Rick’s broadcasting career began in Norfolk, VA where he worked as a general assignment reporter and anchor at WNOR AM and FM radio.  Here he established himself as a professional broadcaster, writing and delivering 10 morning newscasts and sportscasts five days a week, and co-hosting a weekend sports show. 

From Norfolk he went to Charlotte, North Carolina where he worked as a reporter and midday anchor at WSOC Newsradio 93 – at the time the only all news radio station in the Carolinas.  He covered spot news and the city council and county government beats.  He also served as the station’s indefatigable traffic reporter, reporting on morning and afternoon traffic from aboard the station’s tiny, two-seat helicopter, and occasionally landing to cover breaking news stories around the city.  Rick wrote a story about his adventures as a trafficopter reporter that eventually appeared in Charlotte Magazine. 

From Charlotte, Rick headed to WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Washington, DC where he worked as an associate news producer for several of the station’s daily newscasts, and as an occasional newswriter for former CBS News correspondents David Schumacher and Renee Poussaint.  

It was in Washington that Rick also began his career as a voiceover talent.

Rick became a regular commentator on Public Radio’s popular business program “Marketplace” in 1990, dispensing job and career advice to hundreds of thousands of public radio listeners in the United States and overseas.   Over the years he produced over 60 radio commentaries on job and career topics for “Marketplace” listeners.