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"Thank you for years of prolific and talented work—all exceptional. You just keep churning out excellence. Thank you. Adventures with Purpose is terrific."
— Cynthia Fenneman, President & CEO, AMERICAN PUBLIC TELEVISION
"This much is certain, when it comes to appreciating the higher purposes of adventure travel, communicating them to a broad audience and transforming that interest into action, [Adventures with Purpose] is world-class …. [The shows are] written with precision, passion and poetry, capturing the romance of adventuring, the uniqueness of Earth's places, and the realities of undertaking difficult journeys."
— David Bear, PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE
2011 is the third year in a row Adventures with Purpose has been honored with the prestigious Lowell Thomas Gold Award for excellence in broadcast journalism. Adventures with Purpose-Hong Kong: Quest for the Dragon was named as a 2011 Gold Award winner at ceremonies in New Zealand on November 10.
The annual competition is sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation and the awards are the most prestigious in the field of travel journalism. This is the 27th Lowell Thomas competition and drew more than 1,200 entries. Judges were the faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
The SATW Foundation sponsors the annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The competition began in 1985 and today awards more than $18,000 annually in prize money for outstanding print, online and multimedia works and for travel photography and both audio and video broadcast. It is the premier competition in North America in the field of travel journalism and has gained its stature for several reasons, most notably:
- it does not promote any particular destination or travel product,
- it is open to all North American journalists, not just SATW members, and
- it is judged independently by the faculty at top U.S. schools of journalism.
Judge’s comments: Category 21: Travel Broadcast — Video
Gold: Small World Productions Adventures with Purpose/Hong Kong: Quest for the Dragon,” American Public Television
Adventures with Purpose does much more than show us the sights of Hong Kong — it helps us understand what makes Hong Kong one of the world’s great cities, noting that its ‘uninhibited energy is as clear as rice wine.’ A very high production quality, including great photography and quick editing pace, combines with the expert voice to guide us through what we’re about to see.”
Among other winners, Rick Steves, leading American travel guidebook writer, blogger, social media personality and TV/radio host, is Travel Journalist of the Year. Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle win top honors as the best travel publications in North America. National Geographic Traveler takes five awards, including best travel website and best cultural tourism article. Outside magazine also collects five awards, including best adventure travel and best investigative stories.
Hong Kong: Quest for the Dragon production team includes:
Executive Producer................................................ John Givens
Co-Executive Producer/ Host/ Writer....................... Richard Bangs
Producer/ Writer................................................... Susan McNally
Production Manager............................................... Sara Givens
Consulting Producer.............................................. Patricia Branch Larson
Consulting Producer...............................................Sandra Lewis Nisbet
Director of Photography.........................................Karel Bauer
HDV Photographer.................................................John Givens
Editor/Post Production...........................................David Ris
Musical Score........................................................David Ris
Technical Supervisor..............................................Jerry Morin
Graphic Designer...................................................Howie Abernathy
