Ricky Sayer

At 10:59 pm, you'll usually find Ricky Sayer in front of a camera, ready to deliver a story that impacts Western Pennsylvanians. 

It's something he wakes up each day excited to do. 

Ricky is a self-described TV News "nerd." It's part of the reason he was so excited in March 2024 to join a station with such a storied broadcast history.

He believes his role in the community can be distilled down to two things; to inform and build community. 

Our work should make our community a better place, whether that is arming the public with critical information, or sharing stories that ultimately help to bring communities together, he says.

Ricky, a proud Syracuse University graduate, grew up in Lower Merion Township, which is in Philadelphia's western suburbs. 

A teacher nicknamed him "Ricky Reports" shortly after he first picked up a camera and microphone at 13, and he has never looked back. The nickname lives on through his Twitter/X handle @RickyReports. 

His Pittsburgh ties lie in Squirrel Hill, where his aunt and uncle have lived for about 40 years. He has fond memories of coming to the Steel City as a kid for holidays.

Before moving to Pittsburgh, Ricky worked at WLEX-TV, the E.W. Scripps-owned NBC Station in Lexington, Kentucky - the horse capital of the world! Much like how he now enjoys driving on Pittsburgh's bridges and tunnels, he cherished passing horse farms on an almost daily basis in Lexington. He was part of the station's marathon coverage of the Kentucky Derby and had the thrilling experience of filming the race while standing on the actual track at Churchill Downs (he still can't get over that.)

He won a regional Emmy award for contributing to that station's extensive 2022 coverage of devastating and deadly flooding in Eastern Kentucky and was nominated for an individual "hard news," award.

"We heard from people in the weeks after who just wanted to make sure they weren't forgotten," he said during the acceptance speech. "I hope through our coverage, we made sure that'll never happen."

Ricky landed in Lexington after graduating from college in December 2021. While in college, he dedicated much of his time to reporting for and helping to lead the country's largest and oldest student-run TV station, CitrusTV. He was also the news director at the campus Top-40 radio station, Z89.  

He was an intern for CBS News in 2020. The following summer, Ricky got a taste of Capitol Hill reporting as part of a university program that saw him serve as the Washington correspondent for KAMR-TV in Amarillo, Texas.

His first professional reporting experience came in late-2020, while still technically an intern, at WBNG-TV, the CBS station in Binghamton, NY. While there, he covered a historic 41-inch snowfall and the months-long court battle that decided the fate of the country's last undecided congressional race, among other stories.

His reporting in Binghamton and on-campus earned him the Syracuse Press Club's "Newcomer of the Year award," which is usually reserved for full-time professionals. 

Ricky spends his free time exploring new places, attending sporting events, and spending time with those who make him laugh.

Ricky asked for a longer bio to hide this last part. He is a Philadelphia sports fan. Even so, he says he's finding a way to root for the Steelers and Pirates, as long as they aren't facing the Eagles or Phillies. Call him a "Steagles" fan. 

We asked him about the Penguins and he had no comment.

Reach out to Ricky with story ideas by emailing him at Ricky.Sayer@cbs.com, or by messaging him on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

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VITALS

• Joined KDKA: March 2024
• Hometown: Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County, PA
• Alma Mater: S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University 

FAVORITES

• Music: AJR
• Movie: "Oppenheimer"
• TV Show: "The Newsroom"
• Book: Does my book of iconic New York Times front pages count?
• Food: Brussel Sprouts and Mushrooms! (10-year-old me would be shocked by this answer) 
• Local Restaurant: Morcilla (Great mushrooms by the way) 
• Hidden PA Gem: Wangum Falls
• Sport/Exercise: Kayaking
• Historical Figure: Benjamin Franklin 
• Favorite Pennsylvanian: Also Benjamin Franklin 
• Quote: "If you're not changing you're not growing." My dad has that as a quote in his online bio despite me never hearing him say that. He'll get a laugh out of me putting it here.
• Word: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
• Vacation Spot: Ventnor City, New Jersey
• Holiday: Thanksgiving 
• Planet: Krypton 

THIS OR THAT

• Facebook or Twitter? Twitter (I spend waaaay too much time here)
• Cats or Dogs? Dogs!
• Beatles or Rolling Stones? Beatles
• Comedy or Tearjerker? Both. A wise professor, Bob Dotson, taught me the best stories make you laugh at the start but cry by the end. I agree.
• Phone Call or Text? Call!
• iPhone or Android? Proud Android user! 
• Coffee or Tea? Water
• Paper or Plastic? Paper
• Morning Person or Night Person? Night! (You'd hope this would be the case with my schedule.)
• East Coast or West Coast? East! Specifically the coast of New Jersey.
• Star Trek or Star Wars? Spaceballs