April 3, 2025 • 30 mins
Award-winning travel writer Gwen Pratesi takes us on a remarkable journey of transformation from corporate professional to culinary explorer in this candid conversation about finding your calling through life's unexpected detours.
When her husband was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer in 2009, Gwen found inspiration in a Mediterranean cruise that sparked a food blog—launching at the dawn of digital content creation alongside pioneers like Pioneer Woman and Steamy Kitchen. What began as a flexible way to work while supporting her husband through treatments evolved organically into culinary tours, chef interviews, and eventually a James Beard Foundation Award nomination that surprised even Gwen herself.
Now contributing to U.S. News & World Report, Frommer's, Garden & Gun, and numerous travel publications, Gwen reveals the authentic process behind travel journalism. She speaks candidly about preferring solo trips to find unique angles, navigating the challenges of travel mishaps in Vietnam and why Alaska remains her favorite destination despite temperatures reaching 40 below. For aspiring writers, her insights on crafting compelling narratives from personal experiences offer invaluable guidance.
PR professionals will appreciate Pratesi's straightforward advice about journalist relationships: research writers' beats before pitching, allow adequate response time and be transparent about coverage expectations from the start. Her practical wisdom extends to enjoying the journey itself, whether interviewing culinary legend Jacques Pépin or discovering unique treasures in local shops while traveling.
Connect with Gwen via email at gwenpratesi@gmail.com.
Check out her website and articles at PratesiLiving.com.
Thank you for listening! Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Angela Tuell (00:05):
Welcome to Media in Minutes.
This is your host, Angela Tuell.
This podcast features in-depthinterviews with those who report
on the world around us.
They share everything fromtheir favorite stories to what
happened behind the lens andgive us a glimpse into their
world From our studio here atCommunications Redefined.
This is Media in Minutes.
(00:30):
On today's episode, we aretalking with James Beard
Foundation Award finalist andaward-winning travel writer,
Gwen Pratesi.
Gwen contributes to the travelsection U.
S.
News and World Report andfreelances for major
publications and World Reportand freelances for major
publications including CruiseCritic, fromers, the Points
Guide, garden and Gun, aarp,travel and Leisure, reader's
(00:50):
Digest, photers and the World ofCruising.
She also covers the cruise andtravel industry for trade
publications such as TravelWeekly, travel Age West and
Travel Market Report.
Her work has also been featuredon MSN, yahoo and Business
Insider.
When she's not in a plane or ona ship, you can find her
working or in the kitchen athome.
(01:10):
She and her husband enjoy thecoastal lifestyle in Florida
with their Tibetan terrierrhythm.
All right, hello, gwen.
Thanks for being with us today.
Gwen Pratesi (01:19):
Hi, thanks so much for having me Excited to chat
with you.
Angela Tuell (01:23):
Yes, me as well.
I would love to start from thebeginning and find out if you
always wanted to be a journalist.
Gwen Pratesi (01:30):
Well, I used to write a lot, used to write
really long entries in my diary,which I don't know what that
says about me, but anyway, Iwanted to actually write a
romance novel at one point.
I did not do that, but I didend up co authoring a book with
a chef several years ago.
So I did, I did write a bookand then ended up, but before
(01:54):
that really started.
You know the blog.
That's how we met the chef.
So I ended up doing it.
Just I my husband actually wasgoing through stage four
colorectal cancer, oh wow.
And we had taken a trip to wasa cruise actually from.
I guess.
We went from Monaco toBarcelona and I was really
(02:18):
inspired by everything we sawand did over there, especially
all the culinary aspects of thetrip, and I actually came home.
That was, I guess, the end ofOctober of 2009.
And I started a food blog.
So that's how this really allstarted.
Angela Tuell (02:36):
Wow, and what were you doing?
What other work were you doingat that time or before that?
Gwen Pratesi (02:42):
I actually worked for a CEO chairman and CEO of a
financial services firm.
Okay, that was in Boston and Ihad moved down when my husband
asked me to get married.
We were living in Atlanta andyou know I wasn't at the time.
We I was looking for somethingto do, but with all his cancer
treatments and surgeries andthings like that, he couldn't
(03:06):
take on a job.
So I think I, in the search fortrying to figure out something
to do on my own.
This seemed to be a good fit atthe time because obviously I
could work from home.
Angela Tuell (03:18):
Right, right, and that was before the time of a
lot of you know.
Now everyone's freelancers.
I feel like but that was beforethe time when it was as as
popular.
Gwen Pratesi (03:28):
Oh, that's yeah, that's what I was gonna say,
like in 2009, that that was wheneverything was just starting.
So you had, like Jaden Hare ifyou're familiar with her Steamy
Kitchen White on Rice PioneerWoman, you know I worked with
all those people actually did a.
It was the first one in theSoutheast, I think first one on
the East Coast actually did afood bloggers conference in
(03:50):
Atlanta.
Angela Tuell (03:51):
Okay.
Gwen Pratesi (03:51):
Brought in a bunch of people and got all kinds of
amazing swag.
Everybody couldn't believe itTwo bags of swag but you know
that was when things were justreally getting started in that
whole online industry.
Angela Tuell (04:02):
Yes, so you started the food blog, and then
how did you go from that towhere you are today?
Gwen Pratesi (04:09):
Well, we started, we were, we actually had a home
in North Carolina up inHighlands and that's where we
spent a lot of time because itwas the perfect place for my
husband to kind of recover,especially after you know some
of these surgeries and you know,especially after you know some
of these surgeries and you knowcancer treatments.
But we started to look atthings you know outside of our
(04:31):
development up there and talk tochefs and started to go
interview some local artisansand one thing led to another.
You know one chef would say oh,you need to go talk to this
farmer, or you need to go talkto this chef, and so we started
traveling to go meet thesepeople, which then we were
(04:51):
invited to stay at hotels, whichmeant then we were writing
about some of the places wherewe stayed.
We started going to all thefood and wine festivals and I
think at the time again, it wasearly on in this no-transcript
(05:31):
recognition as far as the storyto these areas, but anyway, we
then people started saying wewant to do what you're doing and
you know we'd love to be ableto meet these people and have
these dinners, and so we startedculinary tours.
Angela Tuell (05:49):
Okay.
Gwen Pratesi (05:51):
And it was called on the road culinary adventures
and we would put together thesegreat, very small, up to 20
people tours.
We did them in Kentucky and andin Virginia and actually those
pieces that I wrote from one ofthose tours in Kentucky, those
(06:12):
were the articles that myhusband submitted to the James
Beard Foundation.
Angela Tuell (06:17):
Oh, okay.
Gwen Pratesi (06:18):
Her best individual blog and anyway, I
thought it was kind of funny.
I just couldn't, I don't know,I couldn't wrap my head around
it, you know, because we were upagainst, like Alyssa Altman,
you know that were very wellknown and, you know, had degrees
in journalism and ran in thosecircles.
(06:39):
So anyway, sure enough, we werecoming back from North Carolina
one day and I started gettingback in the days when Twitter
was cool.
I started getting all thesetweets in the car
Congratulations, congratulations.
And I didn't even know what itwas for.
I had no idea it was the daythey were nominating anybody and
any of the finalists.
(06:59):
And anyway, there we were.
We were James Beard Awardfinalist for best individual
blog.
Angela Tuell (07:05):
Wow.
Gwen Pratesi (07:06):
It was crazy.
And then, like the next year, Iwas invited to do this cooking
contest it was called Lambs andClams with the Charleston Food
and Wine Festival, and we Iforget how many dishes I was
actually looking at it today, Ididn't count but I won all but
one of the contest.
Wow, I won all but one of thecontest and did win the whole
thing.
And then Nicholas Stefanelli,who's a Michelin star chef in
(07:30):
Washington DC.
He actually prepared my lambdish at one of the events at the
Food and Wine Festival.
So it was.
You know, this whole thing justkind of I don't know.
It just blew up basically.
Angela Tuell (07:44):
So so then you went from food to do you still
do a lot of food, or more travelin general and cruise.
Tell us a little bit about you.
Know what you're working oncurrently, what outlets, the
types of stories you like?
Gwen Pratesi (07:59):
I would say that, you know, now it's there's a lot
more travel.
Obviously I still try to, youknow, work from a culinary angle
.
I did a piece, you know, nowit's there's a lot more travel.
Obviously I still try to, youknow, work from the culinary
angle.
I did a piece, you know, on thebest cruise food, best
restaurants.
That's still, if that's mything, I want to go where the
food is amazing.
I'm actually doing a culinarytour next month, um, in Athens
(08:20):
and Istanbul.
So I I still, you know, want tostay with that angle.
Um, we just actually did aevent last week at the Ritz
Carlton, attended a event atSalt is the restaurant here I
live on Amelia Island, florida,and they just redid the
restaurant there, so we had anamazing lunch.
So it's still, it's still allabout food.
I don't want to go somewhere ifthe food's not good.
(08:42):
But yeah, so I do.
I do a lot of travel, obviouslynow a lot of cruise pieces, but
I also write a lot about theSouth Florida, alaska.
I love Alaska.
So, not so, you know, someinternational travel but more
domestic travel and then alsoobviously still trying to, as I
(09:05):
said, do the culinary buthopefully some more wellness
pieces this year.
I'm actually in conversationabout going and doing a reset
here in the next few months, solove to write a piece about you
know what it's really like.
We went years ago out to CanyonRanch and did a trip out there,
but it's been a while.
(09:25):
But I know that's another.
I thought that trend was kindof going away a little bit, but
apparently it's still a big dealthis year.
So I'm sure I'll be hearing somemore about that and I love
Western stuff like dude ranchesand soft adventure, winter
activities, you know that kindof thing.
(09:46):
But right now I've been with USNews since like 2016.
A lot, a lot for frommers.
I've got something coming outin, a little bit for Garden and
Gun Cruise Critic, some of thetravel trade publications Travel
Weekly I just did a piece fortravel market report.
(10:06):
Um, new to me, I just I'll bedoing a piece for, uh, triple a,
the extra mile.
Okay, I had a piece actually onwellness, on a spa treatment
that I had on a cruise for worldof cruising.
So those are you know.
But you know how it goesperiodically.
Sometimes you're writing forone outlet and you do a bunch.
You know I've written for thePoints Guy and Reader's Digest
(10:30):
and some other outlets too, butyou know it kind of is cyclical
how it happens.
Angela Tuell (10:35):
Yes, it's very true.
How often are you traveling?
Gwen Pratesi (10:40):
It was 40 percent.
Again last year it was, I think, about 40 percent%, maybe a
little bit more the year before.
My guess is it may not be thatmuch this year, but we'll see.
Angela Tuell (10:51):
We'll see how it goes.
How do you choose your traveland what are your preferences on
hosted trips?
Gwen Pratesi (10:57):
Okay, Um, well, usually I prefer either a solo
trip or a small group trip.
It's just, you know, for me,really, it's it's better
opportunity, you know, for anangle to find an angle.
Obviously, if it's somethinglike a christening for a cruise
ship or naming ceremony, that'sgoing to be a group trip.
(11:19):
But whenever I have anopportunity I prefer to travel
by myself trip.
But whenever I have anopportunity I prefer to travel
by myself.
You know, there were things I'vefound like I did a trip I guess
it was to not last fall, butyou know, the year before I did
a like a week long trip out toColorado and drove all the way
up to a dude ranch up north, butI stopped in several times.
(11:42):
Yeah was October and it wassuper warm and loved when we
were sitting out by a littlestream drinking wine and
t-shirts.
You know it was great at theend of October.
But there was a woman and I metwith there that well, I asked
for an interview.
But she was a Southerner andhad moved out West and just had
(12:05):
a really cool story.
And you know, if I hadn't donethat trip on my own, I never
would have found that story andthat was something I did for
Garden and Gun.
So I you know that's.
I like to try to try to findsomething unique, a unique angle
, and if you're traveling with agroup of people, you're all
going to be seeing the samething, and right thing.
Angela Tuell (12:24):
So yes, that's a great point.
Do you have any places thatstick out as most memorable that
you've traveled to?
Always alaska, I love alaskaokay, what do you love about
alaska?
Gwen Pratesi (12:37):
uh, what don't I love about alaska?
Angela Tuell (12:39):
I haven't been there yet.
It's on the bucket list.
Gwen Pratesi (12:41):
It wasn't so cold, um Um.
Yes, I've been there everyseason.
It's it's just, you know, it'sjust amazing.
I actually did the Iditarodseveral years ago on a small
group tour and it was.
I think it was maybe four, wasit 40 below.
It was really cold.
Actually I thought I wasprepared.
(13:02):
I had done 40 Below in QuebecCity for the carnival years
before, but I didn't fit in thatstuff anymore, so I had to
purchase some crazy outfit tostay warm on that trip.
But I just I love it, you know,any time of year.
I just this past year went toBrooks Lodge to see the bears at
the falls.
(13:22):
Past year went to Brooks Lodgeto see the bears at the falls.
You know that iconic shot ofthe bear with the fish in its
mouth, the salmon you know,swimming upstream.
So I love Alaska, um, I love, Ido love the west.
I love the state of Colorado,um, oh, where else?
Let me see.
Vietnam and Cambodia wereamazing.
(13:43):
That was a really special tripyears ago and I I have been to
Antarctica and I'm actually theend of this year that's.
That's an incredible experienceas well.
So but it's odd cold weatherother than Vietnam and Cambodia
a lot of cold weatherdestination that's great, great.
Angela Tuell (14:03):
That's the one thing I don't.
Well, I definitely don't lovecold weather, but same thing
where some of those destinationsare just so amazing.
We went to Iceland, but we wentover the summer so it wasn't as
cold, but just such beautifulland, yeah.
Gwen Pratesi (14:17):
Iceland is beautiful.
Yeah, I actually I'll be doingwell, I'll be doing an Arctic
trip as well, which starts inIceland.
So there we go again Morepolarity.
Angela Tuell (14:26):
More cold.
I've always heard it's notabout how cold it is, it's about
your gear, right?
Gwen Pratesi (14:31):
That's right.
There's no such thing as badweather.
It's bad gear, bad gear.
Angela Tuell (14:44):
So what about your ?
You know, a lot of times wetalk about how amazing travel is
and everything that just youknow.
You see the photos on socialand everything is perfect, but
travel rarely goes as we haveplanned, exactly.
You know what about?
Do you have a worst travelexperience?
And you know, I'd love to hearhow, how it went, how you made
the best of it, what you do ingeneral when things don't go as
(15:05):
planned.
Gwen Pratesi (15:07):
Oh yeah, I had a couple.
I actually thought aboutwriting about them, but I was
torn because I didn't want toput a negative light on certain
places, because I didn't know ifit's just a one-off.
The one thing was I was goingactually en route to Vietnam and
Cambodia.
(15:27):
I flew through Dubai and I hadbeen to Dubai before and I'd had
an unbelievable trip.
It was a press trip, it was aweek-long trip and it was an
amazing time.
Talk about food, it wasfabulous.
It was really hard to top thatone, but I flew through there
and you are permitted to if youfly with this airline, you're
(15:51):
permitted to, I think.
Maybe take like up to a monthand do something you know
different and then hop back onand continue.
Angela Tuell (15:59):
Yes, yes, I've heard of right.
Gwen Pratesi (16:01):
Yes, but there was one forced overnight, so I was
going to have to spend the nightthere before going on, you know
, to Vietnam the next day.
But I, they wouldn't give me mybag back and and I, when I went
to talk to them about it, theysaid oh yeah, this happens all
the time.
You know, they've checked itthrough well, it was.
(16:22):
This happens all the time.
You know, they've checked itthrough Well, it was.
Trust me, it was not that easyand you know, I don't know what
that situation was about.
It shouldn't have been what itwas.
There was one person that wasvery difficult and it went on
for hours and I find my bag.
But you know it, like I said, Iwas hesitant to really write
about that because I'd had sucha good experience before and I
(16:45):
felt like that was more of justa personal thing.
The other thing that happenedand I actually just did see an
article about this and I had aneighbor who we had told them, I
guess at a party or somethingyears ago, and it had happened
to them, so they were familiarwith the situation and could
handle it better somehow than Idid.
(17:06):
But when I landed in Vietnam,so not only did the bag
situation happen?
But the second thing was on thesame trip.
When I landed there, they toldme my paperwork wasn't in order,
my visa wasn't right and that.
I had to fill out paperwork andit was going to take three days.
I said I don't have days.
They anyway it was, I hate tosay it, it was, you know
(17:30):
scammish.
But they took my passport, wentto the back, came back and told
me that if I paid them cash Ithink it was 50 US I had to pay
to get another photo done, butif I would pay them this cash,
that they would let me go, oh,my goodness.
And they had pulled severalother people from our flight.
Um, so you know it was.
(17:53):
It was unfortunate that itthose two things happened on the
same trip.
Angela Tuell (17:58):
Yes, and the trip was so amazing.
Gwen Pratesi (18:00):
And the trip was so amazing but I don't you know,
and I don't know how youactually if they're going to
pull you and do that to you andyou've done what you were
supposed to do and everything isin order.
I mean, I don't know how you,how do you?
Angela Tuell (18:13):
argue Did you have to pay it?
Gwen Pratesi (18:16):
Yeah, you just have to pay it and hopefully you
have cash and you know you goon about your business
afterwards.
But yeah, that was two thingsin one trip that were not a good
experience on the way to getthere.
But it was amazing.
Once I was there.
Angela Tuell (18:33):
So well, that's good.
Definitely With in our podcastwe have a big audience of PR
professionals, publicists andother journalists.
But I would love to know, youknow from the publicist
standpoint, how can we best helpyou do your job, and do you
have any sort of pet peeves whenworking with PR professionals?
Gwen Pratesi (18:55):
I think this has been said a lot, but I get a lot
of pitches that aren't relevantat all.
Yeah, yeah.
So I think it's.
It's really important if peoplecan at least just take a few
minutes and see what you writeabout, cause I get pitches all
the time for stuff politicalthings, you know, energy, I
(19:18):
don't know.
I get stuff from all all kindsof places that have.
You know they have nothing todo with anything I do.
I think the other thing for meis give me a few days, and
sometimes I don't respond toanything.
I you know the inbox, you knowhow it is.
The inbox is crazy and it'sreally hard to just send a
(19:40):
message all the time saying I'msorry, I'll keep this
information, but I can't use itright now.
I don't have anything wherethis would be a fit.
I try to respond, but manytimes I don't.
But especially, at least giveme a few days, because I find if
I have some downtime I will runback through the inbox and see
(20:02):
if I can just send a quick note.
The other thing is and we hadtalked about this earlier, but a
lot of times and alljournalists, this happens
because we all talk about this.
But you'll get an invitationfor a trip and it sounds like
there are no strings attached,and you, you say yes, and you
(20:24):
want to go and everything looksgood.
And then the person comes backand says but what outlet is?
Where are you putting thisstory?
Angela Tuell (20:32):
You know what angle and so you don't even ask
that in the beginning.
Gwen Pratesi (20:36):
Baby, no, no and so that's all very frustrating
because it'll get coverageeventually, you know, but it's.
I may not have anything beforeI on the plane or show up there
because, like this trip I'mdoing in a few weeks, they've
gotten some coverage overall.
(20:56):
But there is an angle I have inmy mind, mind.
Angela Tuell (20:59):
But until I get to this country, to the city and
do this one trip, you know, thatday I don't know if there's
really a story there, but it'sin my head, but I can't pitch
that to anybody yet.
Right, and it might changecompletely Exactly.
Gwen Pratesi (21:17):
What I think I might want to write a story
about could completely change.
So I would just say, if it's,if it's something where a client
has to have a guarantee, atleast mention that up at the
very the invitation, becauseotherwise somebody sees it and
they say, yes, you know, andthen they come back and they go,
(21:37):
oh, but and it's, it's just.
I think it's frustrating foreveryone that way.
Angela Tuell (21:42):
So, yeah, you may have turned down other
opportunities in the meantime,Exactly, and you can see that
that'd be very frustrating.
Yeah, what have been some ofyour favorite stories?
You've mentioned some.
You know great travels.
What about favorite stories?
Gwen Pratesi (21:57):
I guess Northern Lights in Alaska, always, you
know, Recently I've been doing acouple pieces In fact I've got
another one coming up on epicitineraries, cruise itineraries,
and there really are someunbelievable itineraries out
there.
Right now Viking, for theirexpedition line, is doing one
(22:20):
from you know, from the Arcticto Antarctica.
Angela Tuell (22:25):
Yes, how long is that?
Gwen Pratesi (22:28):
I'm not looking at the thing, but I think it's
40-ish days.
Angela Tuell (22:34):
Wow.
Gwen Pratesi (22:35):
And there actually are.
It's not like a repositioningcruise, a transatlantic cruise
where you're seeing you know somuch, you know so much this
ship's stopping a whole lot allthe way.
You know.
Yes, there's some sea days, butI was just really surprised at
how many, um, how many stops arealong the way, but they're just
.
There are some super coolitineraries.
(22:56):
I actually have, um, talked myfriends into taking some
explorer journeys cruises, ofwhich I love that line, and talk
about culinary they.
Their food is amazing, but theyhad already booked one for
January, but they're.
They've actually added onethey're going to be on.
They've never done a month longcruise and they're going to do a
(23:17):
month long cruise out of Miami.
I think they end up in Athens,but they are there's, it's.
It's essentially a, you know,repositioning cruise, but
they're stopping in the Azores,it's like a really cool.
So I don't know, some of thosestories are kind of fun because
there's just they're they'rejust really doing some amazing
(23:39):
itineraries right now.
And, like I said, some amazingitineraries right now, and, like
I said, northern Lights inAlaska.
I got all excited about the epic, epic itineraries, One of my
favorite stories on our website,which I don't write much on
there anymore, but it was aboutone of our good chef friends
who's one of the people that Ican thank for kind of starting
(24:03):
us on this crazy journey, butJohn Fleer from Asheville he's
an amazing chef and you knowgood friends so that piece had.
There was a lot of heart in thatone and you know we both cried
over that.
So that was a cool story.
The other thing that was superfun was I had a print piece I
(24:25):
guess last year or the yearbefore in Travel and Leisure
about Jacques Pepin.
You know he comes to AmeliaIsland for the Pétanque
tournament every year but heused to spend before his wife
passed away.
He used to spend a lot of timeon the island.
So you know I interviewed himtwice by by phone for that but
then met I and I had seen himbefore around the island but I
(24:48):
actually, you know, got to meethim in person and chat with him
a bit.
So that was that was a reallyfun piece to write to.
Yeah.
Angela Tuell (24:57):
Oh, that's great.
Well, we will.
We will link to some of thosein our show notes, for sure.
I also have to ask what you arethe proudest of in your career
at this point.
You have done a lot.
Gwen Pratesi (25:08):
Yeah, it's been.
When you talk about it, itseems even crazier.
Um, let me see, I get has to beJames Beard award yes, no
finalists.
That was um.
Has to be James Beard award yes, no finalists.
That was um, that was really,uh, like I said, a surprise, a
(25:29):
big surprise to me.
And then when we, when it wasannounced, we we actually had a
cruise already set up.
We were going to interview umKen Oranger.
He's a chef up in Boston, butwe were already set to interview
him on this cruise, and it was,the cruise was set up.
But when we were going to NewYork for the you know, the James
Beard Awards, I got an emailfrom someone who worked with
Lydia Bastianich and said wouldyou like to come and have lunch
(25:51):
for Lydia and speak with her?
And of course, yes, of course,yes.
So we went, we went, it was theday of the I guess that was.
That was, I think, yeah, it wasthe day of the journalism
awards.
So we went in early, we had, wehad lunch with her, interviewed
her and she said oh, you mustgo to my home in Friuli.
(26:11):
If you're going to Venice,which is where the cruise was
starting, she says you must goto my home in Friuli, and so we
changed all the reservations,went earlier, that was like the
best you know best part of thetrip.
But that you know, those werejust some of the coolest things
you know, meeting her, beingable to go to those awards.
And then, you know, turn itinto this crazy full-time job.
(26:36):
I mean cause it is full-timefor me, it's, it's all I do.
Angela Tuell (26:40):
So yeah, I was also told by an editor that you
are one of a handful ofjournalists that she turns to
and thinks is fantastic.
So why do you feel you've beenable to be so successful in your
career?
Gwen Pratesi (26:57):
Well, I spend a lot of time on research.
You know fact checking stuff.
Some, some editors, want linksto everything, but regardless of
if there's a link in there ornot, you know it's fact check
and I I think also you knowthere's there's a lot of heart
put into it too, especiallyaround the things that that are
(27:19):
near and dear to me, like Alaska, northern Lights, obviously,
these exciting cruises, and Ihave a lot of knowledge about
these things, especially afterall these years.
So hopefully that comes through.
And also, I ask for very littleas far as extensions.
Every now and then, likeeverybody, you have to ask for a
(27:41):
few extra days, but if it's dueI try to get it on time and get
in it on time and make sureit's right.
So hopefully that that's whatthey think too.
Angela Tuell (27:54):
I'm sure that's what.
That is definitely part of it.
I do have to ask.
We could talk forever, butbefore we go, I'd love to know
if you could tell us more aboutyou personally.
I know you love food and travel, but what are some other things
that you enjoy?
Gwen Pratesi (28:09):
Uh well, I used to cook a lot more.
My husband does a lot of thecooking now, but obviously that
goes back to the whole culinarything, but I still do enjoy
getting in the kitchen andthat's kind of a release.
I'm frustrated because with allthe sitting, with the writing,
sometimes you just need to getup and move around.
(28:30):
I used to be more into fashionbut that's clearly taken, taken
a, you know, a back seat thesedays because it's more about
packing casual, practical stuff.
So I try to be, you know, tryto fuss up a bit on some of
these trips and one of thethings which is sort of related
(28:53):
to traveling.
But I really love when I canfind some super interesting
stuff when I'm traveling,whether it's clothing or jewelry
, just spending time wanderingsome of the you know, the unique
shops, not real touristy stuff.
Yeah, I do enjoy that, but yeah, it's pretty much this is my
(29:16):
world right now.
Hopefully get to spend somemore time with family this year,
so I've got a little grandson,so we're supposed to be all
traveling together next week ifall goes well and everybody
stays well.
So hopefully a little bit moretime in that department.
Angela Tuell (29:35):
I will keep my fingers crossed for you, for
sure.
How can our listeners connectwith you?
Gwen Pratesi (29:42):
online.
Well, you can go to US News andWorld Report and just Google US
News and Gwen Pratesi, and youcan see a lot of my stories
there.
So I have a listing at MuckRack If you want to look at some
of the articles.
If you'd like to get in touchwith me personally, my email is
my name, gwenpratesi@gmail.
com.
Angela Tuell (30:04):
Wonderful.
Thank you so much, Gwen.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Have a great day.
That's all for this episode ofMedia in Minutes, a podcast by
Communications Redefined.
Please take a moment to rate,review and subscribe to our show
.
We'd love to hear what youthink you can find more at
communicationsredefinedcom slashpodcast.
(30:25):
I'm your host, Angela Toole.
Talk to you next time.
Welcome to Media in Minutes.
This is your host, Angela Tuell.
This podcast features in-depthinterviews with those who report
on the world around us.
They share everything fromtheir favorite stories to what
happened behind the lens andgive us a glimpse into their
world From our studio here atCommunications Redefined.
This is Media in Minutes.
(00:30):
On today's episode, we aretalking with James Beard
Foundation Award finalist andaward-winning travel writer,
Gwen Pratesi.
Gwen contributes to the travelsection U.
S.
News and World Report andfreelances for major
publications and World Reportand freelances for major
publications including CruiseCritic, fromers, the Points
Guide, garden and Gun, aarp,travel and Leisure, reader's
(00:50):
Digest, photers and the World ofCruising.
She also covers the cruise andtravel industry for trade
publications such as TravelWeekly, travel Age West and
Travel Market Report.
Her work has also been featuredon MSN, yahoo and Business
Insider.
When she's not in a plane or ona ship, you can find her
working or in the kitchen athome.
(01:10):
She and her husband enjoy thecoastal lifestyle in Florida
with their Tibetan terrierrhythm.
All right, hello, gwen.
Thanks for being with us today.
Gwen Pratesi (01:19):
Hi, thanks so much for having me Excited to chat
with you.
Angela Tuell (01:23):
Yes, me as well.
I would love to start from thebeginning and find out if you
always wanted to be a journalist.
Gwen Pratesi (01:30):
Well, I used to write a lot, used to write
really long entries in my diary,which I don't know what that
says about me, but anyway, Iwanted to actually write a
romance novel at one point.
I did not do that, but I didend up co authoring a book with
a chef several years ago.
So I did, I did write a bookand then ended up, but before
(01:54):
that really started.
You know the blog.
That's how we met the chef.
So I ended up doing it.
Just I my husband actually wasgoing through stage four
colorectal cancer, oh wow.
And we had taken a trip to wasa cruise actually from.
I guess.
We went from Monaco toBarcelona and I was really
(02:18):
inspired by everything we sawand did over there, especially
all the culinary aspects of thetrip, and I actually came home.
That was, I guess, the end ofOctober of 2009.
And I started a food blog.
So that's how this really allstarted.
Angela Tuell (02:36):
Wow, and what were you doing?
What other work were you doingat that time or before that?
Gwen Pratesi (02:42):
I actually worked for a CEO chairman and CEO of a
financial services firm.
Okay, that was in Boston and Ihad moved down when my husband
asked me to get married.
We were living in Atlanta andyou know I wasn't at the time.
We I was looking for somethingto do, but with all his cancer
treatments and surgeries andthings like that, he couldn't
(03:06):
take on a job.
So I think I, in the search fortrying to figure out something
to do on my own.
This seemed to be a good fit atthe time because obviously I
could work from home.
Angela Tuell (03:18):
Right, right, and that was before the time of a
lot of you know.
Now everyone's freelancers.
I feel like but that was beforethe time when it was as as
popular.
Gwen Pratesi (03:28):
Oh, that's yeah, that's what I was gonna say,
like in 2009, that that was wheneverything was just starting.
So you had, like Jaden Hare ifyou're familiar with her Steamy
Kitchen White on Rice PioneerWoman, you know I worked with
all those people actually did a.
It was the first one in theSoutheast, I think first one on
the East Coast actually did afood bloggers conference in
(03:50):
Atlanta.
Angela Tuell (03:51):
Okay.
Gwen Pratesi (03:51):
Brought in a bunch of people and got all kinds of
amazing swag.
Everybody couldn't believe itTwo bags of swag but you know
that was when things were justreally getting started in that
whole online industry.
Angela Tuell (04:02):
Yes, so you started the food blog, and then
how did you go from that towhere you are today?
Gwen Pratesi (04:09):
Well, we started, we were, we actually had a home
in North Carolina up inHighlands and that's where we
spent a lot of time because itwas the perfect place for my
husband to kind of recover,especially after you know some
of these surgeries and you know,especially after you know some
of these surgeries and you knowcancer treatments.
But we started to look atthings you know outside of our
(04:31):
development up there and talk tochefs and started to go
interview some local artisansand one thing led to another.
You know one chef would say oh,you need to go talk to this
farmer, or you need to go talkto this chef, and so we started
traveling to go meet thesepeople, which then we were
(04:51):
invited to stay at hotels, whichmeant then we were writing
about some of the places wherewe stayed.
We started going to all thefood and wine festivals and I
think at the time again, it wasearly on in this no-transcript
(05:31):
recognition as far as the storyto these areas, but anyway, we
then people started saying wewant to do what you're doing and
you know we'd love to be ableto meet these people and have
these dinners, and so we startedculinary tours.
Angela Tuell (05:49):
Okay.
Gwen Pratesi (05:51):
And it was called on the road culinary adventures
and we would put together thesegreat, very small, up to 20
people tours.
We did them in Kentucky and andin Virginia and actually those
pieces that I wrote from one ofthose tours in Kentucky, those
(06:12):
were the articles that myhusband submitted to the James
Beard Foundation.
Angela Tuell (06:17):
Oh, okay.
Gwen Pratesi (06:18):
Her best individual blog and anyway, I
thought it was kind of funny.
I just couldn't, I don't know,I couldn't wrap my head around
it, you know, because we were upagainst, like Alyssa Altman,
you know that were very wellknown and, you know, had degrees
in journalism and ran in thosecircles.
(06:39):
So anyway, sure enough, we werecoming back from North Carolina
one day and I started gettingback in the days when Twitter
was cool.
I started getting all thesetweets in the car
Congratulations, congratulations.
And I didn't even know what itwas for.
I had no idea it was the daythey were nominating anybody and
any of the finalists.
(06:59):
And anyway, there we were.
We were James Beard Awardfinalist for best individual
blog.
Angela Tuell (07:05):
Wow.
Gwen Pratesi (07:06):
It was crazy.
And then, like the next year, Iwas invited to do this cooking
contest it was called Lambs andClams with the Charleston Food
and Wine Festival, and we Iforget how many dishes I was
actually looking at it today, Ididn't count but I won all but
one of the contest.
Wow, I won all but one of thecontest and did win the whole
thing.
And then Nicholas Stefanelli,who's a Michelin star chef in
(07:30):
Washington DC.
He actually prepared my lambdish at one of the events at the
Food and Wine Festival.
So it was.
You know, this whole thing justkind of I don't know.
It just blew up basically.
Angela Tuell (07:44):
So so then you went from food to do you still
do a lot of food, or more travelin general and cruise.
Tell us a little bit about you.
Know what you're working oncurrently, what outlets, the
types of stories you like?
Gwen Pratesi (07:59):
I would say that, you know, now it's there's a lot
more travel.
Obviously I still try to, youknow, work from a culinary angle
.
I did a piece, you know, nowit's there's a lot more travel.
Obviously I still try to, youknow, work from the culinary
angle.
I did a piece, you know, on thebest cruise food, best
restaurants.
That's still, if that's mything, I want to go where the
food is amazing.
I'm actually doing a culinarytour next month, um, in Athens
(08:20):
and Istanbul.
So I I still, you know, want tostay with that angle.
Um, we just actually did aevent last week at the Ritz
Carlton, attended a event atSalt is the restaurant here I
live on Amelia Island, florida,and they just redid the
restaurant there, so we had anamazing lunch.
So it's still, it's still allabout food.
I don't want to go somewhere ifthe food's not good.
(08:42):
But yeah, so I do.
I do a lot of travel, obviouslynow a lot of cruise pieces, but
I also write a lot about theSouth Florida, alaska.
I love Alaska.
So, not so, you know, someinternational travel but more
domestic travel and then alsoobviously still trying to, as I
(09:05):
said, do the culinary buthopefully some more wellness
pieces this year.
I'm actually in conversationabout going and doing a reset
here in the next few months, solove to write a piece about you
know what it's really like.
We went years ago out to CanyonRanch and did a trip out there,
but it's been a while.
(09:25):
But I know that's another.
I thought that trend was kindof going away a little bit, but
apparently it's still a big dealthis year.
So I'm sure I'll be hearing somemore about that and I love
Western stuff like dude ranchesand soft adventure, winter
activities, you know that kindof thing.
(09:46):
But right now I've been with USNews since like 2016.
A lot, a lot for frommers.
I've got something coming outin, a little bit for Garden and
Gun Cruise Critic, some of thetravel trade publications Travel
Weekly I just did a piece fortravel market report.
(10:06):
Um, new to me, I just I'll bedoing a piece for, uh, triple a,
the extra mile.
Okay, I had a piece actually onwellness, on a spa treatment
that I had on a cruise for worldof cruising.
So those are you know.
But you know how it goesperiodically.
Sometimes you're writing forone outlet and you do a bunch.
You know I've written for thePoints Guy and Reader's Digest
(10:30):
and some other outlets too, butyou know it kind of is cyclical
how it happens.
Angela Tuell (10:35):
Yes, it's very true.
How often are you traveling?
Gwen Pratesi (10:40):
It was 40 percent.
Again last year it was, I think, about 40 percent%, maybe a
little bit more the year before.
My guess is it may not be thatmuch this year, but we'll see.
Angela Tuell (10:51):
We'll see how it goes.
How do you choose your traveland what are your preferences on
hosted trips?
Gwen Pratesi (10:57):
Okay, Um, well, usually I prefer either a solo
trip or a small group trip.
It's just, you know, for me,really, it's it's better
opportunity, you know, for anangle to find an angle.
Obviously, if it's somethinglike a christening for a cruise
ship or naming ceremony, that'sgoing to be a group trip.
(11:19):
But whenever I have anopportunity I prefer to travel
by myself trip.
But whenever I have anopportunity I prefer to travel
by myself.
You know, there were things I'vefound like I did a trip I guess
it was to not last fall, butyou know, the year before I did
a like a week long trip out toColorado and drove all the way
up to a dude ranch up north, butI stopped in several times.
(11:42):
Yeah was October and it wassuper warm and loved when we
were sitting out by a littlestream drinking wine and
t-shirts.
You know it was great at theend of October.
But there was a woman and I metwith there that well, I asked
for an interview.
But she was a Southerner andhad moved out West and just had
(12:05):
a really cool story.
And you know, if I hadn't donethat trip on my own, I never
would have found that story andthat was something I did for
Garden and Gun.
So I you know that's.
I like to try to try to findsomething unique, a unique angle
, and if you're traveling with agroup of people, you're all
going to be seeing the samething, and right thing.
Angela Tuell (12:24):
So yes, that's a great point.
Do you have any places thatstick out as most memorable that
you've traveled to?
Always alaska, I love alaskaokay, what do you love about
alaska?
Gwen Pratesi (12:37):
uh, what don't I love about alaska?
Angela Tuell (12:39):
I haven't been there yet.
It's on the bucket list.
Gwen Pratesi (12:41):
It wasn't so cold, um Um.
Yes, I've been there everyseason.
It's it's just, you know, it'sjust amazing.
I actually did the Iditarodseveral years ago on a small
group tour and it was.
I think it was maybe four, wasit 40 below.
It was really cold.
Actually I thought I wasprepared.
(13:02):
I had done 40 Below in QuebecCity for the carnival years
before, but I didn't fit in thatstuff anymore, so I had to
purchase some crazy outfit tostay warm on that trip.
But I just I love it, you know,any time of year.
I just this past year went toBrooks Lodge to see the bears at
the falls.
(13:22):
Past year went to Brooks Lodgeto see the bears at the falls.
You know that iconic shot ofthe bear with the fish in its
mouth, the salmon you know,swimming upstream.
So I love Alaska, um, I love, Ido love the west.
I love the state of Colorado,um, oh, where else?
Let me see.
Vietnam and Cambodia wereamazing.
(13:43):
That was a really special tripyears ago and I I have been to
Antarctica and I'm actually theend of this year that's.
That's an incredible experienceas well.
So but it's odd cold weatherother than Vietnam and Cambodia
a lot of cold weatherdestination that's great, great.
Angela Tuell (14:03):
That's the one thing I don't.
Well, I definitely don't lovecold weather, but same thing
where some of those destinationsare just so amazing.
We went to Iceland, but we wentover the summer so it wasn't as
cold, but just such beautifulland, yeah.
Gwen Pratesi (14:17):
Iceland is beautiful.
Yeah, I actually I'll be doingwell, I'll be doing an Arctic
trip as well, which starts inIceland.
So there we go again Morepolarity.
Angela Tuell (14:26):
More cold.
I've always heard it's notabout how cold it is, it's about
your gear, right?
Gwen Pratesi (14:31):
That's right.
There's no such thing as badweather.
It's bad gear, bad gear.
Angela Tuell (14:44):
So what about your ?
You know, a lot of times wetalk about how amazing travel is
and everything that just youknow.
You see the photos on socialand everything is perfect, but
travel rarely goes as we haveplanned, exactly.
You know what about?
Do you have a worst travelexperience?
And you know, I'd love to hearhow, how it went, how you made
the best of it, what you do ingeneral when things don't go as
(15:05):
planned.
Gwen Pratesi (15:07):
Oh yeah, I had a couple.
I actually thought aboutwriting about them, but I was
torn because I didn't want toput a negative light on certain
places, because I didn't know ifit's just a one-off.
The one thing was I was goingactually en route to Vietnam and
Cambodia.
(15:27):
I flew through Dubai and I hadbeen to Dubai before and I'd had
an unbelievable trip.
It was a press trip, it was aweek-long trip and it was an
amazing time.
Talk about food, it wasfabulous.
It was really hard to top thatone, but I flew through there
and you are permitted to if youfly with this airline, you're
(15:51):
permitted to, I think.
Maybe take like up to a monthand do something you know
different and then hop back onand continue.
Angela Tuell (15:59):
Yes, yes, I've heard of right.
Gwen Pratesi (16:01):
Yes, but there was one forced overnight, so I was
going to have to spend the nightthere before going on, you know
, to Vietnam the next day.
But I, they wouldn't give me mybag back and and I, when I went
to talk to them about it, theysaid oh yeah, this happens all
the time.
You know, they've checked itthrough well, it was.
(16:22):
This happens all the time.
You know, they've checked itthrough Well, it was.
Trust me, it was not that easyand you know, I don't know what
that situation was about.
It shouldn't have been what itwas.
There was one person that wasvery difficult and it went on
for hours and I find my bag.
But you know it, like I said, Iwas hesitant to really write
about that because I'd had sucha good experience before and I
(16:45):
felt like that was more of justa personal thing.
The other thing that happenedand I actually just did see an
article about this and I had aneighbor who we had told them, I
guess at a party or somethingyears ago, and it had happened
to them, so they were familiarwith the situation and could
handle it better somehow than Idid.
(17:06):
But when I landed in Vietnam,so not only did the bag
situation happen?
But the second thing was on thesame trip.
When I landed there, they toldme my paperwork wasn't in order,
my visa wasn't right and that.
I had to fill out paperwork andit was going to take three days.
I said I don't have days.
They anyway it was, I hate tosay it, it was, you know
(17:30):
scammish.
But they took my passport, wentto the back, came back and told
me that if I paid them cash Ithink it was 50 US I had to pay
to get another photo done, butif I would pay them this cash,
that they would let me go, oh,my goodness.
And they had pulled severalother people from our flight.
Um, so you know it was.
(17:53):
It was unfortunate that itthose two things happened on the
same trip.
Angela Tuell (17:58):
Yes, and the trip was so amazing.
Gwen Pratesi (18:00):
And the trip was so amazing but I don't you know,
and I don't know how youactually if they're going to
pull you and do that to you andyou've done what you were
supposed to do and everything isin order.
I mean, I don't know how you,how do you?
Angela Tuell (18:13):
argue Did you have to pay it?
Gwen Pratesi (18:16):
Yeah, you just have to pay it and hopefully you
have cash and you know you goon about your business
afterwards.
But yeah, that was two thingsin one trip that were not a good
experience on the way to getthere.
But it was amazing.
Once I was there.
Angela Tuell (18:33):
So well, that's good.
Definitely With in our podcastwe have a big audience of PR
professionals, publicists andother journalists.
But I would love to know, youknow from the publicist
standpoint, how can we best helpyou do your job, and do you
have any sort of pet peeves whenworking with PR professionals?
Gwen Pratesi (18:55):
I think this has been said a lot, but I get a lot
of pitches that aren't relevantat all.
Yeah, yeah.
So I think it's.
It's really important if peoplecan at least just take a few
minutes and see what you writeabout, cause I get pitches all
the time for stuff politicalthings, you know, energy, I
(19:18):
don't know.
I get stuff from all all kindsof places that have.
You know they have nothing todo with anything I do.
I think the other thing for meis give me a few days, and
sometimes I don't respond toanything.
I you know the inbox, you knowhow it is.
The inbox is crazy and it'sreally hard to just send a
(19:40):
message all the time saying I'msorry, I'll keep this
information, but I can't use itright now.
I don't have anything wherethis would be a fit.
I try to respond, but manytimes I don't.
But especially, at least giveme a few days, because I find if
I have some downtime I will runback through the inbox and see
(20:02):
if I can just send a quick note.
The other thing is and we hadtalked about this earlier, but a
lot of times and alljournalists, this happens
because we all talk about this.
But you'll get an invitationfor a trip and it sounds like
there are no strings attached,and you, you say yes, and you
(20:24):
want to go and everything looksgood.
And then the person comes backand says but what outlet is?
Where are you putting thisstory?
Angela Tuell (20:32):
You know what angle and so you don't even ask
that in the beginning.
Gwen Pratesi (20:36):
Baby, no, no and so that's all very frustrating
because it'll get coverageeventually, you know, but it's.
I may not have anything beforeI on the plane or show up there
because, like this trip I'mdoing in a few weeks, they've
gotten some coverage overall.
(20:56):
But there is an angle I have inmy mind, mind.
Angela Tuell (20:59):
But until I get to this country, to the city and
do this one trip, you know, thatday I don't know if there's
really a story there, but it'sin my head, but I can't pitch
that to anybody yet.
Right, and it might changecompletely Exactly.
Gwen Pratesi (21:17):
What I think I might want to write a story
about could completely change.
So I would just say, if it's,if it's something where a client
has to have a guarantee, atleast mention that up at the
very the invitation, becauseotherwise somebody sees it and
they say, yes, you know, andthen they come back and they go,
(21:37):
oh, but and it's, it's just.
I think it's frustrating foreveryone that way.
Angela Tuell (21:42):
So, yeah, you may have turned down other
opportunities in the meantime,Exactly, and you can see that
that'd be very frustrating.
Yeah, what have been some ofyour favorite stories?
You've mentioned some.
You know great travels.
What about favorite stories?
Gwen Pratesi (21:57):
I guess Northern Lights in Alaska, always, you
know, Recently I've been doing acouple pieces In fact I've got
another one coming up on epicitineraries, cruise itineraries,
and there really are someunbelievable itineraries out
there.
Right now Viking, for theirexpedition line, is doing one
(22:20):
from you know, from the Arcticto Antarctica.
Angela Tuell (22:25):
Yes, how long is that?
Gwen Pratesi (22:28):
I'm not looking at the thing, but I think it's
40-ish days.
Angela Tuell (22:34):
Wow.
Gwen Pratesi (22:35):
And there actually are.
It's not like a repositioningcruise, a transatlantic cruise
where you're seeing you know somuch, you know so much this
ship's stopping a whole lot allthe way.
You know.
Yes, there's some sea days, butI was just really surprised at
how many, um, how many stops arealong the way, but they're just
.
There are some super coolitineraries.
(22:56):
I actually have, um, talked myfriends into taking some
explorer journeys cruises, ofwhich I love that line, and talk
about culinary they.
Their food is amazing, but theyhad already booked one for
January, but they're.
They've actually added onethey're going to be on.
They've never done a month longcruise and they're going to do a
(23:17):
month long cruise out of Miami.
I think they end up in Athens,but they are there's, it's.
It's essentially a, you know,repositioning cruise, but
they're stopping in the Azores,it's like a really cool.
So I don't know, some of thosestories are kind of fun because
there's just they're they'rejust really doing some amazing
(23:39):
itineraries right now.
And, like I said, some amazingitineraries right now, and, like
I said, northern Lights inAlaska.
I got all excited about the epic, epic itineraries, One of my
favorite stories on our website,which I don't write much on
there anymore, but it was aboutone of our good chef friends
who's one of the people that Ican thank for kind of starting
(24:03):
us on this crazy journey, butJohn Fleer from Asheville he's
an amazing chef and you knowgood friends so that piece had.
There was a lot of heart in thatone and you know we both cried
over that.
So that was a cool story.
The other thing that was superfun was I had a print piece I
(24:25):
guess last year or the yearbefore in Travel and Leisure
about Jacques Pepin.
You know he comes to AmeliaIsland for the Pétanque
tournament every year but heused to spend before his wife
passed away.
He used to spend a lot of timeon the island.
So you know I interviewed himtwice by by phone for that but
then met I and I had seen himbefore around the island but I
(24:48):
actually, you know, got to meethim in person and chat with him
a bit.
So that was that was a reallyfun piece to write to.
Yeah.
Angela Tuell (24:57):
Oh, that's great.
Well, we will.
We will link to some of thosein our show notes, for sure.
I also have to ask what you arethe proudest of in your career
at this point.
You have done a lot.
Gwen Pratesi (25:08):
Yeah, it's been.
When you talk about it, itseems even crazier.
Um, let me see, I get has to beJames Beard award yes, no
finalists.
That was um.
Has to be James Beard award yes, no finalists.
That was um, that was really,uh, like I said, a surprise, a
(25:29):
big surprise to me.
And then when we, when it wasannounced, we we actually had a
cruise already set up.
We were going to interview umKen Oranger.
He's a chef up in Boston, butwe were already set to interview
him on this cruise, and it was,the cruise was set up.
But when we were going to NewYork for the you know, the James
Beard Awards, I got an emailfrom someone who worked with
Lydia Bastianich and said wouldyou like to come and have lunch
(25:51):
for Lydia and speak with her?
And of course, yes, of course,yes.
So we went, we went, it was theday of the I guess that was.
That was, I think, yeah, it wasthe day of the journalism
awards.
So we went in early, we had, wehad lunch with her, interviewed
her and she said oh, you mustgo to my home in Friuli.
(26:11):
If you're going to Venice,which is where the cruise was
starting, she says you must goto my home in Friuli, and so we
changed all the reservations,went earlier, that was like the
best you know best part of thetrip.
But that you know, those werejust some of the coolest things
you know, meeting her, beingable to go to those awards.
And then, you know, turn itinto this crazy full-time job.
(26:36):
I mean cause it is full-timefor me, it's, it's all I do.
Angela Tuell (26:40):
So yeah, I was also told by an editor that you
are one of a handful ofjournalists that she turns to
and thinks is fantastic.
So why do you feel you've beenable to be so successful in your
career?
Gwen Pratesi (26:57):
Well, I spend a lot of time on research.
You know fact checking stuff.
Some, some editors, want linksto everything, but regardless of
if there's a link in there ornot, you know it's fact check
and I I think also you knowthere's there's a lot of heart
put into it too, especiallyaround the things that that are
(27:19):
near and dear to me, like Alaska, northern Lights, obviously,
these exciting cruises, and Ihave a lot of knowledge about
these things, especially afterall these years.
So hopefully that comes through.
And also, I ask for very littleas far as extensions.
Every now and then, likeeverybody, you have to ask for a
(27:41):
few extra days, but if it's dueI try to get it on time and get
in it on time and make sureit's right.
So hopefully that that's whatthey think too.
Angela Tuell (27:54):
I'm sure that's what.
That is definitely part of it.
I do have to ask.
We could talk forever, butbefore we go, I'd love to know
if you could tell us more aboutyou personally.
I know you love food and travel, but what are some other things
that you enjoy?
Gwen Pratesi (28:09):
Uh well, I used to cook a lot more.
My husband does a lot of thecooking now, but obviously that
goes back to the whole culinarything, but I still do enjoy
getting in the kitchen andthat's kind of a release.
I'm frustrated because with allthe sitting, with the writing,
sometimes you just need to getup and move around.
(28:30):
I used to be more into fashionbut that's clearly taken, taken
a, you know, a back seat thesedays because it's more about
packing casual, practical stuff.
So I try to be, you know, tryto fuss up a bit on some of
these trips and one of thethings which is sort of related
(28:53):
to traveling.
But I really love when I canfind some super interesting
stuff when I'm traveling,whether it's clothing or jewelry
, just spending time wanderingsome of the you know, the unique
shops, not real touristy stuff.
Yeah, I do enjoy that, but yeah, it's pretty much this is my
(29:16):
world right now.
Hopefully get to spend somemore time with family this year,
so I've got a little grandson,so we're supposed to be all
traveling together next week ifall goes well and everybody
stays well.
So hopefully a little bit moretime in that department.
Angela Tuell (29:35):
I will keep my fingers crossed for you, for
sure.
How can our listeners connectwith you?
Gwen Pratesi (29:42):
online.
Well, you can go to US News andWorld Report and just Google US
News and Gwen Pratesi, and youcan see a lot of my stories
there.
So I have a listing at MuckRack If you want to look at some
of the articles.
If you'd like to get in touchwith me personally, my email is
my name, gwenpratesi@gmail.
com.
Angela Tuell (30:04):
Wonderful.
Thank you so much, Gwen.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Have a great day.
That's all for this episode ofMedia in Minutes, a podcast by
Communications Redefined.
Please take a moment to rate,review and subscribe to our show
.
We'd love to hear what youthink you can find more at
communicationsredefinedcom slashpodcast.
(30:25):
I'm your host, Angela Toole.
Talk to you next time.
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