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Richard Ransom anchors News Channel 3 weekdays at 5pm, 6pm and 10pm with Claudia Barr. He started with the station in 2004.
Richard thinks it's important not to get stuck behind the anchor desk. That's why he looks forward to his weekly "Pass It On" segment. Every Tuesday on News Channel 3 at 10 he takes $300 from the petty cash drawer and finds someone to be his "Playmaker." That Playmaker then has an hour to 'pay it forward' or ("Pass It On") and surprise someone with the money as a gesture of goodwill. "It truly has shown what a generous community we live in," Ransom says. "The kindness people show every week crosses lines of race and class all the time. It can be pretty emotional." Now, stations all over the country have started doing the same thing.
On Sunday nights, Ransom also hosts "Informed Sources," a program which examines the week's headlines more in-depth and brings-in the expertise of other local journalists and newsmakers.
Richard started his interest in journalism in the 6th grade and even published a neighborhood newspaper. Growing up in the Denver area and watching local TV news, he followed his passion to the University of Missouri-Columbia.
As a student, Richard studied in London and interned for ABC News. He has held TV jobs in Peoria, IL and Jacksonville, FL before coming to Memphis in 1994 as a reporter and anchor at WMC-TV. He left the Mid-South in 2001 to become the main anchor for Milwaukee's Fox affiliate.
"However, when News Channel 3 called and asked me to come back to the Mid-South, we didn't even hesitate. We're glad to be back in a warmer climate with warmer people."
Richard is the winner of numerous Regional Emmy and Associated Press awards for Breaking News, Best Feature and Best Newscast. During his career he has covered the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, the Memphis Tigers at the Final Four in San Antonio, the funeral of former president Ronald Reagan, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in Houston as well as national political conventions and hurricanes. In December of 2011, Richard was one of 4 news anchors nationally invited to the White House for a one-on-one interview with President Obama. "What I love about reporting is the access it gives me to history, and the chance it gives me to share that history with the folks at home."
Richard always appreciates getting feedback from viewers. "I feel honored and awed with the trust people show us by letting us into their homes every night. We take that responsibility seriously."
The Ransoms have two children.
