Rick Dayton Biography
Rick Dayton is an American anchor and reporter working for KDKA Radio as a weekday afternoon drive host from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. He joined the KDKA Radio news team in December 2020, after previously working for KDKA-TV.
Rick Dayton Career
Dayton attended Grove City Area High School, in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communication and Rhetoric from The College of Wooster. Dayton takes pride in telling good stories both on television and radio. Before he joined KDKA Radio, he worked as a morning news anchor at KDKA-TV from 4:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. and then another hour on Pittsburgh’s CW from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
In addition, he also hosted the station’s two-decade-old academic quiz show “HomeTown HighQ” every Saturday morning and he was the point person for KDKA’s long-standing program “Waiting Child”, which helps children find adoptive homes and forever families. Furthermore, Dayton facilitated the yearly fundraising of millions of dollars for charitable causes by numerous non-profit organizations in Southwest Pennsylvania through banquets, events, golf tournaments, and corporate fund-raisers.
Dayton has over 30 years of experience as he does in front of the camera, having worked as sports director for the North Carolina News Network; and reporter and anchor at WOWK in Charleston/Huntington, WV. There he covered collegiate football bowl games and West Virginia University’s participation in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and traveled extensively on behalf of the station. He also hosted the national coverage of Bridge Day base jumping from the New River Gorge on the Outdoor Network, and anchored the statewide network coverage of the international premieres of the feature film “We Are Marshall” in Huntington, West Virginia, and Los Angeles.
He covered NASCAR races, statewide PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour, and LPGA Tour events, as well as the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, and NASCAR races and different university athletics in the state, including the University of North Carolina, Duke University, NC State University, Wake Forest University, and East Carolina University. In addition, Dayton worked as a radio play-by-play commentator for the University of North Carolina, N.C. State, Duke, East Carolina, and men’s and women’s baseball and basketball teams and was producer and host of syndicated programs, including “DriveTime: The Golf Radio Show,” “Winston Cup Today,” and the conversation show “We’re Talking Sports with Rick Dayton.”
Rick Dayton Salary
Dayton earns an annual salary of about $47,000-$120,000.
Rick Dayton Net Worth
Dayton has an estimated net worth of about $1 Million – $7 Million which he has earned through his career as a radio host.
Rick Dayton Age
He has neither disclosed the date, month nor the year he was born. Thus, it is not known how old he is or when he celebrates his birthday.
Rick Dayton Height and Weight
Dayton stands at a height of 5 feet 10 inches. He has not disclosed his weight. However, this information will be updated when available.
Rick Dayton Family
Dayton was born to his mother Anne Harker Dayton who passed away in July 2021. Anne was a member of the English Department at Slippery Rock, and Coach Mihalik from the Department of Health Sciences and Physical Education. He has neither disclosed the names of his father nor those of his siblings. However, this information will be updated when available.
Rick Dayton Wife and Children
Dayton is married to Jenny Dayton, who made protective masks amid the coronavirus outbreak. The couple is blessed with three children, whom he has not disclosed their names. However, this information will be updated when available.
Rick Dayton Leaving KDKA-TV | Rick Dayton KDKA Radio
Dayton lost his job when CBS, the company that owns KDKA-TV, announced personnel reductions in May 2020. Many of his devoted followers were shocked, but he accepted the discharge with grace. In December 2020, Entercom Pittsburgh announced that Dayton would take over the news and talk station’s coveted afternoon drive slot for KDKA News Radio (KDKA-AM/100.1-FM), the authoritative news and talk voice of Pittsburgh.
He took over the time slot that was occupied by Wendy Bell, a controversial and opinionated host who was removed from the air by Entercom in early September after suggesting on her show that park rangers “shoot on sight” people vandalizing public monuments. Dayton most recently served as a fill-in host for KDKA Radio Afternoon News and also hosted the station’s “Pre-Debate Tailgate” on the evenings of the presidential and vice-presidential debates.
Rick Dayton Social Media Platform
Dayton is very active on his Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages. He has 7.9k followers on Twitter 500 followers on Instagram and 2.2k followers on Facebook.