Texas Country Reporter has been on the air longer than any other independently produced TV show in American history!
The Texas Country Reporter Texas Tribute with the South Texas Symphonic Orchestra
Kelli and Bob Phillips share a love for people. Each has made a career of staying in constant contact with the audiences they have built in their almost life-long careers in communications. Now they are traveling the Texas back roads together as co-hosts of “Texas Country Reporter.”
Kelli Lee first appeared on television and in print at the age of 14 in commercials and ads for various businesses. At 18, Kelli became the youngest local host of Evening Magazine in the country when she was hired by KENS-TV in San Antonio while still a student at the University of Texas in Austin.
Bob Phillips started his professional career while still a college student when he was hired by KDFW-TV in Dallas at the age of 18 and a first semester freshman at SMU where he later received both his BFA and MLA degrees. He was a TV news cameraman, film editor, assignments editor, reporter, producer and anchor during his 16 years at KDFW. During that time he did general assignments reporting and also covered the political beat where he followed stories from city council meetings to the state legislature to national political conventions.
He covered The Dallas Cowboys as a photographer and was on the sidelines of every game they played, during the 1970s and early 80s. He also shot game footage for NFL Films and later worked at WFAA-TV in Dallas.
In the early 70s, Bob and a group of journalists at KDFW started the program “4 Country Reporter,” as a way to cover news in small towns and out of the way places. The program quickly became a feature show about the lives of everyday Texans. It was an instant success with Bob as its producer and host.
In 2021, the show, now called “Texas Country Reporter,” and is seen by more than a million people each week on 26 different television stations in 19 Texas markets (and nationally on RFD-TV) will begin a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Bob and Kelli will appear with the South Texas Symphonic Orchestra on October 9, 2022 in the beautiful Lila Cockrell auditorium celebrating 50 years of "Texas Country Reporter". The concert will feature Bob and Kelli onstage with the orchestra as they play Texas themed music, interspersed with narrative passages read by Bob and Kelli.
The San Antonio “Texas Tribute” event is very unique because is celebrates the 50th year of Texas Country Reporter – almost to the very day! Tickets are available on through Ticketmaster on this link:
https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/3A005C32B2762739
