An Interview With Editor Jim Benning

I rubbed shoulders online with editor and traveler Jim Benning online back in the ‘00s when there weren’t many online magazines out there and World Hum and Perceptive Travel tended to come up a lot in the same sentences. Eventually we had a few beers together in my adopted city of Guanajuato, Mexico and more recently we went on a bike tour together in Bogota when we were both attending a SATW convention.

He graciously agreed to share some perspectives from the editor’s chair here on the Travel Writing 2.0 blog.

What was your educational background and what were your early jobs before you became a travel writer and editor? 

I majored in English literature at UCLA. I took some journalism classes in college and knew then that I wanted to pursue a career in journalism. After I graduated, I landed a full-time freelance reporting job at the Los Angeles Times, and then worked as metro reporter at the Orange County Register, where I covered government, crime, and human-interest stories.

In between those two jobs, I backpacked around Europe and read a lot of travel writing, which inspired me to try writing travel stories of my own.

I first knew you through World Hum, an online magazine you co-founded that got purchased by a major media company and later dropped. Tell us the condensed version of that dramatic 3-act play. 

Oh, the drama. At the risk if beating your metaphor to death:

Act One: Friend and fellow writer-editor Michael Yessis and I launched a literary travel website as a labor of love while juggling day jobs. Amazingly, a community of incredibly talented writers and travelers developed around the site, and the thing kind of took off.

Act Two: Call it “Living the Dream.” In 2007, the Travel Channel bought the site and employed us to run it. Other talented editors, including Valerie Conners and Eva Holland, played key roles, and over the next four years, we grew the audience and published a lot of great stories.

Act Three: Despite a passionate following, World Hum struggled to find a sustainable business model, and when the Travel Channel was sold to a new company, Michael and I exited stage right, along with many others. Happily, countless friendships forged over those years endure. Michael and I long ago stopped updating the site, but we continue to pay web hosting fees, so World Hum is still up and everyone’s work remains accessible.

Now you’re at Westways, a AAA magazine serving southern California, and AAA Explorer, which goes out AAA members in many other states. How did that all come about and what is your job like there?

I was hired here in 2016 to edit a magazine for AAA members in Texas. I should probably step back and explain that I work for Auto Club Enterprises, which operates around 10 AAA clubs around the country. We have offices in many states, but I work in Southern California. During the pandemic, we combined our eight or so regional magazines (including Texas Journey) into a single title called AAA Explorer, and I was made editor-in-chief.

Around the same time, Westways’ longtime travel editor, Elizabeth Harryman, retired, and I became the travel editor of Westways. Elizabeth is beloved among travel writers, so I’ve had big shoes to fill.

What’s it like? My job keeps me busy! I assign and edit travel features, essays, and other pieces. I write as often as I can. And I work with a small team to produce a podcast called Traveling with AAA. I’m a lucky guy. At a time when the publishing industry is struggling, I get paid to make magazines and digital content. I get to work with great writers, and I have the luxury of working with wonderful editors (including copy editors), fact-checkers, and art directors.

What are some things you learned after becoming an editor at a large organization that people on the outside don’t know or understand? 

I suspect a lot of writers waiting for me to reply to their emails don’t fully appreciate how much time I spend in meetings. That’s one thing about big organizations. Also, big companies generally have many layers of management, so making decisions can take time. That can be frustrating. But on the positive side, large organizations have resources that make jobs like mine possible. I work for a stable company. These days, especially, I don’t take that for granted.

What do you look for in a pitch and what traits do some writers have that will make you want to keep hiring them and assigning them articles? 

I look for a compelling story idea—something that feels original, fresh, and timely. If it’s a feature, I look for pitches that focus on something specific while also illuminating a larger theme or issue. I love stories that work on several levels.

What makes me want to keep working with some writers? They not only turn in great stories—articles or essays that are engaging, well-researched, and well-structured—but they are authors who have great attitudes.

What’s an example of a story you wrote yourself that you’re especially proud of and one that you’ve commissioned at Westways that came out great?

Several years ago, I spent a day with a group of mariachis in Los Angeles as they raced from one gig to the next. It was a simple concept, and I liked the way it came out.

I’ve loved so many of the stories I’ve commissioned at Westways. It’s hard to choose just one. Recently, I assigned writer Jessica Fender a story about road-tripping around New Zealand. Shortly before she left on the trip, her mother died unexpectedly. The resulting story is a meditation on grief, loss, and wonder. It’s raw and real and moving.

What’s one place you’ve been that was much better than you expected and one that’s on your short list that you haven’t been to, but are planning to visit?

A place that was better than I expected? I’m not sure quite what I expected, but I really loved Dakar, Senegal. Great people and great music. I’d go back in a heartbeat.

There are so many places I still want to see. Today, I’ll go with Chile. I’m drawn to port towns, so I’d love to check out Valparaíso. And I’d love to spend time in Patagonia.

Jim Benning is the editor-in-chief of AAA Explorer and the travel editor of Westways, magazines that go out to about 10 million AAA members with every issue. Before working at AAA, he co-founded the online travel magazine World Hum and worked as an editor at the BBC and the Travel Channel. His own writing has appeared in Outside, Men’s Journal, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. His story about the music scene in Dakar, Senegal, was featured in the 2021 edition of The Best American Travel Writing.