Maggie Zackowitz
Maggie Zackowitz has been named
editor in chief of National Geographic Travel and will head all its travel
content, including serving as editor of National Geographic Traveler magazine
and heading its digital editorial portfolio.
Zackowitz has been director of
short-form content for National Geographic magazine and previously ran the
magazine's Departments section. She handled special blogging projects, such as a
live-blog of an Everest ascent in 2012; last year she founded the food blog The
Plate.
She replaces Keith Bellows as
editor of National Geographic Traveler, who left in October after 18 years in
that post. The position had been held on an interim basis by Norie Quintos, who
remains executive editor.
In addition to the magazine,
Zackowitz will oversee National Geographic Travel's digital offerings, which
includes its annual photo contest, blogging network and social media presence.
Its Twitter handle, @natgeotravel, has nearly 1.7 million followers; its Instagram
account, 2.9 million.
In an interview on Wednesday,
Zackowitz said one of her first tasks would be to get to know the Traveler
staff and hear what's on their minds. "I'm a really collaborative
person," she said.
"I have 31 years here at
[National Geographic], and for most of that my job has been to create cool
content that people want to read," she said. "The [content] at the front
of the book, in our readership surveys, it's ranked higher than feature stories
sometimes, and people really like that and that sensibility. I plan on bringing
that to Traveler.
In terms of her background, she added, "in addition to writing, I am
deeply into photography, graphic design; I love maps. I want to bring more of
that to the magazine. And that's all about our heritage. That's who we are."
National Geographic also said it
formed an Editorial Council of Travel Advisors, a group of travel writers that "will work to build larger global partnerships." The council
will be headed by Kimberly Connaghan, vice president and publisher of global
media travel and partnerships, and will include members Robert Reid, Annie
Fitzsimmons, George Stone, Andrew Nelson and Costas Christ.
This article was updated on April 30, 2015.