Riccardo Michele Salizzo ONZM (born 22 July 1962) is a prominent New Zealand journalist, television presenter, and producer. He gained widespread recognition as the producer and host of the long-running sports chat show, SportsCafe, and as the executive producer and occasional presenter of the sports current events show, The Crowd Goes Wild.
Early Career:
Ric embarked on his career as a newsreader at Tauranga's Radio 1XX before transitioning to various newsreading roles at private radio stations. He later ventured to London to work at a radio news agency.
Television Career:
Returning to New Zealand in 1986, Ric joined TVNZ's One News sports reporting team, eventually becoming a national sports news presenter. During this time, he co-founded Pasta Productions with his schoolmate, All Black Sir John Kirwan, producing acclaimed documentary films, including "The Good, The Bad, and the Rugby." Ric also served as the All Blacks Media Liaison Officer, notably during the era of Jonah Lomu. His career-defining moment came in 1996 with the launch of SportsCafe under his new production company, Leftfield.
Following the success of SportsCafe, Salizzo introduced "The Sugar Shack" on TV3, although short-lived, it provided a platform for emerging talents like Rhys Darby. He later revived SportsCafe in 2008 and 2011 for online episodes. In 2006, he developed "The Crowd Goes Wild," which became a flagship program for SKY Network Television's Prime.
Other Work:
Ric has served on the Board of Directors of the Auckland Blues and engages in consultancy, advertising, and public speaking. He has made notable contributions to the music scene, including involvement in Fred Dagg's chart-topping song "We Don't Know How Lucky We Are" and Neil Finn's Rugby World Cup anthem "Can You Hear Us." He also authored the best-selling book "I Know This to Be True," accompanied by a highly rated documentary.
In recent years, Ric has been based in the United States, notably serving as CEO of New York City's professional rugby team, which clinched the Major League Rugby title in 2022. During the 2023 Rugby World Cup, he collaborated with the All Blacks on a daily online show as part of Silverlakes' investment in NZ Rugby.
Honours and Awards:
Ric was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours for his significant contributions to sports media.
Talking Points
Creativity How to make your ideas real
This speech is designed to unlock the creativity in you and the people around you . Ric goes through his career and talks of the challenges overcome and the lessons learned as hes brought countless ideas to life . Books, Videos, TV shows and Rugby Teams. Some of them have worked and some of them taught valuable lessons. Packed full of humour and engaging moments many of which have been engrained into the NZ consciousness. But this is so much more than a look back at some funny videos. This is a step by step explanation of how things have been created and the lessons learned along the way . Designed to help you unlock that creativity in yourself and help you to bring your ideas to life. Plus its funny.
Creativity How to make your ideas real
