J.B. Sauceda Takes the Wheel of Texas Country Reporter
On a balmy October morning in East Austin, an SUV vinyl-wrapped in the Texas Flag pulled into the parking lot of Comadre Panadería, a trendy, Mexican American bakery housed in a small, hot pink, brick building. J.B. Sauceda, ’07, the baby-faced new host of the weekly syndicated television show Texas Country Reporter, climbed out of the truck and, with an ever-present spring in his step, immediately held an impromptu pre-production meeting with his seasoned two-person crew to discuss the logistics for the day’s shoot. How were they going to film in such a tight space? Was it too noisy to get clean audio? And perhaps most importantly, which pastries were the tastiest? (The conchas, Sauceda would later testify.)
In October 2023, Sauceda took the reins of Texas Country Reporter, which showcases people and places of interest around Texas. It also happens to be the longest running independently produced program in the nation, which airs in every media market across Texas and nationally on RFD-TV. Stepping into the shoes left behind by Bob and Kelli Phillips, the show’s beloved hosts for more than 40 years, is daunting, Sauceda says. The 39-year-old photographer turned designer turned social media influencer turned e-retail entrepreneur faces challenges on multiple fronts.
“Taking over a show like this, where there’s only been one host, is a lot of pressure. And I felt all of it,” Sauceda says. “I had a lot of fear I couldn’t live up to it … and that was something I was really struggling with for a long time.”
Not only must Sauceda prove himself a worthy heir of such a storied institution in Texas journalism, but he also confronts the task of growing the show’s audience in a fragmented media landscape, where eyeballs are increasingly scattered and attention is harder to capture than ever. However, Sauceda’s unlikely journey—which started on the Forty Acres—has uniquely shaped him to embrace innovation and usher the show into a new era while honoring its enduring legacy.
When Sauceda left his hometown of La Porte, Texas, just southeast of Houston, to attend The University of Texas at Austin in 2003, he was an aimless theater kid on a quest to carve his place in the world. Sauceda’s father, an inside salesman for a steel distribution company, was inspired by Sauceda’s cousin who received her bachelor’s in mathematics from UT, and encouraged his son to follow in her footsteps. But Sauceda quickly discovered that formulas and equations were not his true calling.
“My brain is very much like an explorer and random-access memory,” Sauceda says. “That type of work was just not conducive to the way that I’m wired. I had a hard time paying attention over long periods of time.”
He bounced around from major to major—a precursor that would eventually mirror his professional career—and finally landed on pursuing a government degree. After an internship with UT’s Government Relations Office, Sauceda briefly flirted with the idea of going to law school, but he faced one small problem. Despite Sauceda’s passion for learning, he struggled with his assignments and knew he would never have the grades to get into graduate school.
“The people dynamic component of law, and the political work I was doing, was very attractive to me,” Sauceda says. “As I started being part of it, I thought, Here’s a career path that makes sense and leverages my personality. But I was being kind of obtuse about what it would require for me to be successful in that.” Years later, Sauceda would be diagnosed with severe ADHD, to which he now attributes his inability to find academic success.
Opting to explore creative interests he was passionate about, Sauceda decided to take advantage of the College of Liberal Art’s flexibility in choosing electives. One such course, photojournalism for non-journalism majors, would prove transformative in his professional development. Dennis Darling, who taught the class, was “a photographer’s photographer,” Sauceda says. As part of the course, Darling invited speakers to his class, including the legendary Scottish photographer Harry Benson who captured iconic photos of the Beatles, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the images of Robert F. Kennedy moments after he was assassinated.
Sauceda hung on every word during Benson’s lecture, as he described the camera as being the key to unlocking the experiences and souls of the subjects within the frame. “‘When you show up with [a camera], people let you in. And if you ask them to take your picture, even if they don’t know who you are, they are flattered by the attention,’” Sauceda recalls Benson saying. “That just really resonated with me, especially at that stage.”
Sauceda shifted his energy wholeheartedly into pursuing photography, and Darling immediately took notice of his new star student. “He approached the assignments not as a chore, but as a challenge, which made his work different,” Darling says. “He seemed well-suited for photojournalism because he was very outgoing and a listener, rather than a talker. He’s very pleasant to be around.”
Through Darling, Sauceda met Austin-based photographer Andrew Shapter and became his intern, a role that gave Sauceda a window into the world of professional photography. During this time, Shapter started production on the music documentary Before the Music Dies, and soon, Sauceda found himself traveling extensively across the country. Instead of attending class, Sauceda was rubbing elbows with rock stars from John Mayer to Erykah Badu. “My time with [Shapter] was transformative, instilling a passion for visual storytelling that continues to shape my work today,” Sauceda says.
Soon, Sauceda was booking freelance gigs of his own, shooting for local magazines such as Texas Monthly, Austin Monthly, and Tribeza, as well as national publications such as Wired, Fast Company, and The New York Times. But all the skipped classes and missing assignments finally caught up to him. With only 13 or 14 hours left to complete his degree, Sauceda flunked out of UT his senior year. “It wasn’t intentional,” Sauceda laments. “It was just kind of like, I had opportunities.”
As Sauceda’s career flourished, he cultivated a network within Austin’s creative community, and with a group of friends, co-founded the design collective Public School. Their blog, a fusion of advertising industry content and self-promotion, was Sauceda’s first entry into developing an online audience. With thousands of readers a month, it quickly gained traction, but as Sauceda’s and his colleague’s reputations soared within the advertising industry, the collective’s original purpose—collaborative support—fell to individual ambitions.
Seeing an opportunity to generate an audience on the burgeoning social media platform then known as Twitter, Sauceda created Texas Humor in 2011, which produced daily satirical content rooted in Texan wit and pride. As the account grew, Sauceda began selling merchandise associated with the brand from his garage, the most popular of which was a T-shirt with “Ain’t Texas” spelled out in bubble letters across a map of the United States.
What began as a humorous Twitter account evolved into a full-blown retail business, at which point Sauceda stopped taking jobs as a photographer. Before long, other small businesses started asking Sauceda to fulfill online orders for them. One of the first was Rick Wittenbraker, BA ’98, Life Member, who was then chief marketing officer of Howler Brothers, an outdoor apparel company based in Austin. Sauceda continued to expand, managing shipments for marquee brands such as Whataburger, William Murray Golf, and Rowing Blazers.
“Once you get to know [J.B.], it’s easy to get excited about the project he’s working on because of the infectious energy that he brings to it and his ability to tell a story,” Wittenbraker says. “He’s got a lot of gumption and a lot of persistence.”
By 2021, having nurtured his e-retail business into a logistics powerhouse operated from a 126,000-square-foot warehouse, Sauceda sold it to Cart.com. He remained with his new corporate partner for two years, only to be let go in 2023. It was a crushing blow—but as he was figuring out what to do next, he got an unexpected call from Texas Monthly.
The magazine, which had acquired Texas Country Reporter in 2021 as a strategic step to broaden its storytelling horizons beyond the publication’s print and digital platforms, was in the middle of a meticulous selection process for a new host. The search sought a candidate with a profound love for Texas; exceptional storytelling ability; a strong point of view; and an open-minded, optimistic persona fitting Texas Country Reporter’s long-established identity. Among the dozen or so contenders, Sauceda emerged as the standout, demonstrating a personal rapport with the subjects he interviewed during his audition sample story, despite his minimal broadcast experience. (Sauceda hosted two to three segments per season of the statewide travel show YOLO TX, which ran for seven seasons between 2017–23.)
When Texas Monthly tested his sample story in a focus group, his performance resonated deeply with longtime viewers of the show, as well as potential audience segments, reaffirming what Texas Monthly already knew: They had found their new host. “J.B. has such a strong visual style and such a sincere love for all parts of the state. He’s endlessly curious about it,” says Melissa Reese, BS, BJ ’10, director of video and events at Texas Monthly. “He’s a natural storyteller.”
Since taking over, Sauceda remains deeply committed to upholding the formula for what has made Texas Country Reporter stand the test of time. Each story centers an individual’s narrative and offers visually engaging images. And whether covering an offbeat Texan tradition or a passionate small-town personality, every segment is grounded in authentic human experience.
Given the show’s longevity, Sauceda understands that Texas Country Reporter appeals to viewers’ sense of nostalgia: a Saturday morning fixture associated with family and a connection to the heart of Texas. In fact, Sauceda himself has fond memories of watching old Bob Phillips episodes with his parents as a kid on the weekends. The show’s brand of storytelling—full of optimism and a gentle embrace of diverse voices—remains integral to the show’s success, Sauceda says.
However, Sauceda aims for Texas Country Reporter to move beyond the confines of a specific time slot into something people can access whenever they seek a moment of uplifting connection. To achieve this, he recognizes Texas Country Reporter must adapt to evolving media consumption habits, so Sauceda has adopted what he calls a “social first strategy.” Rather than merely using digital platforms to promote episodes, Sauceda posts standalone stories on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook that captivate online audiences who may never watch the show itself. It’s an approach that shifts from advertising to storytelling, subtly embedding the show’s ethos into its digital life. “I want people to perceive us as being everywhere all the time,” Sauceda says.
While Sauceda wants the audience to form a relationship with him, he’s committed to keeping the focus on the subjects and the environments they inhabit. Inspired by Anthony Bourdain, whose authentic narrative style Sauceda deeply admires, Sauceda removes his voice from any promotional footage so that the subjects can speak directly for themselves. He believes that unfiltered human connections, not polished interactions that place him at the center, will drive audience engagement.
However, Sauceda eagerly joins viewers on the comment threads of Texas Country Reporter’s various social media channels, where he engages directly with fans. His accessible approach is deliberate: Viewers aren’t just passively watching; they’re encouraged to interact, fostering a sense of community around the show. And by sharing his own life, quirks, and inspirations, Sauceda is helping build trust and authenticity with viewers who tune in for compelling human stories.
Sauceda made his Texas Country Reporter hosting debut on the premiere of the show’s 53rd season in September 2024. It appears his short time as the show’s face is already having a tangible impact. Since Texas Monthly announced Sauceda as the new host, the Texas Country Reporter YouTube channel has seen a 250 percent increase in viewership engagement, the Instagram account has grown from approximately 11,000 to 55,000 followers, and their reach on Facebook has increased 100 percent, totaling 1.5 million engagements.
Under the patio behind Comadre Panadería, Sauceda interviewed the bakery’s creator, Mariela Camacho, with a lively curiosity, delving into her inspirations, challenges, and vision for her thriving pastry shop. But the conversation also revealed something about Sauceda. Hosting Texas Country Reporter is a natural extension of his career-long passion for connecting people. Having dedicated himself to fostering community—whether through photography, design, or social media—he appeared comfortable in his own skin as a visual storyteller, eager to get the best shot, curious to ask the most interesting question, and thrilled to meet someone new. This is more than a job to Sauceda; it’s a calling to bring people together through stories that highlight the best of humanity and remind viewers of the beauty in the everyday.
“I feel motivated creatively in this role, and I love that I’m getting to go do the type of work that I’m doing,” Sauceda says. “I also feel passionate about media and its ability to both drive people apart and drive people together. I’m singularly focused on the latter.”
Photographs by Matt Rainwaters
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