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Advertising: It's Not Your Average Day Job
A look at the creative energy and hard work that goes into producing the advertising messages that are so much a part of everyday life. The show traces the development of two commercials at Steiner/Bressler Advertising in Birmingham. On line study guide available for this program.
Producer: George Smith

Artists All
In March, 1994, six professional artists from around the South spent two weeks in Selma helping its residents learn how creative communication can enhance their sense of community. The poet, storyteller, drummer, dancer, and singer/songwriter duo did more than simply demonstrate their own talents. Working intensively with small groups of all ages, the artists helped Selma residents discover their own valuable stories and insights, and develop creative ways to convey those stories to others.
Producer: Carolyn Hales

Bike To The Future
Alabamians have been riding bicycles since shortly after the Civil War. This program profiles people in the state who are riding farther and faster than ever before. Included: a bicycle commuter; champion racers; policemen on bikes; Alabama's first bicycle trail; and Huntsville engineers who may be building the bike of the future.
Producer: Brent Davis

A Bird In the Hand
Self-educated ornithologists Bob and Martha Sargent of Clay, Ala., entertain thousands of visitors in their back yard each year--ruby-throated hummingbirds, migrating to and from Central America. The Sargents are among the nation’s pre-eminent authorities on ruby-throats and other migratory birds. See how they meticulously train volunteers who trap and band birds for research purposes, and watch them performing a census at Ft. Morgan that yields a remarkable variety of birds.
Producer: Brent Davis

A Closer Look
They’re closer than sisters. Which is to be expected, since they share the same school, live in the same house, and, as vision impaired people, face many of the same challenges. Follow five students through their final days at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Talladega, from track meet to prom to graduation, and learn about their hopes and dreams.
Producer: Wendy Bruce

Conscience of a Congressman: The Life and Times of Carl Elliott
The story of a poor north Alabamian who became congressman and drafted legislation that changed how America educates its citizens. Elliott, winner of the John F. Kennedy foundation's 1990 Profile in Courage award, recalls his political triumphs and the bitter defeat that relegated him to obscurity.  Online study guide available.
Producer: Mike Letcher

Drawn To Be Different
How two groups in the state --- Artifice Rex in Montgomery and Times Eight in Birmingham --- are creating new opportunities for artists interested in non-traditional works.
Producer: George Smith

Finding Refuge in Alabama
There are at least 3500 refugees in Alabama. These people have left their homelands because of political persecution. How are they fitting in? This program profiles Laotians in Opelika, Vietnamese in Bayou la Batre, and Cambodians in Irvington.
Producers: Rieland, Davis, Connell

Floundering, A Gulf Coast Tradition
The history of catching this vital sport and commercial fish on Alabama's coast. Also, learn about Jubilee, when creatures that live on the bottom of Mobile Bay mysteriously come up out of the water and stack up on the shores.
Producer: Bill Connell

The Gospel According to Wayne Flynt
Profiling Alabama's "evangelist for reform," an ordained Southern Baptist minister and history professor at Auburn University. Wayne Flynt is also a controversial figure -- he has criticized the state's leadership and advocates major changes in education and politics.
Producer: Mike Letcher

High Tech, High Hopes
Is technology really making a difference in our state's schools or is it too expensive and too complicated? This program examines the pros and cons of computers, classroom TV, and other technology tools. Included: a profile of programs in Bessemer and Mobile Public Schools and the use of technology to reform science education in the state.
Producer: Tom Rieland

Historic Haven: Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
Stunning images of ducks, geese, alligators and many other animals from Alabama's first National Wildlife Refuge. Plus the story of how the state's premier waterfowl wintering ground was created.
Producer: Preston Sullivan

Homefolks
Homelessness in Alabama through the eyes of five people: a mother of three, victim of spouse abuse; an ex-marine who manages a shelter after living as a transient; a laborer forced off the job because of an injury who's studying to be an electrician; and two rural Alabamians whose troubles show that the problem of homelessness is not confined to the big city.
Producer: Mike Letcher

I’m In The Truth Business: William Bradford Huie
Alabama author William Bradford Huie sold 28 million books and seven of them were made into Hollywood movies. He also invented checkbook journalism when he investigated civil rights murders. This program profiles one of this century’s most successful and controversial writers.
Producer: Brent Davis

Life Time
The issues and concerns of Alabama families as their retarded children become adults. Will these people with special needs find opportunities for work outside the home and a chance to be as independent as possible?
Producer: Brent Davis

New South Star
TIME magazine called it one of the nation's best newspapers. But it's not in a large town or a thriving business center. The Anniston Star and its publishing family are profiled in the context of Anniston's history as a post-Civil War model city of the "New South" It's in Anniston, Alabama. See why the Anniston Star became an influential newspaper in a city with a remarkable history. On line study guide available.
Producer: Mike Letcher

Natural Assets
Alabama is one of the richest states in the country in terms of natural resources, but one of the poorest when it comes to preserving those resources. Often, environmental protection is seen as a hindrance to economic betterment. Natural Assets features a group of enterprising Alabamians who are finding ways to make a living while protecting or even improving the environment.
Producer: Carolyn Hales

No Excuses
Intimate portraits of three athletes with Alabama ties who participated in the Fourth Paralympic Games last summer in Atlanta. Featured: powerlifter Mitch Strickland; basketball player Ronda Jarvis; and discus thrower Willard Brooks, Jr.
Producer: Shannon Livingston

One of A Kind
Though its success has spawned imitators, The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail-history's largest golf course design and construction project-remains unique through its sheer magnitude, high quality, and its unprecedented approach to public golf. "One of A Kind" profiles The Trail's eight spectacular sites, and explains their origin and impact on the state of Alabama. The unparalleled career of legendary architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. is also examined.  Click here for press release.
Producer: Preston Sullivan

The Principal of the Thing
See how three Alabama principals meet new challenges in education while performing a traditional role in our schools. Included: a principal who helped bring $750,000 into her school (Cheryl Deaton\Opelika); a former state principal of the year and the intern studying with her (Shelly Jones/Tuscaloosa); and a principal who's restored discipline and community to a high school (Charles Warren/Ensley).
Producer: Brent Davis

A Season With the Forgotten Farmers
An eight month diary of two devoted African American farmers in Alabama's Black Belt. Rev. John Ward of Perry County and John Henry Travis of Hale County are two of what many call the last generation of African American farmers. Their family's farming legacy will end when they retire. They represent thousands who labor each season, chasing their dream of a bountiful harvest.
Producer: Dwight Cammeron

Six O'Clock High: Making TV News
A day in the life of the news department at Channel 13, WVTM-TV, Birmingham. This program follows reporters on the streets, producers in the newsroom, and anchors in the studio and explores who decides what is news and how it gets on the 6 o'clock broadcast. On line study guide available for this program.
Producer: Michael Letcher.

Triptik: Birmingham to Montgomery on Highway 31
It used to be Alabama's busiest road, but now everyone takes the interstate. Ride the old road using a 1941 driving tour as a guide and discover Alabama's Scandinavian settlement; the descendant of a famous poet; one of the state's oldest dry goods stores; the secret of the Temple of Sybil. On line study guide available for this program.
Producer: Brent Davis

Triptik: Traveling Alabama's Highway 90
Whether you like your wit-n-wisdom from Steve the Horse Trainer or Norm the Tireman, or if you'd rather just explore the history of Mardi Gras, you can find it all on Highway 90 -- a small stretch of road with a heap of Southern charm!
Producer: Shannon Liptak

Two Zoos
Alabama's zoos do more than put animals on display. This show looks at efforts in Birmingham and Montgomery to preserve endangered species through scientific breeding programs while providing education and entertainment for the public. Also, how both zoos are incorporating more natural, open surroundings for the animals in lieu of typical cages.
Producer: George Smith

Unique Cultural Attractions
Visits to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia; The Carolyn Blount Theatre in Montgomery, home of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival; The Mobile Opera; Looney's Tavern Amphitheater in Double Springs; and Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, the birthplace of Helen Keller and site of "The Miracle Worker" outdoor drama. Host: Tom Halladay.
Producer: Bill Connell

Vine Boy
Explore the state with Mitch Mendelson, the provocative and entertaining Birmingham Post-Herald columnist. In his "Life On The Vine" features adapted for this program he writes about Little River Canyon, riding Amtrak's Gulf Breeze, a unique and fascinating rural church, and a noteworthy choir director at Parker High School.
Producer: Brent Davis

The Wilderness Dilemma
Should more of the Bankhead National Forest in northwestern Alabama be declared a wilderness area, protecting it from timber harvesting? The Bankhead is rich in plant and animal life and it forms a vital watershed that provides drinking water for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians. But its timber is worth millions of dollars in a state with an ailing economy. This program examines protecting this valuable resource.
Producer: George Smith

With Woman: Alabama's Nurse Midwives
Profiles of three Alabama nurse midwives. Among them they have assisted in nearly 2,000 births. The use of midwives was very common before people had access to physicians. Nurse midwifery was made legal in 1976, and today the state's approximately 35 nurse midwives practice under very strict guidelines.
Producer: Delores Chestnut