Media

Oh, you know how we hate it when you make a fuss. For almost 20 years, the Chronicle has gone where the daily fears to tread, serving up honest, unflinching politics and entertainment news and features every week since 1981. The Chronicle has won its share of acolytes and enemies, but it's stuck to its mission from the beginning: to serve, inform, and be a part of the community as it grows and changes around us.

4000 N. I-35, 454-5766

Best Columnist
John Kelso

Kelso has been tickling our funny bone from the pages of the Austin American-Statesman since about the time UT adopted burnt orange and white as its colors, or so it seems. He's an equal opportunity offender: Whether you're a North Austin yuppie, a goofy Aggie, or a holier-than-thou salamander hugger, if you need to be taken down a peg, you'll likely be the target of his barbed humor.

305 S. Congress, 445-3500

Best Journalist
Nate Blakeslee

Reporters like Nate Blakeslee are what the venerable Texas Observer has always been about: Hard-hitting, deep-digging, muckraking journalism that carries on the tradition established so long ago by Ronnie Dugger. Cynical, corrupt politicos should cringe if they get a call from Nate.

307 W. Seventh, 477-0746

Best Sportswriter
Kirk Bohls

Orangeblood institution Kirk Bohls takes the bacon again from his perch above the fold of the American-Statesman's sports page. Bohls lends his insight into happenings all over the sports world, but it's his perspective as a pundit of all things Longhorn -- his lineage can be traced back to a stint as a beat writer at The Daily Texan more than 20 years ago -- that makes him the E.F. Hutton of Austin sports.

305 S. Congress, 445-3600

Best Photographer
Todd V. Wolfson

As enigmatic as he is arty, Wolfson's images take editorial photography to the brink of high fashion when he transforms local yokels into big-city folk.

452-9051

Best Evening Radio Host
Nancella, KVRX

Nancella's Eclectica show drew Friday night KVRX listeners deep into the tricky mind of Nancy Rebecca Ribak. True to its name, the weekend prelude spanned the musical spectrum from A Tribe Called Quest to Massive Attack, Nina Simone, and Modest Mouse, concocting a fresh and creative mix that graced the airwaves for two and a half years. When Austinites entered the nightlife, Nancella provided them with a soundtrack.

2500 Whitis, Bldg. C, 471-5106/495-KVRX

Best Locally Produced TV Show
Austin City Limits

The one television program in this country that celebrates the diversity of American sounds is produced right here in Austin at our own KLRU. With its panoramic skyline gracing the backdrop, and incredible talent performing upstage, Austin City Limits has been defining the beat of this heart of Texas for 24 years running.

2504-B Whitis, 471-4811

Best Public Access TV Show
Reel Deal

Every Wednesday night at 10pm, this ragtag band of filmgoers, led by Korey Coleman, let the barbs fly when they offer their layman's take on Hollywood movies. The best part of the show, however, is the chemistry between them and the goofball antics that make their hourlong film review program the funniest variety show on cable access.

1143 Northwestern, 478-8600

Best TV Newscast
KVUE-24

Thanks to the continuing policies established by legendary late KVUE news director Carole Kneeland, Austin viewers can count on thoroughly professional, nonsensational news coverage anytime they tune into KVUE. None of that trashy "if it bleeds, it leads" brand of coverage from our local ABC affiliate. The crack KVUE news team gets us all the news we need to know, when we need to know it.

3201 Steck, 459-6521

Best TV Reporter
Amy Grizzaffi, KVUE-24

A star player on what's become the most solid news team in town, KVUE-24's Grizzaffi helps define what a smart and savvy town like Austin should expect from television news. Let's hope she hangs around for a while.

3201 Steck, 459-6521

Best Sportscaster
Mike Barnes, KVUE-24

Our readers picked native Texan and native Longhorn UT grad Mike Barnes from a talented herd of local TV sports announcers. Covering the Horns since back in the mid-Eighties, Barnes is KVUE-24's main gridiron man. Maybe his award-winning show, Friday Football Fever, has something to do with that. We offer this, his signature "K-VeeYooo 20-Fooooour Sports" call out in honor of this award. Way to go, Mike!

3201 Steck, 459-6521

Best Weather Person
Jim Spencer, KXAN

Our readers keep voting for fave weather guy Jim Spencer year after year. Could it be his charm? His warm smile? His National Weather Association's Seal of Approval? His good standing in the American Meteorological Society? His public service work with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), MDA, Helping Hand Home for Children, or ARC? Or is it because Chronicle readers know that they can count on Jim and his Future Forecast to be professional, punctual, and to the point? We think there's a 60% chance that it's all of the above and then some.

908 W. MLK, 476-3636

Best Local Talk Radio Host and Best Locally Produced Radio Show
John Aielli, Eklektikos, KUT 90.5FM

As if it isn't enough that Aielli's broad-spectrum taste in music gives listeners fuel to expand their musical horizons, his probing interviews with people from actors to zitherists provides nourishment for the mind, too.

2504 Whitis/26th & Guadalupe, 471-1631

Best Morning Radio Hosts
Kevin & Kevin, KGSR 107.1 FM

While Mssrs. Connor and Finney's banter is so much less offensive to the mind, the heart, and the nerve-center than most Austin morning radio shows, don't think for a minute that you're going to snooze through the Kevin & Kevin Show if you have KGSR set for your early morning wake-up call. Clock radios and early AM commuters agree that they are a welcome and refreshing alternative to morning shock jocks.

8309 N. I-35, 832-4000

Best Radio Station and Best Radio Station to Listen to at Work
KGSR 107.1FM

Let 'em call us K-Geezers, we don't give a hoot. Chronicle readers tune in to KGSR in the car, at work, and at home to stay in touch with what local (and visiting) musicians are playing, where they're playing it, and what they've got to say about it. Kevin & Kevin kick-start the work day, and Jody Denberg's late-afternoon interviews with visiting musicians give us something to think about as we make our way home. This frequency keeps Austin music on our minds.

8309 N. I-35, 832-4000

Best TV Anchorperson
Judy Maggio, KVUE-24

Though we're quite sure her skills and talents warranted moving to a bigger media market some time ago, one of the things we love best about Judy Maggio is she made a career choice to make Austin her home. She's not just some hairdo passing through town on her way up the corporate media ladder; she's an Austinite who cares about our city every bit as much as we do. We can count on her integrity and professionalism in bringing us the news. Kudos to the KVUE brass for being smart enough to keep her.

3201 Steck, 459-6521