublished work, not reprints/republications. Content generated during press trips, hosted/sponsored events, FAM tours or MTJA conferences is eligible for submission as long as the hosting organization or entity has not paid the writer directly to produce that copy (i.e. content produced for a city, state or regional travel guide and paid for directly by the sponsoring organization).
- Documentation of revenue sources (including length of partnerships) if not apparent via website review.
- Digital Publishers must demonstrate at least 10,000 sessions per month on average during this calendar year through Google Analytics reports.
Editors of publications with audited circulations of at least 10,000 must submit:
- A copy of your publication’s masthead with your name indicated as editor.
- Verified audited circulation for your publication.
Photographers must submit:
- A minimum of five images published between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023 in outlets with print circulations of 10,000 or more, or a minimum of 10,000 online sessions per month for online publications. Work samples must illustrate at least five unique articles; multiple photos that illustrate the same article count as one work sample. For photography used in travel-related books, the initial print run must be at least 3,000 copies.
- Demonstration of the photographer’s individual body of work. Co-credited images or images produced in collaboration with another journalist or MTJA member are acceptable to use for one of five image submissions. If any of your qualifying images are due to publish after the Nov. 15 renewal deadline, please let Erin Schmitz or Amy Lynch know.
- Verification of audited circulation or monthly online sessions for each work sample.* Outlets listed here with Cision.com outreach figures are valid for this purpose.
- Proof of payment for work (the actual amount of payment can be blacked out).
Staff Writers, Freelance Journalists and Online Content Producers must submit:
- PDFs, screenshots or links to five unique print and/or online travel articles, columns or features (minimum 250 words each) published between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023 in outlets with audited circulation of at least 10,000 or online traffic of at least 10,000 sessions per month. Multiple clips may cover the same topic or destination, but each submission must be unique copy. Submissions should be first-run, previously unpublished works, not reprints/republications. All submissions must show byline, publication name, date of publication and entire work sample. Co-bylined articles showing two or more author names on the published work are acceptable for one of the five article submissions. If any of your qualifying clips are due to publish after the Nov. 15 renewal deadline, please let Erin Schmitz or Amy Lynch know.
- Verification of audited circulation or monthly online sessions for each work sample.* Outlets listed here with Cision.com outreach figures are valid for this purpose.
Note: Single PDF files cannot be larger than 10MB. To make a PDF on a Mac, go to “file.” Select “print” and under “PDF” (lower left corner) select “save as PDF.” To reduce PDF size, go to “file” and select “reduce file size.”
*Members ARE REQUIRED TO provide media outlet circulation and/or online readership figures for each work sample. If you do not provide this information, we will reach back out to ask you for it. This slows down the entire process for you and for the renewals committee.
If your work outlet is not listed in the Cision list, or if you want to challenge Cision data, you may provide a note from your editor, a Google Analytics screenshot or a screenshot from the publication’s media kit to confirm circulation/online readership.
5. Pay membership dues.
2024 MTJA Active membership dues are $125. If dues are not received in full by 5 p.m. (Central time) on Nov. 15, 2023, a $25 late processing fee will be added to your payment.
The hard cut-off date for inclusion in the 2024 MTJA Membership Directory is Dec. 8, 2023. If your renewal materials and dues are not received in full by this date, you will not be listed in the 2024 directory.
QUESTIONS?
Please contact Erin Schmitz at admin@mtja.us or Amy Lynch at amy@amylynch.com.