On Wednesday, November 12, in a White House ceremony, President Bush and the National Endowment for the Arts presented Austin City Limits with the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence - the National Medal of Arts.

Austin City Limits, a production of KLRU-TV, Austin, is the first television series or program to receive this honor since the medal's creation in 1984.

More than any other series on television, Austin City Limits has showcased and preserved a rich legacy of authentic American music. For more than 29 years, it has presented an up close and personal look at music, airing more than 400 shows since the pilot episode featuring Willie Nelson in 1974. The program's signature look gives it an intimate feeling and the no-frills format gives artists the freedom to express themselves musically on television in a way that is incomparable.