For more than 50 years, the back roads of Texas have been home and office for Texas Country Reporter Bob Phillips. He was born in Dallas, but spent much of his youth growing up on the family farm near Lake Texoma. It was there that Bob lived with and learned from the folks he calls the “salt of the earth.” His “Texas Country Reporter” television series is a celebration of the Texas way of life and a tribute to the “real” heroes of our time — the everyday men and women who make our state such a special, diverse place.
Bob started his television career at KDFW-TV (Channel 4) in Dallas, Texas, in 1970 while he was a student at SMU. He was a photographer, reporter and anchor and covered general news and politics. He covered several state and national political conventions and the inauguration of President Nixon, and even sports, where he spent more than a decade traveling with the Dallas Cowboys and shooting for NFL Films. His “Country Reporter” series began at KDFW-TV in 1972 and continued on that station until Phillips moved his program to WFAA-TV in October of 1986 and then syndicated the program statewide. Bob’s back roads travels have lasted 50+ years and “Texas Country Reporter” is now seen in all television markets in Texas and, since 2000, nationally on the RFD-TV network.
Bob is a 1973 graduate of Southern Methodist University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in Broadcast-Film-Art. In 1976, he received a Master of Liberal Arts degree from SMU. Bob is also a Professor at Amberton University where he has taught communications classes since 1988.
The TV series Bob started 50 years ago, “Texas Country Reporter”, is now a part of Texas Monthly, the Texas magazine that started only 4-months after TCR. Bob and his wife, Kelli, a former news anchor, still produce and co-host the weekly program that is watched by more than a million viewers every week and is the longest running independently produced TV program in American television history .