Best Local TV News

1. WNYT (Channel 13)

2. Capital News 9

3. WTEN (Channel 10)

Having the best anchor, weatherman (according to our readers) and news reporter (according to us) adds up to a nice big lead for WNYT. If you turn to the TV for news, clearly 13 is the channel to choose.

Best Local TV News Anchor

1. Lydia Kulbida

2. John Gray

3. Liz Bishop

Holding steady here—these are the same winners, in exactly the same order as last year’s readers’ poll. And Kulbida’s combination of charm, skills, and brains keeps her in the lead.

Best Local Meteorologist

1. Bob Kovachick

2. Steve Caporizzo

3. Steve LaPoint

Wow, y’all care about your weather! More people had opinions on this than on most other categories in media. While we have acknowledged Kovachick’s appeal and experience before, we can’t help but wonder if the recent round of advertising featuring his face had any influence on the outcome of this one.

Best Local Sportscaster

1. RoDger Wyland

2. Dan Murphy

3. Doug Sherman

Although in our own 2002 Best Of, the editors said they were happy whenever Rodger Wyland took a vacation, local readers clearly disagreed, saying they like Wyland better than the alternatives by a margin of more than 2 to 1.

Best Local News Radio

1. WAMC

2. WGY

3. WROW

Compared to last year’s tie, those who like their news with a liberal bent put AMC over the top here, but those who like their right-wing talk radio put in a surprisingly strong showing. Or perhaps they’re just people who prefer ads to fund-raising drives.

Best Local Music Radio

1. WEQX

2. WGNA

3. WRPI

Far and away, the readers agreed with the editors on this pick: Something good’s going on at EQX, especially their shows featuring new music and local music.

Best Local Radio DJ

1. Kevin Richards

2. Darwin

3. Jason Keller

It’s not just the locals who like country-music DJ Kevin Richards. His WGNA show has apparently been popular enough to help him make a move to satellite radio, bringing the love coast to coast.

Best Local Publication

1. Metroland

2. Times Union

3. The Daily Gazette

’Nuf said.

Best Local Arts Coverage

1. Metroland

2. Times Union

3. The Daily Gazette

Well, thanks everyone! With more than four times as many votes as the number-two finisher, it’s clear that we’re doing something right.

Best Local Print Journalist

1. Fred LeBrun, Alan Ilagan (tie)

3. Paul Grondahl

It’s long been clear from Metroland readers’ polls that gay commentator and columnist Alan Ilagen has one of the most organized readerships out there. We hope the venerable Fred LeBrun is honored to share his august company.

Best Local Web Site (News)

1. www.timesunion.com

2. www.capitalnews9.com

3. www.wnyt.com

With nearly twice as many votes as Capital News 9, it seems that the TU’s decision to require registration to read its online news has not deterred those browsers who want access to the most comprehensive Internet source of daily regional news.

Best Local Web Site (Community)

1. www.metroland.net

2. www.albany2go.com

3. www.timesunion.com

We like to believe that people come to us for more than our calendar listings. But hey, they are a pretty good reason to come to us.

Best Local Web Site (Arts)

1. www.metroland.net

2. www.thehiddencity.com

3. www.albany2go.com

What can we say? A bit of everything—arts news, reviews, previews, and calendar—seems to be what the people want. Though we can’t compete with the sheer volume of photos at Hidden City. Maybe the popular acclaim will bring them back from hiatus.

Best Local Web Site (Music)

1. www.metroland.net

2. www.weqx.com

3. www.rkstar.com

An alt-weekly, a radio station, and an online music zine: it seems the best music Web sites are made by good content and organizations backing them up, rather than a specific technical formula.

Best Local Blog

1. www.alanilagan.com

2. www.albanyeye.org, www.democracyinalbany.com (tie)

We can only guess that the rank order here shows that while words are great, a picture is still worth a thousand of ’em. Especially certain kinds of pictures.