The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

KYW Newsradio's Pat Farnack
1989

Pat Farnack began in broadcasting at a small station that was within driving distance of her college. She would just hang around the station and when the afternoon drive air personality quit, she got the gig.

She spent thirteen years doing morning drive on KYW Newsradio, also reporting on KYW-TV, before moving to WWDB. There, she and partner Gil Gross, won the Best Newscast In Pennsylvania Award by the Associated Press. She also worked at WMGK here in Philadelphia and anchored news on WKBS-TV, the old Kaiser station, Channel 48.

Pat says: "I did morning drive at KYW Newsradio so long, Philly people would sing the KYW jingle when they'd met me." She holds a Bachelors degree from Bloomsburg University and a Masters from Penn State.

For five years, Pat Farnack had her own syndicated show, "Do I Look OK?" and she still has a weekly newspaper column by the same name. She also worked earlier in her career at WINS, WYNY and the late, great WNBC, and also spent a stint at Dow Jones and in San Francisco at KNBR and KYUU.

In 2005, she said: "I am just about finished renovating my 1792 farmhouse and grounds in Bucks County (after fifteen years) and I believe I own the world's oldest and meanest shar pei, who is ailing and cranky and impossible but has been brightening my life by leaving me little presents almost nightly on the kitchen floor." Since 2000, Pat has been anchoring news at WCBS Radio, sister station to KYW Newsradio.

In 1989, KYW Newsradio was running commercials pushing their news service. Newscaster Pat Farnack did the pitch.

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com