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Best World-Music Radio Show

TerraSonic

Joel Davis, the man behind TerraSonic, brings the world to Denver every Saturday afternoon. He's a veteran musical explorer, and his deep knowledge of indigenous sounds from around the globe results in a program that's simultaneously accessible and adventurous. Last year, the show moved from Radio 1190 to KGNU, and earlier this month, it became the first to air from the latter's new studio. This honor was appropriate, since TerraSonic specializes in breaking new ground.

Best Radio-Station Swap

Classic Country for ESPN Radio

At 1600 AM, KCKK had spun classic country for years -- but when execs at Lincoln Financial Media, the station's owner, decided to flip to ESPN programming, the format seemed doomed. Then Tim Brown of NRC Broadcasting rode to the rescue, striking a deal that moved the style to 1510 AM, call letters and all. The arrangement is a boon for sports fans even as it preserves one of the Denver dial's true gems -- a place where the country music actually sounds like country music. It's a kick.

Best Really Old Oldies Station

Studio 1430

The very airwaves that emanate from Studio 1430 AM feel a bit gentler, a bit less abrasive than those that beam from other stations. Judging by commercials for retirement communities and all-inclusive cruise vacations, as well as station IDs that extol the virtues of the Autumn Years ("Relax -- you've earned it," assures one soothing female voice), the station's primary demographic is the seventy-and-up set -- but the sounds themselves have classic, timeless appeal, from '40s big band to '50s swing to '60s pop. Studio 1430 plays it all with genuine reverence rather than retro shtick, spinning such artists as the Andrews Sisters, Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra with equal respect. Go on, tune in, and just see how your day improves after a good long listen to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." You've earned it.

Best Radio DJ

Bret Saunders

Bret Saunders handles his show so smoothly that his efforts don't always receive the attention they deserve. He's got eclectic musical tastes -- he regularly writes about jazz for the Denver Post -- and if KBCO's sonic signature restrains him to some degree when it comes to song choices, he more than makes up for such limitations with banter, commentary and interviews that are typically smart, feisty and funny as hell. It takes hard work to make things look so easy.

Best Radio Talk-Show Host

Jay Marvin

Air America Radio, which supplies most of AM 760's content, isn't in the best of health; the network filed for bankruptcy last year, and while it was subsequently purchased by Green Family Media, the recent departure of comic-turned-senatorial-candidate Al Franken doesn't help. But Jay Marvin gives local liberals an excellent reason to keep tuning in. He may be less excitable than he was during his stint with KHOW in the '90s, but he remains an impassioned commentator who's able to balance righteous indignation with personal warmth. He's the talk of the town.

Best Spellcheck Snafu

"Donald Armsful"

A reprint of a Washington Post story that ran on page one of the December 3 Denver Post included a subhead identifying former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as "Donald Armsful." It was probably a spellcheck error, but there's always the possibility that a Rumsfeld sympathizer at the Post got into the file. After all, Rumsfeld really did have his arms full.

Best Spellcheck Snafu -- Runner-Up

"Al Lies at DenverPost.com"

At the end of an article about an Aspen mansion that Denver Post business scribe Al Lewis wrote last year, his e-mail address -- [email protected] -- was printed as [email protected], which he read as Al Lies at DenverPost.com. Lewis says spellcheck was the culprit, and there's no reason to doubt him. After all, Al Doesn't Lie at DenverPost.com.

Best Unknown Cable Network

HDNet

One of Denver's biggest cable operations is a mystery to most Denver cable subscribers. HDNet and its sister service, HDNet Movies, both owned by Dallas billionaire Mark Cuban, employ a staff of around 200 full-time employees who work at Colorado Studios in Stapleton. The channels have a growing national profile, thanks in large part to Cuban's hiring of CBS vet Dan Rather to host a weekly news program. But while the stations are available on DISH Network and DirecTV, those who get Comcast don't get HDNet, and that's a shame -- because they deserve the chance to check out HDNet's gains, too.

Best Denver Insult

Dave Barry

It's an honor to be savaged by someone as talented as Dave Barry -- and when Congressman Tom Tancredo called Miami a Third World country, he might as well have put a "kick me" sign on Denver's back. In honor of the Super Bowl arriving in Miami, Floridian Barry wrote a column welcoming visitors and offering this: "Miami is also a world-class party city, which is why the Super Bowl is being held here for a record-tying ninth time. Compare that with -- to pick a city at random -- Denver, which has been selected to host the Super Bowl a total of let's see, the 60s, nope, the 70s, nope, the 80s, nope, the 90s, nope, the 2000s, nope.... Gosh, it seems that Denver has NEVER, not one single time in over four decades, been selected to host the Super Bowl. I'm sure there's a good reason for this, such as that the Denver area has too few hotel rooms, or too many xenophobic dimwits representing it in Congress."

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