Radio-TV-Film Professor to Host Second Season of Weekly Statewide Public Affairs Show

AUSTIN, Texas — Jan. 24, 2007 — University of Texas at Austin Radio-Television-Film Professor and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Stekler will host the second season of “Special Session,” the statewide series covering the issues and politics of the Texas Legislature.

The series is produced by KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, in association with Midnight Films and will debut in Austin at 11 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 4, on Texas PBS stations (check local listings).

Each week, journalists, politicos and other notable Texans take on the issues and politics confronting this year’s 80th session of the Texas Legislature in this Lone Star Emmy-nominated half-hour series. Special Session will air on PBS stations in Amarillo, Austin, College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio and Waco.

Produced in Austin, Special Session will interweave documentary and discussion to stay one step ahead of the legislation destined to affect our lives long after the legislators head home. The first month’s programs will feature a look back at the late Gov. Ann Richards (including a short documentary using never-seen-before footage), former state Comptroller John Sharp looking back on the school finance plan he helped pass last year, and the impact of human service cuts across Texas.

“Getting the chance to cover a session of the Texas Legislature again, in a series like Special Session, is a political junkie’s dream,” said Stekler whose credits include “Last Man Standing” and “George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire.” “We get to cover issues in-depth, travel around Texas, talk to some of the most interesting political observers in the state, and keep current, with a show to air every week for the duration of the session. It’s also a real challenge, something very different than producing long form documentaries.”

Special Session is one of several locally produced, award winning programs that KLRU airs. “KLRU is really excited to be able to work again with Paul and his team of nationally recognized filmmakers to create a show about one of the most interesting political arenas in the country,” said Bill Stotesbery, CEO and General Manager of KLRU.

Each week Special Session will tackle one of the state’s most pressing issues. The show will also feature a look at the media, Lobby and those who make the Legislature work from Stekler’s unique perspective.

For more information about Special Session, visit www.klru.org/specialsession. Each episode will be available for video-streaming at that site after its broadcast.

Special Session is a production of KLRU in association with Midnight Films. Funding for Special Session is provided in part by the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation, Public Strategies Inc., The Meredith Family Foundation and the Nowlin Family Fund at the Austin Community Foundation. Additional support is provided by Garrett and Cecilia Boone.

ABOUT KLRU

KLRU-TV, Austin PBS, reflects, celebrates and inspires Central Texas through creative excellence, community engagement and lifelong learning. Although primarily a television station providing locally produced and quality national programming, KLRU is also a non-profit organization helping to build a stronger community through five areas of focus — KLRU Presents, KLRU Explores, KLRU Creates, KLRU Connects and KLRU Educates. In Austin, KLRU is channel 18, cable channel 9. For more information about KLRU, visit klru.org.

ABOUT Special Session Production Team:

Paul Stekler (host/executive producer) has produced many of PBS’s most honored documentaries on American politics including “George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire” (Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival), “Last Man Standing: Politics, Texas Style,” “Vote for Me: Politics in America,” and “Louisiana Boys: Raised on Politics.” His films have won numerous Emmys, Peabodys and DuPont-Columbia Journalism Awards. Stekler also is the director of the LBJ School’s new Center on Politics and Governance.

Diane Zander (series producer) is an Emmy Award winner for her work on the Chicago PBS documentary Moving Stories. She makes documentaries while teaching media production at the University of Texas at Austin. Her latest documentary, “Girl Wrestler,” was broadcast nationally on PBS’s “Independent Lens.” A summa cum laude graduate of Northwestern University, she received her MFA in film and video production at the University of Texas at Austin.

Megan Field (series producer) most recently did independent producing and research for “Frontline’s The Choice,” while also working on a film on the Bush family for German ARD-TV, which aired in France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Megan was the associate producer and assistant editor on “Last Man Standing.” Previously, she served two years as the co-conference director of the Austin Film Festival. She is a graduate of the Radio-Television-Film program at the University of Texas at Austin.

Sandra Guardado (series editor) won an Emmy Award for her work on “George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire.” She was the editor and co-producer on “Last Man Standing: Politics, Texas Style.” She also is an editor on a new series about higher education and innovation set to air statewide in Texas starting in February.

Deborah Eve Lewis (series cinematographer) has shot all of Paul Stekler’s recent films, including “Last Man Standing” and “Spit Farther!” Besides “Special Session,” their next project is a feature-length documentary about the late Governor Ann Richards. Her last narrative feature, “Afraid of Everything,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

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Contact: Maury Sullivan

(512) 475-9087

msullivan@klru.org