Editorial Calendar - 2009

Each year the Miami Herald publishes themed issues that focus on specific activities or destinations. Here is our schedule for 2009. Please note that dates are subject to change. Tip for writers and PR people: We look at stories about six weeks before publication date, which means freelance stories and relavant press releases are best sent to us about six weeks out.

Miami Herald Travel Section - Writers' Guidelines

We have no hard-and-fast rules about the kinds of stories we buy. Well written, well researched stories that we cannot easily get on the wires get our attention. We tend to buy more for theme issues (see Editorial Calendar.) To be considered, copy for theme issues must be received four to six weeks in advance of the publication date. We also look kindly on candidates for our Quick Trips features (see below.) Your best bets are stories about Latin America, the Caribbean, Florida and any destination in which children are an integral part of the experience.

Quick Trips guidelines for writers

Quick Trips are stories about destinations that can be visited from South Florida in a couple of days. These stories should evoke ambiance and a sense of why someone would go there. They also should also be extremely useful, with specific recommendations for lodgings, activities and dining. Quick Trips can be oriented toward a certain audience: the family guide to Key West versus the couples guide to Key West, etc., or be general.

Writers' guidelines for family travel stories

The Miami Herald often seeks stories on traveling with children. In too many of the stories we see, the children seem like an afterthought rather than an integral part of the story. Good things to include in your story are: