Media Life
June 30, 2003
Media Life's Best of the Best
Whereupon we honor the publishers, editors, magazines and newspapers, producers, shows and web sites that we think have made a difference
By Gene Ely
Media Life recently celebrated its fourth birthday, making us genuinely old folks on the internet, and as the anniversary approached, we had cause to ponder how much we have learned, and more important, by whom we have been most inspired.
Magazines, Media Life included, may pretend to follow their own star -- it would be heresy to admit otherwise -- but the truth is that each day we see things that impress us and inspire us. They inspire us to try harder and to do better, to be more innovative, to see a greater vision than the one sitting at the end of our nose at the moment.
In recognition, we've created our first awards, the Best of the Best, spanning all forms of ad-supported media. Over the past few weeks, since our official birthday of May 17, we've periodically published our initial Best-Ofs, which included Salon, the online magazine, The New York Daily News, the TV show "This Old House," the magazine Budget Living and in a nod to a person, Martha Stewart, for her influence and the influence of her magazine on other titles.
Today, we're publishing the rest of our Best-Ofs for 2003, another seven, and that list includes the magazines The Economist, Blender and ReadyMade, radio's "Marketplace" from Public Radio International and three TV shows, "Alias," "Six Feet Under" and "Angel."
Our tributes include, in some cases, the suggestions of our readers, whom we polled for guidance on our first Best of the Best awards. But more they represent the eclectic tastes of the Media Life staff, rather than simply what's most popular or critically acclaimed.
At the top of the list are our newest Best-Ofs. Below we've reprinted our earlier tributes to Salon, “This Old House,” Budget Living, the New York Daily News and Martha Stewart.
TELEVISION
'Alias'
Network: ABC
Creator: J.J. Abrams
“Alias” creator J.J. Abrams is like a heavyweight fighter. Just when you’ve got your breath back, he delivers another blow. He leaves you staggering, gasping and, quite unlike a heavyweight fighter, eager for more.
At midseason, Abrams had the gall to completely reconfigure his show, neatly tying up the first season and a half’s plot while starting another one in motion that, believe it or not, involved an evil double.
"Alias" fans believed it. They almost always do. Abrams keeps feeding them bigger and bigger twists, and though they might sway, they continue to want more.
Abrams has shown that he’s not afraid to take chances that might alienate viewers. Perhaps that’s why the audience isn’t quite what ABC would like, though the show did pick up some steam among younger viewers after the special post-Super Bowl episode.
It’s tempting to dumb down smart shows in order to gain audience. But by keeping Syd and her family (wonderfully portrayed by Victor Garber and Lena Olin) on constantly uneven ground, Abrams keeps the rest of us just as nervous, always waiting for that knockout punch.
[snip]
© Media Life 2003
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