Keynote for Meet the Media July 17, 2007

TOM SPENCER

Biographical Sketch

Tom Spencer is a television producer and host, freelance writer, photographer, and radio personality. He has a longtime professional association with KLRU-TV, Austin's Public Television station.

Employed by KLRU since 1982, Spencer has served as a manager and producer of local and statewide public affairs programs, nationally distributed documentaries on art and architecture, and a wide variety of special projects. Throughout his association with KLRU he has also served as a host for the station's local programming. Currently he serves as Executive Producer and host of the weekly cultural affairs series Austin Now.

Spencer has won many awards and honors for his work on television. A singular honor came in 1994 when he was appointed to a select task force by the President of PBS to reshape public affairs programming for the national system. More recently, his documentary, The Painted Churches of Texas: Echoes of the Homeland won the National Educational Television Association’s award for Historical Documentary of the Year (2001.) In 2003 the Austin Chronicle named Austin Now as “Austin’s Best New Television Program” as a part of its annual “Best of Austin Awards” issue and in 2004 Spencer was chosen as “Best TV Moderator” by the same publication.

In addition to The Painted Churches of Texas, Spencer's documentary projects have included:Soul of the Garden, a series of personal spiritual reflections; Las Misiones: The Missions of Texas; Rio Grande: La Frontera, on the architecture and history of the Texas-Mexico border; Austin Remember When, a series of documentaries on the history of Austin; and James Michener and the Art of Collecting, a profile of writer James Michener and his collection of 20th century American art.

Since 1983 Spencer has also produced and hosted a weekly radio program on gardening for KLBJ-AM. He is the author of numerous articles and columns on gardening and landscape design. His work has appeared in a variety of publications including: The Good Life, Domain Magazine, The Austin Chronicle, and The Austin American-Statesman. He also currently hosts the Central Texas Gardener, a weekly gardening program presented by KLRU. An accomplished photographer, his work has appeared in galleries and has been published along with his written work.

His current projects include the internationally popular website: www.soulofthegarden.com winner of the first ever “Mouse and Trowel” award as the “Gardening Website of the Year” for 2007.

Contact:

512.475.9042 – toms@klru.org