Richard Bangs Title Honored For Excellence by The Society of American Travel Writers

The Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) recently honored the Janson Media-distributed television special Richard Bangs' Adventures With Purpose Norway: Quest for the Viking Spirit for its outstanding work in the field of journalism, at the 2009 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The 5th episode in the Richards Bangs" Adventures With Purpose series also won a Gold Medal for 'Travel Broadcast -Video.' This year marks the 25th anniversary of the competition, overseen by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, the professional organization of travel journalists and communicators. The awards, recognized as the most prestigious in the field, were announced Oct. 11th in Guadalajara, Mexico, at the annual SATW convention. For the complete list of winners please visit the SATW website.

In this one-hour documentary special Bangs explores the Viking Spirit and how it survives today in modern Norway. Richard"s quest begins in Oslo and travels to the extreme northern tip of Norway with stops in Alta, Kirkenes and Lofotr. Like early Vikings he sails from Troms down the western cost and experiences the beauty and majesty of the mountains and fjords with stops in Trondheim, Bergen, Flam and Sognefjord before returning to Oslo. Today Norway is known as a ruggedly beautiful country that is home to the Nobel Peace Center of explorers and adventure travelers and is one of the most eco-friendly countries on earth. Filmed in gorgeous High-Definition, Norway: Quest for the Viking Spirit was produced by Small World Productions, and is now available to international television, VOD, non-theatric, and DVD/video markets, exclusively through Janson Media.

Richard Bangs is a world adventurer, international river explorer, Web pioneer and award winning author. He is also a founding partner of Mountain Travel Sobek, America"s oldest and largest adventure travel firm. In addition to his Adventures with Purpose series, Bangs has produced web-based projects such as Great Escapes, Well-Traveled and Terraquest.

The Society of American Travel Writers are a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) foundation, started in the 1980s. Its mission is to recognize and reward outstanding work in travel journalism. The Society of American Travel Writers is the pre-eminent professional association of travel journalists. The Foundation funds the competition through entry fees and donations, all of which are tax-deductible.