50 Years of Best of Philly: The Media
In honor of the 50th anniversary of Best of Philly, for every month of 2024 we’re taking a look back at some major categories and standout winners. Up now: our ink-stained comrades.
BOP50: Media. Action News’s Jim Gardner: the man, the myth, the mustache. / Photograph by Jim Graham
The first time Jim Gardner graced the pages of Best of Philly, he wasn’t named 1980’s Best TV News Anchor. He wasn’t lauded for being a part of the Best News Team or for anything else having to do with news, really. He was asked, simply, for the best place to grab a hot dog at the Vet.
During baseball season: the stand behind third base on the 200 level; when the Birds played: the stand behind section 375. Frankfurter findings aside, it didn’t take long for us to discover another use for Gardner in the pages of Philadelphia magazine. He was named Best TV News Anchor from 1981 to 1985; in 1986, even when that award went to CBS’s Alan Frio, we found room for Mr. Gardner, writing, “[B]ut is that Jim Gardner’s hair he’s wearing?”
More wins in 1990 and 1992. Eventually we retired him into the Best of Philly Hall of Fame, writing, “It has gotten to the point where we don’t bother awarding Best Anchorman anymore, because everyone knows who it is.” Fair.
Jim Gardner’s ubiquity highlights something about Philadelphia that differentiates us from any other city in the country, possibly even the world: We truly love our newscasters. We follow them like celebrities, we track their every foible (hey there, Larry Mendte and John Bolaris), and we defend our stations of choice to the death. In the very same issue of Best of Philly, we’ve given awards for best anchorman, best anchorwoman, best sports anchor, best news station, and best weatherman. And that’s not just because the staff likes watching the news.
As for Jim Gardner, we knew the time would come when we’d all say our teary goodbyes. We planned for it, in fact, way back in 2005. When naming Rick Williams our Best News Anchor on the Rise, we wrote, “He jumped from mornings to late afternoon this year, and we wonder if he’s eventually headed for Jim Gardner’s chair.” Seventeen (!) years later, when Gardner finally retired, Williams had already assumed his seat on the 11 p.m. broadcast, and Brian Taff was tapped to take his chair on the 6 p.m. Big shoes and all.
BOP50: Notable Media Wins and Winners
91.7
If anyone ever asks us for our favorite radio station in Philly — they never do, but we tell them anyway — we always say Drexel’s student-run station WKDU. It’s one of the best stations in the country, period, ping-ponging between genres while never selling out. “From country to drum n’ bass to death metal, diversity reigns,” we wrote in 1999. The station has taken home awards in the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s. Tuning in for the first time? Try Eavesdrop Radio, the Friday-night jazz, soul, and hip-hop show.
1988
Best Citywide AIDS Coverage: “The Philadelphia Gay News is the paper that really broke some of the biggest AIDS stories in the city — the ones the Inky ran three days later, sans credit.”
1993
Ukee Washington, 1993’s best sportscaster / Photograph by Jim Graham
Our award for Best Sportscaster goes to Channel 3 stalwart Ukee Washington, whom we somehow persuaded to do this silly photo.
1997
Best Weathervane: The award goes to Cecily Tynan, “[a] fresh alternative to the city’s gentlemen’s weather club.” And to the art director for this issue: Really?
6
Best Columnist wins for Inquirer sage Steve Lopez in the late ’80s and early ’90s: “Whether it’s crime or corruption, week after week he speaks eloquently for everyone, addressing what’s really on people’s minds,” we wrote in 1989. If you miss his work (or missed it the first time), pick up Land of Giants, a collection of columns.
Published as “BOP 50: The Media!” in the October 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
