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.

The Janson Media DVD Travel With Kids: Paris was highly recommended in a recent review by Video Librarian. This edition of the Travel With Kids series joins the Roberts family as they navigate and experience the incredible French capital city. From where to stay, how to get around, money saving tips and where to eat with the kids, this is an essential traveling tool for a family vacation to Paris. Full of beautiful scenery and goofy mis-adventures that come to be expected from this fun family, everyone is sure to enjoy Travel With Kids Paris.

Continuing to follow the Roberts family (mom, dad, two kids) on their European jaunt (see Travel with Kids: England and Travel with Kids: London, reviewed in VL-9/09), this guide for families visiting the City of Lights picks up where London left off, with the family taking the “Chunnel” (the tunnel train under the channel from London to Paris), where check-in security rivals that of an international airport. Instead of staying at a hotel, the Roberts’ rent an apartment in Paris District 9 (the art district), from which they set out to explore kid-friendly sights such as the Louvre (home to the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and other masterpieces). To make the museum visit more compelling, the parents create a scavenger hunt for the kids—giving them cards for each art piece to match up with the real deal. The Roberts’ also visit Notre Dame cathedral, underground Paris (including a tour of the city’s famous sewer system), Disneyland Paris (which, after a shaky opening, is now said to be one of the biggest tourist attractions in Europe) and, of course, the Eiffel Tower. As with the earlier installments in the series, kid-friendly history lessons are served up alongside the advice for parents. DVD extras include a trip planner, family travel tips, and a bloopers reel. Highly recommended. – Video Librarian

Video Librarian is the video review magazine for public, school, academic, and special libraries, as well as video fans who are interested in a wider variety of titles than what’s found in the average video store. Written by staff, librarians, teachers, and film critics, Video Librarian offers over 225 critical reviews per issue, alerting readers to upcoming new releases of special-interest, documentary, and video movie titles.

Janson Media today announced the worldwide DVD release of The Story of Lassie. The title is the 20th to be released on DVD from the company’s Hollywood Collection, an award-winning archive of 34 movie star biographies and retrospectives produced by Wombat Productions between 1985 and 1999.

For 50 years, she has represented all that is good about the enduring bonds between human beings and their dogs. She first leaped to stardom in the 1943 MGM film, Lassie Come Home. At a time when families, still stunned from the Depression, were then torn apart by World War II, the story of a dog who fights every obstacle to return hundreds of miles to her young master moved audiences to tears and established Lassie as an American icon. Lassie made seven MGM films. And when family films began to leave the big screen there were new horizons… first on radio and then on television.

The Story of Lassie includes clips from feature films starring the beloved collie, as well as from  the long-running Lassie television shows, and interviews with trainer Robert Weatherwax, actor Roddy McDowall, Tommy Rettig, Jon Provost, Margaret O’Brien, Janet Leigh and others. Hosted by June Lockhart.

THE STORY OF LASSIE
LENGTH: 59 Minutes – Total Content: 95 Minutes
OUR PRICE: $24.95
CATALOG #: 20399
UPC #: 6-4603203999-3
ISBN #: 1-56839-285-0
RELEASE YEAR: 2009
PRODUCER: Wombat Productions
Street Date: November 18, 2009

Influential pioneer of western culture Red Steagall recently announced his new cowboy variety show In The Bunkhouse with Red Steagall premiering this Wednesday, November 4th on RFD-TV.  The show, which will feature great western music, cowboy poetry, special guests, and chuck wagon cooking is set to air Wednesdays at Noon and 10PM. Proclaimed as Rural America’s most important network, RFD-TV is the nation’s first 24-hour television network dedicated to serving the needs and interests of rural America and agriculture. However for those without access to RFD-TV, Steagall’s western way of living is also captured in the Janson Media one-hour primetime special produced for PBS, Red Steagall Presents Cowboy: The Legend, the Legacy.

Singer, songwriter and the Official Cowboy Poet of Texas, western entertainer Red Steagall is the host of this inspiring one-man show. Produced by The Entertainment Group in association with Janson Media, the special is taped in front of an intimate live audience in the living room of Red’s own rustic ranch outside Fort Worth, Texas. Red is joined during this dynamic musical hour by country superstar Reba McEntire, and Red’s own band, the Boys in the Bunkhouse as they speak to the history and legacy of the American Cowboy. Included in this motivational hour are such popular Red Steagall poems as The Fence That Me & Shorty Built, Ride For The Brand, Paw Paw, Memories in Grandmother’s Trunk, and Born To This Land.  Red Steagall Presents Cowboy is also available on DVD. In addition to the one-hour special, the disc features a 30-minute “behind-the-scenes” film directed by Christopher Lewis called Making Cowboy, the Legend, the Legacy.

Launched in December of 2000, RFD-TV is the nation’s first 24-hour television network dedicated to serving the needs and interests of rural America and agriculture. The channel is produced and uplinked via satellite to all 50 states from NorthStar Studios, in Nashville, Tennessee. The channel is proudly distributed nationwide and carried by DISH Network, DIRECTV, Mediacom, Charter, NRTC, Bresnan, Suddenlink, and Timer Warner cable systems, with new cable systems adding the channel most everyday.

Janson Media today announced the release of Independent Intervention: Breaking Silence, an award-winning documentary about U.S. corporate-controlled media coverage of the Iraq War, to worldwide Television, VOD, Nontheatrical, and New Media markets. Focusing on the human costs of war, the film contrasts the mainstream media’s coverage of the invasion of Iraq with independent media reports of the brutal realities on the ground.

This film tells an important story that has not been fully explored until now: how the major U.S. broadcast networks, all divisions of multinational entertainment conglomerates, sanitized their presentation of the Iraq War, ignored the human suffering on the ground, and “produced” Operation Iraqi Freedom as a nightly entertainment show, a ratings winner, and the first “made-for primetime war.”

Independent Intervention captures the “disconnect” between the war the American people saw on their television sets and the grim realities on the ground in Iraq. The documentary features interviews with Amy Goodman, Noam Chomsky, Dahr Jamail, Danny Schechter, Norman Solomon, David Barsamian, Kalle Lasn, James Zogby and Jim Hightower.  It also includes the voices of Howard Zinn, Michael Moore, Bill Moyers, Arundhati Roy, Jeremy Scahill, U.S. Senators and Iraqi citizens.

Independent Intervention: Breaking Silence, was produced by Ground Productions. The film was directed by Tonje Hessen Schei and edited by David Bee.

” [Independent Intervention] shows the absolutely critical importance of the independent media, which, in a culture dominated by corporate wealth, gives us hope for democracy,” said Howard Zinn, Professor Emeritus of History at Boston University.

Established in 1989, Janson Media is an independent content distribution company based in the United States, with a rights portfolio of over 1,500 hours of exclusive programming available for licensing to worldwide television, VOD, DVD/video, and emerging new media platforms. The company has licensed programming to virtually every country in the world, and its clients include nearly every major broadcaster or media company, as well as a wide range of DVD labels and distributors. Janson Media is also a publisher/ manufacturer of award-winning DVDs.

Ground Productions is an independent, international production company based in Portland, Oregon and New York, founded by Tonje Hessen Schei and David Bee. The company believes media can change the world, and its mission is to work toward a more just, equitable and sustainable society, where everyone has a voice. Ground Production’s films encourage critical thinking and debate and aim to promote peace through understanding.

On Sunday November 1st, Western Christianity will commemorate All Saints Day, a holiday honoring all saints both known and unknown. This solemnity commemorates those who have attained supreme blessedness in Heaven. Saints profiled in Janson Media biographies include St. Patrick, St. Pio, Francis Xavier and St. Francis of Assisi.  John Paul II, another subject of a Janson portrait, is expected to be named a saint by the Roman Catholic church in the coming years. Assisi: Home of St. Francis is unique among Janson Media portraits that introduces the beloved saint by using his own words to voice over a travelogue of the pilgrimage site in Italy where he found enlightenment.

In effect, viewers are given a guided tour of the town of Assisi by Saint Francis himself, with his “narration” being rendered by actor Christopher Jones. Francis was born in the late 12th Century, the son of a rich merchant. He was raised as a young Assisian nobleman, but grew dissatisfied with his life, and in his twenties he publicly renounced his father’s wealth and turned to prayer and service to the poor. Francis began to live as a hermit and preached the necessity of a poor, simple lifestyle based on the ideals of the Gospels. Later in life he received the Stigmata, and composed his famous poem, the Canticle of Brother Sun. He died on October 3, 1226 and was canonized in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX.

The tour visits all the sites in Assisi that played a significant role in the life of Saint Francis. Assisi’s spiritual and mystical dimension, and its artistic and cultural heritage are explored, including its winding medieval streets, its squares, and its festivals. The film is a rich source of information for anyone planning to visit Assisi.

For many of us, Halloween takes on a significantly deeper meaning than spooks, costumes and candy. That’s all thanks to the annual “Trick or Treat for UNICEF” event. What started out as a local event in a Philadelphia suburb in 1950 has developed into a major fund raising program, raising over $188 million for UNICEF beneficiaries since its inception. Audrey Hepburn, one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars was so drawn to the organization’s efforts that she was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador in 1989 and dedicated the last years of her life to helping children in need around the world. “I can testify to what UNICEF means to children, because I was among those who received food and medical relief right after World War II. I have a long-lasting gratitude and trust for what UNICEF does.”

Hepburn’s friendship with British actor Roger Moore inspired the actor known for his role as James Bond to also become a Goodwill Ambassador himself in 1991. While Hepburn is no longer here to grace us with her humanitarian work, Roger Moore continues to be a steadfast advocate for UNICEF-supported programs around the world, bringing attention to child crisis issues and enlisting support and donations. The dynamic careers of these Hollywood icons is documented in the Hollywood Collection Janson Media DVD’s Audrey Hepburn: Remembered and Roger Moore: A Matter of Class. For more information on their contributions please visit the Roger Moore and Audrey Hepburn UNICEF profile pages.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (or UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System and its name was shortened from the original United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronym based on this old name. Headquartered in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.

Janson Media today announced the worldwide DVD release of Burt Lancaster: Daring to Reach. The title is the 19th to be released on DVD from the company’s Hollywood Collection, an award-winning archive of 34 movie star biographies and retrospectives produced by Wombat Productions between 1985 and 1999.

Born November 2, 1913, Burton Stephen Lancaster, later “Burt Lancaster” was one of five children of a New York City postal worker. Burt recalled family life as warm and mutually supportive. At the Union Settlement House, he and boyhood friend Nick Cravat formed an acrobatic team. By eighteen, Burt was 6′2″ and blessed with the athletic physique and dynamic good looks that helped make him famous. A basketball scholarship was not enough to keep him in New York University beyond his sophomore year. That’s when he and the 5′2″ Cravat joined a circus, earning $3 weekly between them. A stint in the Army introduced Burt to acting and led him to Hollywood where his first release, The Killers (1946), propelled him to stardom at age 32. He took control of his own career and seldom faltered. He was married three times and had five children.

Upon his death in 1994, four-time Academy Award-nominated Burt Lancaster was acknowledged as one of the greatest stars in the Hollywood firmament. Lancaster’s films include Westerns, Costume Epics and serious Contemporary Dramas. There were the swashbucklers like The Crimson Pirate (1952), and also more risky roles, like the aging alcoholic in Come Back Little Sheba (1952).

Other acting triumphs were The Rose Tattoo (1955), The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), From Here To Eternity (1953), The Rainmaker (1956), The Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Elmer Gantry (1960) – which earned him an Academy Award – and Atlantic City (1980). His production company Hecht-Hill-Lancaster was also responsible for the multi-Oscar-winning Marty (1955). Though known for his demanding personality, Burt was loved for his loyalty to his friends and to his humble beginnings. Those interviewed include directors Sydney Pollack, Ted Post, and Delbert Mann; actors Rhonda Fleming, Virginia Mayo, Terry Moore, Peter Reigert, Earl Holliman, Jeff Corey, producer James Hill, biographer Gary Fishgall, and others.

BURT LANCASTER: DARING TO REACH
LENGTH: 66 Minutes – Total Content: 103 Minutes
OUR PRICE: $24.95
CATALOG #: 20394
UPC #: 6-4603203949-8
ISBN #: 1-56839-282-6
RELEASE YEAR: 2009
PRODUCER: Wombat Productions
STREET DATE: November 11, 2009

The Janson Media DVD, Xavier: Missionary & Saint, was recommended in a recent review by Video Librarian. Narrated by Academy Award-winner Liam Neeson and filmed on location in the footsteps of the Jesuit missionary, Xavier tells the story of the successful globetrotting missionary and co-founder of The Society of Jesuits, an influential Roman Catholic religious order. Produced by Fourth Week Films, the film features stunning scenery from Rome, Spain, Paris, India, China, and Japan as well as interviews with world-renowned historians and theologians.

As a young man, Francis Xavier (1506-1552) led — as did St. Augustine — a rather loose life, before later falling under the influence of Ignatius Loyola and becoming one of the first members of the fledgling Society of Jesus. After initially serving in what was effectively a secretarial post in Europe, he was chosen for missionary work in India, an assignment that eventually took him to Japan as well. Xavier’s success in these areas was decidedly mixed, but his policy of adaptation — conforming to native beliefs and practices in order to earn trust and respect — would initiate a heated controversy back in Europe that would have considerable effect on Rome’s later missionary efforts. Narrated by Liam Neeson, Xavier: Missionary & Saint, produced by the Jesuits, is an earnest, handsome-looking effort, visiting key locales from Xavier’s life (including Rome, Spain, Paris, and China) and making solid use of artwork, interviews with scholars and students, and modest dramatic recreations… DVD extras include a “making-of” featurette, and a brief interview with theologian Avery Cardinal Dulles, himself a Jesuit. Recommended, overall. 3 Stars – Video Librarian

Video Librarian is the video review magazine for public, school, academic, and special libraries, as well as video fans who are interested in a wider variety of titles than what’s found in the average video store. Written by staff, librarians, teachers, and film critics, Video Librarian offers over 225 critical reviews per issue, alerting readers to upcoming new releases of special-interest, documentary, and video movie titles.

Janson Media today announced the release of a collection of 64 five-minute interstitial videos  titled The Most Amazing Golf Courses Of The World, to international Television, VOD, Nontheatrical, and New Media markets. Filmed in High Definition and offered in both English and German language versions, these videos are well suited for internet and mobile platforms, and can also be utilized by TV channels and networks seeking interstitial content.

Experience 64 of the most amazing and beautiful golf courses of the world, the islands of Mallorca, Mauritius and the Canary Islands, Switzerland, and Austria, and across the continent of Africa. Each five-minute video includes a golf course profile, narrated off-camera, as well as an on-camera interview with the resident golf pro providing prospective golfers with insider tips on how to play the course. Filmed in gorgeous high-definition, these 64 five-minute videos are available in either German or English, and are suitable for online and mobile platforms or for interstitial use by broadcasters.

Golf courses featured in The Most Amazing Golf Course Of The World (64 x 5′) include: Arabella Golf Course (Africa), Buenavista Golf Club (Canary Islands), Fontana Golf Club (Austria), Kussnacht Golf Club (Switzerland), Alcanda Golf Club (Mallorca), and much more. Segments can be viewed online on the Janson Media YouTube channel.

Established in 1989, Janson Media is an independent content distribution company based in the United States, with a rights portfolio of over 1,500 hours of exclusive programming available for licensing to worldwide television, VOD, DVD/video, and emerging new media platforms. The company has licensed programming to virtually every country in the world, and its clients include nearly every major broadcaster or media company, as well as a wide range of DVD labels and distributors. Janson Media is also a publisher/ manufacturer of award-winning DVDs.