Critic's Poll: Media

Gary Bradley Series in the Statesman After years of watching the local daily ignore the wheelings and dealings of Gary Bradley, it was a pleasant surprise to see the Statesman examine our least favorite aquifer-busting mustachioed millionaire developer in a three-part series in mid-June.305 S. Congress, 445-3650

Best Television Performances by a Former Governor

The Honorable Ann Richards Whether she's sharing her informed perspective on the death penalty with the panel on Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher or enlightening Dennis Miller about her recovery from alcoholism, the former guv with the signature bouffantus-erectus hairdo always entertains. Within minutes of taking the stage, Richards had each of the irreverent, smirking bad boys of late night talk eating right out of her hand. Armed with disarming self-awareness and a rapier wit punctuated by her raucous laughter, Ann Richards is simply a great talk-show guest.Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson & Hand, PO Box 684746, 703-6000

Best Slack Pickup

Channel 6 This past election showed that the major television news outlets in this town care little about city elections. Thankfully, those of us who are concerned about local government found relief — and immediate election results — on the city-owned Channel 6. The channel featured a good team-up with KLBJ in the primaries and KVET in the runoff for frequent updates, interviews, and analysis — but we still miss Brigid Shea's insights from 1996.309 W. Second, 499-2460

Best New Austin American-Statesman Writer

Patrick Beach Richard Oppel stated his intention to hire "up" when filling writing positions when he took over at the daily. We think his best new hire is lifestyle writer Patrick Beach, who hit the ground running with a dead-on profile of local legend Eddie Wilson during his first week in Austin and then impressed us with a personal story about fighting leukemia with a bone marrow transplant in his own family. In a few short months, we've come to expect revealing, insightful writing beneath his byline, and Beach does not disappoint.305 S. Congress, 445-3613

Best Women's Show Host Who's Not a Woman

Richard Whymark/KVRX He's charming, sexy, debonaire... the Cary Grant of the Austin airwaves. We all know that the best man for the job is a woman, but in a brilliant fit of Nineties reverse open-mindedness, the best woman for the job of hosting KVRX's Women's Show this summer was a man — all man. Foxy, Ipswich, England-native Richard Whymark held down the femme-fort — and ooooh, what an accent! This semester, he's back to gender-free freeform radio on Tuesday nights. Cheers, man; good job!KVRX 91.7 FM, Tuesdays, 495-KVRX

Best Women's Show Host Who Is a Woman

Teresa Ferguson FemFM / KUT Saturday night and you ain't got nobody... Or, maybe you do but you just don't feel like facing the crowds that will inevitably be out there on a weekend night. Grab yourself a cool drink and turn your radio dial to 90.5 FM. Not only will you hear the smooth and soothing voice of DJ Teresa Ferguson, you'll also hear a full two hours of women musicians and singers — including occasional live sets by local fem faves. Music by women but not for women only.KUT FM 90.5, Saturdays, 10pm-midnight, 471-1631

Best Against-All-Odds Media

KVR-TV With rusty old equipment and virtually no budget, the troopers at UT's mini-station, KVR-TV, keep fighting against dead air. These kids are DIY-ing their way to a better education than UT could ever offer and creating the kind of low-budget cool you used to find on ACTV. Sure, you can only pick up UHF channel 9 within a 20 block radius of UT, but if you're one of the lucky ones to catch shows like Cyclops Wheelbarrow — featuring naked, drunk sorority girls and vomiting fraternity boys — you know that the KVR crew is busy bringing new meaning to the First Amendment. 471-7899

Best Overworked and Underused Elections Reporter

Ben Wear / Austin-American Statesman Statesman city reporter Ben Wear covered every campaign forum for every single race, but his hard work often ended up buried in the back of the Statesman's Metro & State section or never appeared at all. Although he was the only Statesman reporter assigned to all four council races, Wear managed to pull off some excellent reporting on the election season, if you could find it. His coverage after the Place 6 runoff was particularly enlightening. Attention Statesman: Someone needs a raise.305 S. Congress, 445-3650

Best Cable Substitute

KNVA Channel 54 — Warner Bros. TV Can't afford cable or have no intention of paying for TV when you feel like you already watch too much? Fear not! KNVA will make you forget about Time Warner — the latest late night rerun faves being Barney Miller and All in the Family. Missing ESPN? How about a good four-hour fix of major league baseball? Turn on, tune in to the only station with the singing frog (if you don't count those frogs of beer ad fame).908 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 478-5400

Best Eye on the Tornado

Austin American-Statesman When the May 27 tornado struck the tiny town of Jarrell and generally wreaked havoc all around, the Austin American-Statesman hunkered down and covered the story like there was no tomorrow. They did the same thing the next day and the next, practically leaving no stone unturned with words and visuals. There's nothing like a natural disaster to put journalism teamwork to the test. The Statesman weathered the storm nicely.305 S. Congress, 445-3650

Best Looking Crank

Alex Jones Libertarian posterboy Alex Jones has a radio show on KJFK called The Real Spin. But if you limit your Alex exposure to just radio, you are missing half the fun. No, the real show is on ACAC, on his access TV show called Reality Check. Damn, he's good-looking. Now, we hope this doesn't go to his head, because he does seem to be an impressionable young lad. But Jones' heart always seems to be in the right place, expressing outrage at the dominant media and the Clinton administration and whatever other windmill he can topple. His nicely chiseled features contort shockingly into all sorts of configurations to accent his disdain and chagrin. It's kinda fun to watch. And damn, he is cute....Cable Channel 10, Thursdays, 9pm; ACAC, 478-8600

Best Roadside Exclamations

Peoples Pharmacy When it comes to thoroughfare signage that proffers pithy satire — that sort of savvy wise-ass commentary on local follies that provokes a good guffaw as you cruise past — El Arroyo is el rey; it has the sign of the times. But for roadside messages that speak more to a state of mind than the state of the city, that express some inner condition — a mood, an attitude — in a bright burst of language, Peoples Pharmacy rules. Whether it's an Elvisary "Hunka Hunka" or a Roy Rogers-esque "Whoa Trigger!" Peoples' signed exclamations communicate something primal — and fun. Hey! We love 'em!4018 N. Lamar, 459-9090

Best Roadside Exclamations Peoples Pharmacy

Best Self-indulgence & Nepotism in an Ad Campaign

Threadgill's When local chef and sauce master Raymond Tatum first went to work for Eddie Wilson early this year, we couldn't see anything but an odd couple. However, the hilarious, tongue-in-cheek summer ad campaign touting Tatum's menu specials at the original Threadgill's location revealed they share a self-deprecating sense of humor and love of good food. Similarly, the Threadgill's ads placed on the local broadcasts of the syndicated series Xena: Warrior Princess are also hysterical and full of self-parody.And it's no secret that Threadgill's Eddie Wilson is the proud step-pop of Renee O'Connor, the local hero actress-cum-superhero sidekick to Xena. As Gabrielle, O'Connor kicks ass and takes notes as the bard who records the adventures of Xena. And this just makes Eddie Wilson beam. Xena; KNVA, Saturdays; Threadgill's, 6416 N. Lamar, 451-5440; 301 W. Riverside, 472-9304

Best Print Ad Rip-Off? or Homage?

Mojo's Daily Grind For months, we watched a woman's crotch, a pair of fishnets, and some stilettos. Then, this new, jungle print wonder arrived for our viewing pleasure, spoofing the Forbidden Fruit ad that caused no end of controversy. This new concoction was swiftly followed by shots of several baristas in the altogether — a series parading the creative cojones of those responsible for Mojo's Daily Grind naked-as-they-wanna-be campaign.2714 Guadalupe, 477-6656

Best Radio Station You Can't Get

KFAN-FM Almost as if to taunt us Austinites and damn us to corporate airwaves, the signal for the Hill Country's Rebel Radio — KFAN, 107.9 — fades just about 10 miles west of town; and with it fades sets of music that'll sandwich the V-Roys between the Derailers and Ray Wylie Hubbard. Could you tune in, you might find that followed up with Wilco and Willie and the boys. Hmm... who sells really good antennae?KFAN-107.9 FM, 210/997-2197

Best Sabotaged Bumper Sticker

Lloyd Doggett The absolute best splicing job goes to whoever emblazoned: "I'm Pro Blues Explosion & I Vote" on back of his or her Honda. Too bad there's nothing particularly local about it. For sheer length, a nod goes to the Saab with "Animals are like mom, I like them better alive" done entirely in sliced up Waterloo Records stickers. But the winner, for its subtlety and obscurity, goes to the Say Anything fan who doctored up a Lloyd Doggett sticker to read Lloyd Dobler.

Best Mindtrip

Space Channel / ACAC Ch. 10 We can't pretend that we really know what's going on when we watch Space Channel, but we are sure that it's not bad for us. Beth Clare and OVA, a "a group of teachers of Pleiades" channel we're not sure who... but it's probably someone dead. The first time we stumbled across this program, we were mesmerized. Clare looms in front of a keyed-in backdrop of the Eagle Nebula with her eyes shut tight and words tumbling out of her mouth. She speaks in an odd meter, almost with the accent of a Southern Hemispherian about things like fear, remote viewing (?), depression, being human, and hallucinogenic plants. (Heeeeyyyyyy, this is starting to make sense!) At first we thought she might be South African because of how she would put heavy stresses on the first syllables of certain words. Then we thought Australian or New Zealander. But an ACAC staffer assures us she's all-American, and says, "Now, don't quote me, but I think she's making all that stuff up." Hmmmmmm. Tune in... same Space Time, same Space Channel!Cable Channel 10, Fridays, 10pm; ACAC, 478-8600

Best More-Than-a-Pretty-Face TV Reporter

Erin Fletcher Fletcher recently moved from KTBC Fox 7 to KVUE 24. And she's the rare TV reporter who rises at the crack of dawn to make the Mayor's 8am kaffeklatsch, who shows up every week to council work sessions and meetings, and who actually knows enough to ask intelligent questions and move beyond pointing a microphone in someone's face and saying, "Tell us what happened today." Fletcher can articulate her own unscripted, informed thoughts live on camera because she bothers to know the issues and the players. 3201 Steck, 459-6521

Best Truth Test

The Statesman on Mitchell After the Willie Lewis campaign asserted that Eric Mitchell had missed over 25 percent of city council votes in seven months, the Statesman performed its own detailed study of council voting records — and consequently provided the ammunition which helped sink its own endorsed candidate. The Statesman's detailed chart chronicling the voting records of all seven councilmembers covered an entire year and showed without a doubt that Mitchell was the worst offender on the dais in absences and abstentions. The meticulous research and willingness to print the damaging results are applauded — and appreciated — by the Chronicle.305 S. Congress, 445-3613

Best Religious Partridge Family

Ricky Sparkman / ACAC Ricky Sparkman loves Jesus like nobody's business. He makes it everybody's business on an access TV program called Sparks Speaks, which unfortunately does not have a regular time slot (call for schedule). The baby boomer loves the music of the Sixties, too, but has seen fit to change the words around a little to bring the Gospel into brand new territories, with the music of the Beatles and Steppenwolf. So, in between his monologue for the day, his band, comprised of Sparkman on guitar and lead vox and his cute little towhead daughters on bass and drums, belt out the hits with a twist. A Jesus Twist. You go, God!
Various times on ACAC, 478-8600.

Best Use of the Public Airwaves

Afternoon Radio Drivetime, May 27, 1997 After the tornado, only the much-vilified talk radio, via the magic of the equally reviled mobile phone, offered any help to folks wondering if their friends and family in Williamson County were still alive. Television news was, typically, an oxymoron, as the stations filled and killed time with senseless radar maps and useless weatherchatter (repeated verbatim every 10 minutes). But good ol' radio, airing eyewitness reports from real people with real info, lived up to its maxim: The news you need, when you need it.

Best PSA Show

Best PSA Show PSA Dude on ACAC photograph by Jana Birchum

PSA Dude on ACAC Longtime community media nut Jim Ellinger (remember all those UT protests when the battles between KOOP and KTSB were raging?), has found his calling. Ellinger takes to the town and brings a camera crew (which in the case of an access program means: one), a handful of PSAs (Public Service Announcements) and armloads of attitude and keeps access viewers abreast of benefit doin's and local fundraisers. Our favorite episode had Ellinger on the Zilker Zephyr kiddie train. 1143 Northwestern, 478-8600

Best Use of $287,000

Austin Music Network For roughly what it costs to pave one block of city street, the Austin Music Network gives local cable subscribers a year's worth of music video — some national, most local. Sure, there are lots of reruns, but given the minuscule budget by TV standards, the staff does a deft job of covering all bases. Plus, if you're watching that much TV, you probably have time enough to get out and see some live music. Doncha think?309 W. Second, Ste. 15, 499-1800

Best Good-Cause Leap on a Marketing Bandwagon

CDC Immunization Billboards Women's pro basketball is a hot ticket. For the first time in history, there are two functional pro leagues (ABL & WNBA) enjoying the glow of successful first seasons and looking forward to bright futures ahead. So the Center for Disease Control knew what it was doing when it stategically placed billboards promoting immunization shots just in time for the beginning of the school year, which happened to coincide with the finale of this summer's WNBA season. The billboards, which appear all over Austin, feature a cute little baby girl rolling a basketball on the floor of what looks to be an arena. The telling and edifying text reads: "Give Her a Shot at the Pros!"National Immunization Hotline, 800/232-2522