Rick Roberts (born 1954) Roberts was 48 at the time of publication. is an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

host currently on

WBAP (AM) WBAP () is an AM news/talk radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. WBAP is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts with from a transmitter site in the northwest corner of Mansfield. It is a Clas ...

in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. He can be heard on air immediately following the nationally syndicated

Rush Limbaugh Show ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' is an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At its ...

, from 2pm to 5pm. He was formerly on KOKC AM and later KTOK AM in Oklahoma City during morning drive, 5am to 8am.

Early life and career

Born in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

, Roberts grew up there and in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Initially an oil and gas lease attorney, Roberts hosted seminars for other attorneys, leading to his first talk radio job around 1992 at

KYGO Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (born 11 September 1991), known professionally as Kygo (), is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He garnered international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track " I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his December 20 ...

, then at

KOA KOA (short for Kampgrounds of America) is an American franchise of privately owned campgrounds. Having more than 500 locations across the United States and Canada, it is the world's largest system of privately owned campgrounds. It was founded i ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Radio career

From 1994 to 1995, Roberts was a host at KCMO in Kansas City, Missouri. From 1996 to 1997, Roberts hosted a talk show on KRLD in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, before controversy over alleged homophobic comments led to his show being cancelled. Roberts began the first of two stints in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

in 1997 on KOGO with a show dubbed the ''Court of Public Opinion''. In 2000, Roberts joined rival KFMB, first as afternoon drive host. Roberts provided extensive analysis and coverage of the

murder of Danielle van Dam Danielle van Dam (September 22, 1994 – February 2002) was an American girl from the Sabre Springs neighborhood of San Diego, California, who disappeared from her bedroom during the night of February 1–2, 2002. Her body was found by search ...

in 2002, including "sharp questions about the activities of the slain girl's parents." (Ultimately, a neighbor was convicted of van Dam's murder.) In August 2002, after proceedings from a secret court hearing relating to the case were played on the Roberts show, an assistant producer for the show was removed from court proceedings. Roberts moved to morning drive on KFMB in 2003, replacing

Ted Leitner TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depar ...

. In 2009, Roberts's KFMB show was among six local conservative talk radio shows in California measured by

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...

to have a weekly audience of more than 100,000. In January 2011, Roberts returned to his former afternoon drive slot as KFMB debuted a new morning show. Roberts left KFMB in December 2011 after 11 years, with

Roger Hedgecock Roger Allan Hedgecock (born May 2, 1946) is an American politician and conservative talk radio host, who served as 30th mayor of San Diego between May 1983 and December 1985. His show is syndicated by Radio America. Early life Hedgecock was born ...

replacing his show after moving from KOGO. After leaving KFMB, Roberts joined

Talk Radio Network Talk Radio Network (TRN) was an independent radio producer and syndicator of news and talk radio programming headquartered in Central Point, Oregon. TRN consists of a number of associated companies, which have launched or re-built some of the Un ...

as co-anchor for its ''America's Radio News Network'' program. He later hosted talk shows on KKFT in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

and

KTOK KTOK (1000 AM) is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City and airs a talk radio format. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., and licensed as iHM Licenses, LLC. The studios and offices are in the 50 Penn Place Building on the northwest side o ...

. In 2014, the

Council on American-Islamic Relations A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

highlighted comments Roberts made on his KKFT show calling on American Muslims and mosques to be placed on a "watch list." In January 2016, Roberts returned to Dallas to host an afternoon show on WBAP. Roberts has been a guest host on national shows including ''

The Savage Nation ''The Savage Nation'' (also called ''The Michael Savage Show'') was an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Michael Savage. The program was heard by approximately 11 million listeners a week, which made it the 7th most listened to radi ...

'' and ''

Red Eye Radio ''Red Eye Radio'' is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara. The program is syndicated nationwide by Westwood One, and originates from WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show traces its history through ...

''.

Themes

During his radio shows, he often makes a point to call out names of known

sexual offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crim ...

s living in the city from which he broadcasts. A monologue titled "I want my country back" has been a common theme throughout Roberts's radio career, described in 2016 by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

as "a 4½-minute rant that darts from fear of crime to outsourced jobs to political correctness."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Rick 1954 births Living people American political commentators American talk radio hosts People from Oklahoma City Radio personalities from Dallas Radio personalities from San Diego Radio personalities from Kansas City, Missouri