Join Adventures with Purpose host Richard Bangs as we journey across the planet in search of ecological challenges and ecological solutions. As a leader in travel programming for public television, Small World brings nearly 30 years of experience to Adventures with Purpose. This multiple award-winning series combines adventure with travel that makes a difference, travel that positively impacts the world. Adventures with Purpose documentaries are distributed by American Public Television to public television stations nationwide. Co-produced by KCTS, Seattle.

"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

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Adventures with Purpose: Pearl River Delta
Wins 2012 Lowell Thomas Gold Award for Broadcast Journalism


For the fourth 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-Pearl River Delta: Quest for Harmony was named as a 2012 Gold Award winner at ceremonies in Indianapolis on September 13.

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 1,300 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 $21,000 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
  • 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/Pearl River Delta: Quest for Harmony,” American Public Television

An enticing introduction draws the viewer into [the documentary’s] description, not so much of a place, but of a way of life. The “Quest for Harmony” is much more than a tour of the venues it describes, instead telling a story rooted in culture and tradition. An excellent juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern shows how residents of this region work for a balance between the physical and the spiritual. Superb videography and writing show us how various traditions and practices (foot massage, calligraphy, the hungry ghost ceremony) are part of the search for harmony. [Adventures with Purpose] describes the effort to find “double happiness” through nature's “blaring quietude.” A park guide points out his favorite place and reminds us that if we would remember how small we are in comparison to such places, perhaps we’d “quit thinking sideways.” Richard Bangs refers to his days as a tour guide in the Grand Canyon as he shows us Guangdong’s Grand Canyon, “a place to reflect on life’s grand questions.” Throughout the production the team uses ‘harmony’ as the overarching theme, to remind us that the ability to find balance is what makes life complete.

 

Pearl River Delta: Quest for Harmony production team:
Executive Producer................................................ John Givens
Co-Executive Producer/ Host/ Writer....................... Richard Bangs
Producer/ Writer................................................... Patty Conroy
Editor/Post Production...........................................David Ris
Consulting Producer.............................................. Patricia Branch Larson
Consulting Producer..............................................Sandra Lewis Nisbet
Director of Photography.........................................Karel Bauer
Production Manager/Associate Producer................... Sara Givens
HDV Photographer.................................................John Givens
Musical Score.......................................................David Ris
Technical Supervisor..............................................Jerry Morin
Graphic Designer..................................................Howie Abernathy
Executive Producer for APT.....................................Nelsa Gidney
Executive-in-Charge for KCTS.................................Tom Niemi


Adventures with Purpose—Hong Kong: Quest for the Dragon was honored in 2011 with a Lowell Thomas Gold Award in the same category as were Adventures with Purpose—Greece: Quest for the Gods in 2010, and Adventures with Purpose—Norway: Quest for the Viking Spirit in 2009.

Small World has produced 165 travel-related episodes for public television since 1990. All are released by American Public Television to PBS stations nationwide. KCTS/Seattle is a co-producer and presenting station to public television.

AWP Pearl River

AWP press materials

Society of American Travel Writers Foundation Contact: Mary Lu Abbott, SATW Foundation administrator, 713-973-9985, or awards@satwf.com.

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