San Diego AM radio station KOGO Newsradio 600 and anchor-reporter Phil Farrar was recently presented with three Golden Mike awards from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California.
The awards recognized excellence in broadcast journalism covering a wide swath of Southern California stretching from Inyo to Imperial counties and including the Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs markets.
At the awards ceremony held in March in Hollywood, Farrar picked-up Golden Mikes in three categories, including best radio sports feature, best serious news feature and best weekend newscast anchor.
“These awards are very prestigious and extremely difficult to attain, but it’s all about the art of storytelling,” Farrar told Times of San Diego. “Some stories involve hours of research or waking up in the middle of the night with a random thought or phrase that could be added. The stories aren’t always feel-good news, but the key is good storytelling.”
The sports story, titled “His Grind Towards Paris Gold,” was about Point Loma native and skateboarder Tate Carew who competed in the 2024 Olympics in France. Judges wrote, “We loved the excitement of storytelling, the tight writing and especially the use of sound.”
The serious news feature entry was about the 40-year anniversary of a mass murder at a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro. On July 18, 1984, James Huberty fatally shot 22 people, including an unborn baby, and wounded 19 others before being killed by a police sniper approximately 77 minutes after he had first opened fire. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in California and the eighth worst in U.S. history.
Farrar said, “Because of the sensitive matter, I sought out newsroom colleagues to make sure the story was told correctly and not sensationalized.”
The judges wrote, “While this looks back at a painful part of California’s history, it was a well told and compelling story. The reporter is a master storyteller.”
KOGO’s third award for weekend newscasts drew judges’ comments for completeness and interesting uses of sound effects, Farrar said.
“These awards are possible only with support from the KOGO team,” Farrar said. “There are editors who know where to place the story and feedback from colleagues who offer positive critique, which sometimes leads to a portion of the story being rewritten and reedited.
“There are engineers who make sure we are on the air and directors who make sure the story plays when the button is punched. It’s a team effort and, for now, I’m playing on the right team.”
Farrar has won 13 Golden Mike awards since 2009.
“We have not competed every year and there were some years when we didn’t win anything, which only makes you work harder” he said.
Other San Diego-area broadcast outlets receiving recent RTNA awards included: KSWB-TV Fox 5 San Diego in the best feature story editing category for a story on the House of Puerto Rico in Balboa Park; KPBS-FM in the best environment reporting category for a story on how new tech is helping researchers study rattlesnake.
Radio Stations Present SoCal Taco Fest
San Diego radio station operator Local Media San Diego is presenting its 10th annual SoCal Taco Fest, a two-day celebration of tacos, music and the spirit of Latin culture, on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4, at SeaWorld San Diego.
A statement said the event features the region’s tastiest taco restaurants, live music and DJs, Lucha Libre matches, a Chihuahua beauty pageant and live culinary demos. Between tacos, music and entertainment, Taco Fest guests can enjoy educational animal shows and explore the park’s animal exhibits, including a new jellyfish exhibit.
A single-day admission ticket to SoCal Taco Fest is priced at $69.99 or guests can purchase a SoCal Taco Fest Fun Card for only $99.99 for unlimited access to SoCal Taco Fest for the weekend, plus unlimited admission to SeaWorld San Diego for the remainder of 2025. Tickets can be purchased at www.socaltacofest.com.
LMSD operates three Mexican-licensed FM radio stations in San Diego, including XHTZ-FM Z90.3, XHRM-FM Magic 92.5 and XTRA-FM 91X.
Ex-Anchor at San Diego’s One America News Settles Lawsuit
One America News, a San Diego-based, conservative-leaning, cable and satellite TV news network, has reportedly settled a workplace lawsuit filed by Jessamyn Dodd, a former OAN anchor. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
In her complaint filed in San Diego County Superior Court, Dodd said she was subject to a hostile work environment, discrimination and harassment. She also claimed another co-worker falsely accused her of being a Neo-Nazi and Adolph Hitler supporter, an allegation she said was false and offensive considering her Jewish heritage.
As reported by The Independent, a London-based news outlet, Dodd is a multi-racial woman of African American, Caucasian and Jewish descent. The complaint said the false statements made by the co-worker severely damaged her professional and personal reputation. Dodd reportedly worked at OAN as a weekend anchor for about one year starting in August 2022.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
