Texas Country Reporter

"Texas Country Reporter" is a long-running weekly syndicated television program hosted and produced by Bob Phillips. It airs in all 22 Texas media markets, generally on weekends, and reruns are broadcast nationally on the satellite/cable channel RFD-TV. [http://texascountryreporter.com/show_time.htm Texas Country Reporter: Showtimes] . Retrieved April 11, 2008.] As of April 2008, Phillips had taped two thousand episodes of the program. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/us/10texas.html?ex=1208404800&en=258b416637eda2bc&ei=5070&emc=eta1 "If It's in Texas, the Texas Country Reporter Has Seen It"] , "The New York Times", April 10, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008.]

"Texas Country Reporter" showcases Texas people and places, with an emphasis on rural areas and a style similar to that of Charles Kuralt's "On the Road" reports for CBS News. Originally called "4 Country Reporter", it debuted in 1972 on Dallas television station KDFW, Channel 4. In 1986, Phillips left KDFW and began selling the show in syndication, adopting the "Texas Country Reporter" name. In the Dallas market, KDFW didn't pick up the syndicated version, but rival station WFAA (Channel 8) picked it up (calling the show "8 Country Reporter").

One of the show's trademarks is Phillips' Texas-flag-styled SUV, seen in the opening credits crossing the Regency Bridge, a small one-lane suspension bridge over the Colorado River between Richland Springs and Goldthwaite, Texas.

The show is independently syndicated, with Phillips retaining half of the ads for regional sponsors [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/us/10texas.html?ex=1208404800&en=258b416637eda2bc&ei=5070&emc=eta1 "If It's in Texas, the Texas Country Reporter Has Seen It"] , "The New York Times", April 10, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008.] ; he appears in many of the regional ads, and the sponsors' logos adorn the back of the famed SUV. For twelve years, the show has headlined the Texas Country Reporter Festival in Waxachie, south of Dallas, with some of the people highlighted on the show in attendance. [http://www.texascountryreporter.com/Festival2007/2007festival.htm Bob Phillips Texas Country Reporter Festival, 2007] . Retrieved September 9, 2007.] [http://www.waxahachiedowntown.com/bob_phillips.htm Waxahachie Downtown: Annual Bob Phillips Texas Country Reporter Festival] , WaxahachieDowntown.com. Retrieved September 9, 2007.]

"Texas Country Reporter" posts selected segments to its YouTube page [http://www.youtube.com/user/texascountryreporter Director Page: Texas Country Reporter] , YouTube. Retrieved September 9, 2007.] , and some have been featured on local newscasts. A three-DVD highlights set, "Go! Stay! Eat!", was released September 17, 2005.

A national version of the show, "On the Road With Bob Phillips", is planned to debut in January 2009; Phillips previously did 60 stories in 35 states as part of a "Texas Country Reporter Discovers America" series for the show's 25th anniversary in 1998. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/us/10texas.html?ex=1208404800&en=258b416637eda2bc&ei=5070&emc=eta1 "If It's in Texas, the Texas Country Reporter Has Seen It"] , "The New York Times", April 10, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008.] Ray Miller (1919-2008) of KPRC-TV of Houston produced a similar series "The Eyes of Texas", which ran from 1969-1989 and is still shown in reruns on another Houston television station.

Recent TCR segments

Johnny Anders, mayor of Stamford and metal artist

Bud Andrews, deejay in Lubbock

Blues Boy Willie, blues musician from Memphis, Texas

Minnie Lou Bradley, rancher near Childress

Jared Calvert, young pilot from Ranger

Virgil Johnson

Gary D. McCaleb, former mayor of Abilene; vice-president of Abilene Christian University; co-founder of the National Center for Illustrated Children's Literature in downtown Abilene

Myna Potts, historical preservationist from Hardeman County

"Rosebud Fountain and Grill" in downtown Victoria

Simon Vega, owner/operator of "Little Graceland" museum in Los Fresnos dedicated to his Army friend, Elvis Presley

Notes

Related links

* [http://www.texascountryreporter.com/ Official site] , includes information on the people featured, events calendar and guide to Texas dialect.
* [http://www.phillipsproductions.com/ Phillips Productions] , Bob Phillips' company, which produces the show.
* [http://www.rfdtv.com/shows/texas.asp RFD-TV] , features a brief history of the show in Phillips' own words.