Behind the scenes of NYT’s ‘Places to Go’

Amy Virshup, travel editor of The New York Times.
Photo contributed
Amy Virshup, travel editor of The New York Times.
SALISBURY — Amy Virshup, travel editor of The New York Times, spoke about the newspaper’s “52 Places to Go in 2024” digital presentation and how the list is put together at the White Hart Inn on Saturday, Jan. 20.
The event was sponsored by the Scoville Memorial Library, and the library’s Karen Vrotsos acted as moderator.
The proceedings suffered from computer difficulties. The desired web page appeared for a few seconds. Then the screen went blank and the cycle started again.
This didn’t faze Virshup.
She said the process of assembling the annual list of destinations starts right after Labor Day, when correspondents, bureau chiefs and photographers are asked to submit nominations for 52 places.
No. 1 this year is “The Path of Totality, North America.”
From the Times: “From the beaches of Mazatlán, Mexico, to the rugged coves of Maberly, Newfoundland, the sky will be the stage on April 8 as a total solar eclipse sweeps across North America. This year, the moon will be near its closest point to Earth, resulting in an unusually wide swath and long-lasting totality.”
“It’s so exciting,” Virshup said.
She was asked if she was going to Mazatlan.
“I wish,” she replied. “I’ll be in Vermont.”
Virshup said that the 52 places are not rankings per se, except for the top spot.
“No. 1 is a standout. Everything else has to have a spot.”
What makes a destination worthy of inclusion?
“We really focus on news value” when sifting through the hundreds of nominations.
For instance: Paris made the list, not because it’s Paris, but because in 2024, the city is hosting the Summer Olympics, a celebration of 150 years of Impressionist art, and the scheduled reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral after a fire in 2019.
Yamaguchi, Japan, made the list because it offers travelers something different than popular and crowded destinations such as Kyoto.
Once the nominations are in by the end of September, the Times travel staff gets busy “whittling” hundreds of entries down to 100 or so.
Then they go through it all again.
Virshup said the final decisions are arrived at by consensus, with the quality of the photographs being a critical factor.
Asked what happens to the photos that don’t make the cut, Virshup said they are stored in the Times’ database.
She pointed out that the Times’ photographers have to shoot both horizontally (preferred format for desktop computers) and vertically (for cell phones), or submit photos that can be cropped either way.
The Times list hasn’t always had 52 destinations. In 2006, the list had 16 places.
The Times went to 52 places in 2014.
“Every year we try to improve it.” This year’s version allows searching the list by category.
Keeping on top of the list isn’t easy, she continued. Of the articles that come in, she said “everybody files two times as long” as needed.
Asked how the COVID-19 pandemic affected travel in general and the Times Travel section in particular, Virshup said the Times stopped the print version of the section when pandemic restrictions on travel kicked in. She added later in the discussion that the paper does not plan to revive the print Travel section.
During the pandemic, the Times “tried to explain to people what they could and could not do” as regards travel.
The Times assembled a list of places people could go to, and kept it updated for 18 months.
Asked if events overtake publication, Virshup pointed to Quito, the capital of Ecuador and one of this year’s destinations.
Not long after the 2024 list was published online, Ecuador’s president declared a state of emergency in response to a wave of criminal violence.
The Times added an explanatory note and warning to the story.
“That’s something we can do digitally that we can’t do in print.”
SALISBURY — Amanda Cannon, age 100, passed away Oct. 15, 2025, at Noble Horizons. She was the wife of the late Jeremiah Cannon.
Amanda was born Aug. 20, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York the daughter of the late Karl and Ella Husslein.
She was widowed at the age of 31 and worked as a bookkeeper for the Standard Oil Company and other oil companies in New York City until she retired at age 72.
Amanda moved to Noble Horizons in 2013 to live near her daughter Diane and son-in-law (the late) Raymond Zelazny.
She enjoyed her time in the Northwest Corner and was an avid nature lover, albeit considered herself a native New Yorker as she was born and resided in NYC for 88 years.
She was a faithful parishioner of St. Mary’s Church in Lakeville and attended Mass regularly until the age of 99.
Amanda was the grandmother of (the late) Jesse Morse and is survived by her daughter, Diane Zelazny, her grandsons, Adam Morse, Raymond Morse and his wife Daron and their daughter and her great granddaughter Cecelia Morse.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Thursday, Oct. 23, 11 a.m. at St Mary’s Church in Lakeville, Connecticut.
Memorial donations may be made to St. Mary’s Church.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
LAKEVILLE — Barbara Meyers DelPrete, 84, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at her home. She was the beloved wife of George R. DelPrete for 62 years.
Mrs. DelPrete was born in Burlington, Iowa, on May 31, 1941, daughter of the late George and Judy Meyers. She lived in California for a time and had been a Lakeville resident for the past 55 years.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, George, include son, George R. DelPrete II, daughter, Jena DelPrete Allee, and son Stephen P. DelPrete. Grandchildren; Trey, Cassidy, and Meredith DelPrete, Jack, Will and Finn Allee, and Ali and Nicholas DelPrete.
A Funeral Mass was held at St. Mary’s Church, Lakeville, on Saturday, Oct. 4. May she Rest in Peace.
Ryan Funeral Home, 255 Main St., Lakeville, is in care of arrangements.
To offer an online condolence, please visit ryanfhct.com
SHARON — Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti, daughter of George and Mabel (Johnson) Wilbur, the first girl born into the Wilbur family in 65 years, passed away on Oct. 5, 2025, at Noble Horizons.
Shirley was born on Aug. 19, 1948 at Sharon Hospital.
She was raised on her parents’ poultry farm (Odge’s Eggs, Inc.).
After graduating from Housatonic Valley Regional High School, she worked at Litchfield County National Bank and Colonial Bank.
She married the love of her life, John, on Aug. 16, 1969, and they lived on Sharon Mountain for more than 50 years.
Shirley enjoyed creating the annual family Christmas card, which was a coveted keepsake.She also enjoyed having lunch once a month with her best friends, Betty Kowalski, Kathy Ducillo, and Paula Weir.
In addition to John, she is survived by her three children and their families; Sarah Medeiros, her husband, Geoff, and their sons, Nick and Andrew, of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Shelby Diorio, her husband, Mike, and their daughters, Addie, Lainey and Lyla, of East Canaan, Connecticut,Jeffrey Perotti, his wife, Melissa, and their daughters, Annie, Lucy and Winnie, of East Canaan. Shirley also leaves her two brothers, Edward Wilbur and his wife Joan, and David Wilbur; two nieces, three nephews, and several cousins.
At Shirley’s request, services will be private.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Sharon Woman’s Club Scholarship Fund, PO Box 283, Sharon, CT 06069.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
MILLERTON — Veronica Lee “Ronnie” Silvernale, 78, a lifelong area resident died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Connecticut. Mrs. Silvernale had a long career at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, where she served as a respected team leader in housekeeping and laundry services for over eighteen years. She retired in 2012.
Born Oct. 19, 1946, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she was the daughter of the late Bradley C. and Sophie (Debrew) Hosier, Sr. Following her graduation from high school and attending college, she married Jack Gerard Silvernale on June 15, 1983 in Millerton, New York. Their marriage lasted thirty-five years until Jack’s passing on July 28, 2018.
Ronnie is survived by her daughter, Jaime Silvernale (Wm. MacDaniel, Sr.) of Millerton, her beloved grandson, Wm. MacDaniel, Jr.; two special nieces, Shannon and Rebecca and a special nephew Sean Hosier. In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her brother, Bradley C. Hosier, Jr. and her dear friend Ruth Fullerton of Millerton.
Visitation was private. A celebration of Ronnie’s life will be held in the future. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546. To send an online condolence to the family or to plant a tree in Ronnie’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com