Phil is currently a News Anchor and Reporter at 600 KOGO NewsRadio in San Diego. He is also the senior correspondent with an emphasis on politics, military and sports.
In addition, Farrar was doing double-duty, serving as CW6 News Weekend Morning Anchor and also anchored sports and was a reporter until the TV station lost its affiliation in May of 2017.
Farrar is a National Award winning broadcast journalist. His list of honors includes the coveted Edward R. Murrow Award. Farrar received the Murrow for anchoring the 'Best Regional Newscast' for KOGO Radio in 2022. Phil and the staff at KOGO radio were presented the prestigious Marconi Radio Award for their tireless efforts covering the 2003 San Diego Wildfires.
In September of 2021, Phil Farrar was honored with the Herb Klein Lifetime Media Award from the San Diego Chapter of the Federalist Society. Klein served as Press Secretary and Communications Director in the White House's West Wing under President Richard Nixon.
He has been individually recognized six times by the National Association of Black Journalist and received five awards for stories right here in San Diego on the Black diaspora. He's a multiple Associated Press club award-winning Broadcast Journalist. His awards case also includes six Golden Mike's from the distinguished Radio Television News Association of Southern California,
In 2004, Phil was named one of the top five ABC Radio Network affiliate reporters in the entire country. He has also appeared on CNN and MSNBC as a special broadcast courtroom analyst during high-profiled murder trials. Farrar has also contributed to Fox News and ABC Radio by providing reports pertaining to the military, U.S./Mexico border and California.
During his career, Farrar has interviewed iconic sports figures from Mays to 'Magic.' He has reported live from the World Series, the MLB All-Star game, four Super Bowls, the World Cup and the NBA Finals. His career also includes up to the minute real time reporting from major political conventions. Farrar has had one-on-one exclusive interviews with prisoners, players, presidents and other politicians. He has co-hosted parades and military air shows and moderated debates. In all, he has reported live from five countries and two continents.
Phil, a Freeport, Illinois native began his career just twenty miles away in Rockford. He was a News and Sports Anchor/Reporter at the then ABC affiliate WREX-TV. In 1989 he joined the NBC Owned and Operated station, WMAQ in Chicago. He further honed his skills by writing, producing, field producing and producing the 'Sunday Sports Show.' Phil worked briefly at the CBS O&O as a writer and field producer before returning to WMAQ to anchor late evening and overnight newscasts.
Farrar took his game West to San Diego where he was the 11pm Sports Anchor for the ABC affiliate, KGTV, Channel 10. While in San Diego, Farrar regularly covers the Padres, (the then San Diego Chargers) along with the professional minor league hockey San Diego Gulls. Phil has anchored live baseball coverage from Arizona and Florida during Spring Training and served as a pre-game and post-game host. He's followed Woods, Mickelson, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson along with other leaders at the annual San Diego PGA tournament. From the first through the 18th hole at the 2008 US Open, Phil was inside the ropes as Tiger Woods defeated Rocco Mediate on a fifth day of playoff golf at the seaside course known as Torrey Pines. Farrar has covered some of the world's greatest athletes at the Olympic Training Center located just south of San Diego and interviewed former Olympians who call the region home. He is a fixture as he reports on teams and individuals from Division I and II colleges along with challenged athletes.
Phil's dedication to his profession has earned him nearly 100 accolades. He has been recognized by the San Diego Press Club for both radio and television. In October of 2017, Farrar was awarded 1st place by the Press Club for his live TV anchored coverage of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game held here in San Diego. He also received top radio honors from the Club for a story he did on 'Rachel's Challenge to San Diego.' The story centered around Rachel Scott who was the first student shot and killed during the Columbine massacre. A foundation in her name started a pilot program here in San Diego to prevent bullying and encourage students to exercise random acts of kindness.
Farrar was awarded 1st place for broadcast journalistic excellence in October of 2020 for his lengthy and extensive coverage of the Covid-19 clustered sick ship, the USS Theodore Roosevelt by the San Diego Press Club. More than one quarter of the 4,800 members of the crew contracted coronavirus. Phil spoke with sailors on board and several family members while the ship was docked in the US territory of Guam for 55 days. Phil was also a recipient of ‘San Diego’s Frontline Covid-19 Heroes.’ These were men and women who came home to a hero‘s welcome every night by fellow San Diegans who made a joyful noise for their efforts in hospitals, grocery stores and truck drivers who delivered goods and services. In March of 2021, he received his 5th Golden Mike from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California for ‘Excellence in Writing’ for his work on that 'Frontline' story.
In October of 2018, Phil was honored with five awards for his live field reporting of the California wildfires in San Diego County. He also covered live — the arrival and speech of Donald Trump. It marked the president’s first visit to the Golden State as the Commander-in-Chief who spoke to members of the military at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in March of 2018.
Farrar also took home three individual awards for his retrospective series, “Shattered in 1968: San Diego Remembers.” It was an in-depth look from a San Diego perspective on the 50th anniversary of one of the most explosive and divisive years in world and American history. Phil interviewed those who had a connection with and remembered the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy and unknowingly were involved in the battle changing ‘Tet Offensive’ in Vietnam.
He has earned five individual Golden Mikes from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California (RTNA) for sports coverage and in-depth news reporting. In January of 2019, Farrar shares a sixth Golden Mike with his producer as they were honored for a three-part series on stories from that turbulent year of 1968. On July 17th, 2019, Farrar was again honored by the Society of Professional Journalist taking home the Top Award Category for Excellence in Journalism for the same series. In 2022, SPJ awarded Phil for anchoring the ‘Best Radio Newscast’ and for writing and voicing a KOGO Radio team report on September 11th — the 20th commemoration of the deadliest terrorist attacks ever in the United States.
In October of 2019, Phil’s powerful story telling, writing and breaking news acumen was more than enough to honor him with five first individual place awards. He was recognized by the San Diego Press Club’s Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards. No broadcast journalist in radio or television took home more 1st Place awards that evening than Phil Farrar. He was honored for a Veterans Day Special for an in-depth look at the Vietnam war during the Tet Offensive. This was also a prolonged piece that ran on Veterans Day weekend. Judges also recognized his critical acclaimed writing of the event as he took you to the battlefields of Vietnam of that year. Farrar was also honored for a feature sports story he covered from start to finish: ‘The Call to the Hall: Trailblazer and the first person of color, WILLIE O’REE was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He also earned first place recognition for writing the story in the Feature award category. Phil was part of the KOGO News Team’s first place (his sixth of the evening) finish for breaking news coverage of the deadly Poway, CA synagogue shootings.
In 2008, his five-part series on "Black in San Diego" earned him honors from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club, NABJ and the RTNA. Farrar captured the Press Club's 1st place award in 2004 as he anchored live news coverage from South America aboard the USS Ronald Reagan as the world's largest nuclear powered warship churned through the Pacific waters during its maiden voyage. He was the first and only broadcast journalist embedded with the Reagan for two weeks as it made its home porting to United States Naval Base Coronado.
Phil also dedicates his time to non-profit agencies like the YWCA where he has worked with children of abused women. He has served as Master of Ceremonies during the International Police Chief's Convention for the 9-1-1 for Kids Heroes Awards. Farrar volunteered to emcee the San Diego Padres annual Salute to the Negro Leagues. From 2015-2017, Phil produced, wrote, voiced, directed videos and served as the emcee for the Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce annual Scholarship Gala.
Farrar is a history buff and loves reading about the incredible significance the Negro Leagues and the unknown accomplishments it had on American culture. He had the honor and privilege to spend time with some of the military's first African-American pilots and crew members; the Tuskegee Airmen.
Phil is a Freeport High School Pretzel and a Southern Illinois University Saluki graduate. In September of 2018, Farrar was inducted in to his high school Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Alumni.
While he has never forgotten his Midwestern roots, Phil is extremely proud to report on and call Southern California his home.
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