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About Starbright Media Corporation
Starbright
Media Corporation (SMC) is the administrative and marketing arm of a group
of companies founded in the early 1980s by George A. Colburn.
The group, with offices in Washington, D.C. area, East Lansing and Walloon
Lake, MI, and Santa Fe, NM, specializes in documentary television productions
and related educational programming for both formal and informal learners
at all age levels.
George
A. Colburn,
Ph.D., is President and Director of Operations for Starbright Media Corporation.
Colburn holds a doctorate in history from Michigan State University and is
an adjunct professor at Gettysburg College, where he frequently teaches courses
on film and history. He has also been a Senior Research Fellow for
The Eisenhower Foundation and in this capacity began preparation of a
book on Douglas Dillon (pictured at right with Colburn), Undersecretary of
State in the Eisenhower administration and JFK's Secretary of Treasury.
Colburn’s best known national television credit is as SMC’s writer and producer of a major documentary series on Dwight D. Eisenhower’s military and political careers, 1941 - 1961. Produced in association with Gancie Television, and entitled "The Eisenhower Legacy," the five-hour series was hosted by Gen. Colin L. Powell (U.S. Army, retired) and aired on The Disney Channel.
Colburn interviewed 120 witnesses for the Eisenhower series, including Presidents Nixon, Bush, Reagan and Ford, who all knew Ike, General John S. D. Eisenhower, his son, and other close observers of the major events of the era, including Pamela Churchill Harriman, former CIA Agent (later Director) William Colby, Ike’s Attorney General, Herbert Brownell, and numerous British, French, German and Russian officials, including the son and son-in-law of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
With major funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts and produced in cooperation with the Eisenhower Institute, the series was expanded into 20 video programs for school use. In addition to this video component of more than seven hours of programming, "The Eisenhower Era" educational package includes an illustrated timeline/poster, teacher guides, student self-study computer programs and a 200-page Resource Book of original essays and key historical documents.
Colburn is currently in post-production on "IKE: From Warrior to President", a two-hour special for public television that is scheduled to air in 2010. He is also directing production of "Tomorrow’s America," a public television special on the history of immigration and the current "Great Wave" of immigration that is transforming the nation. His other production activities include the development of "Navajo Code Talkers: In Their Own Words"," a television special that covers the return of several Code Talkers® and their family members to the Pacific islands of World War II where their unbroken code helps turn the tide of battle against the Japanese defenders. The documentary covers their exploits on the front lines, their history as "outcasts" in 20th Century America both before and after the war, and, finally, their recognition in 2001 by Congress and the President as legitimate American war heroes.
In addition to his television production work, Colburn has been recognized nationally as a leading producer of distance education programming linked to major television series. His credits at the University of California and as an independent producer include more than two dozen national, media-based educational programs, including THE ASCENT OF MAN (Jacob Bronowski), CONNECTIONS (James Burke), COSMOS (Carl Sagan), and THE HEART OF THE DRAGON (International Emmy winner). He is also the cofounder and associate director of the Santa Fe High Definition Workshops and the Santa Fe Television and Film Workshops. In June of 2009, Colburn will complete production of "Making It New: Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship," a multimedia and interactive course of study for colleges and university nationwide. The project, funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, is produced by Contemporary Learning Systems, the nonprofit associate company of SMC.
Colburn began his work in the communication field as a journalist for the Grand Rapids Press and the Detroit Times when he was in college. After completing his studies, he worked as a weekly newspaper editor in the San Francisco suburbs for several years before entering graduate school in Michigan. During his graduate studies, he continued to work part-time for the local weekly newspaper group covering local government and politics. He earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination in the Community Journalism category in 1969 for his stories on the nomination and selection of a new President at MSU during a time of unprecedented student turbulence on campus. After earning his Ph.D. in history, Colburn became head of staff for the Speaker of the House in the Michigan legislature and was elected to the East Lansing City Council. Three years later, in 1973, he returned to journalism for the Chicago Tribune Co. In 1975, he was chosen to lead the "Courses by Newspaper" project at the University of California's San Diego campus and, later, to direct the development of a National Media Programs division at the university. The newspaper project, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, ultimately included almost 500 newspapers across the country, and more than 300 colleges and universities. In 1981, Colburn left the university and moved to New York City where he worked with producers, public television stations, foundations and corporations on developing and distributing educational programs linked to outstanding documentary series appearing on public television.
Dr. George Colburn
Post Office Box 309, Walloon Lake, MI 49796
517/332-6265 or 202/258-4887
StarbrightMC@cs.com
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