Almanac clipping

Almanac

Almanac premiered on KUHT on May 26, 1989, and originally featured hosts Betty Ann Bowser and J.D. Houston. Eventually, the show moved to a single-host roundtable format with Patricia Gras, a winner of multiple regional Emmys, as its main host. A politics and public affairs show, historian William Hawes described it as a show that "covered important local topics such as illiteracy and homelessness with experts, had guest editorials, and viewer opinion by mail." The show tackles many local and national issues of importance to a broad Texas audience, including coverage of local elections, public education, the Waco standoff, local police shootings of Ida Lee Delaney and Byron Gillum, environmental conservation, racism, HIV/AIDS in Houston, and so on. Almanac also made a point of fielding viewer calls during each episode. These calls respond to anything from the format of the show, to opinions about the content, and are then played, and responded to, on air. Additionally, Almanac offers a look at the trajectory and development of a news program, as it shifts from approximately 60 minute episodes with multiple segments, to a 30-minute show containing essentially two segments a show.

Almanac flyer

Almanac Bowser/Houston photo

4th Ward clipping pt 1

4th Ward clipping pt 2

KUHT's Almanac often directs its efforts toward examining their stories from multiple sides. The following clips look at plans to redevelop Houston's 4th Ward from the point of view of politicians, private developers, property owners, and residents alike. In the gallery above, you will also find related newspaper clippings from the KUHT Collection's archive.