Media alum, veteran CBS News reporter Rick Sallinger passes away

Rick Sallinger (BS ’71, MS ’72, advertising), a Peabody Award-winning veteran CBS News reporter, died on May 8, 2024. He was 74 years old.

After working as a radio reporter in Cleveland and Chicago, Sallinger moved on to television news working at stations in Indianapolis, Denver, and Chicago. 

In 1990, Sallinger became a foreign war correspondent for CNN based in London covering events like the Gulf War, the war in Yugoslavia, and the reunification of Germany. 

He settled in Colorado, joining KCNC-TV, a CBS affiliate in Denver, in 1993 where he worked until his retirement in December 2023.

Sallinger has covered nearly every major Colorado story in recent years including the Columbine High School shootings, the Oklahoma City bombing trials, and the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. 

In 2005, Sallinger won the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for a series he did on Army recruiting. He was also inducted into the Illini Media Hall of Fame in 2022. Sallinger worked at the University of Illinois student-run radio station WPGU from 1967-71 as an announcer, music, and program director.

Sallinger was inducted into the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle in 2023, which honors media professionals who have contributed 25 years or more to the television industry.

Watch a video from CBS Denver highlighting Sallinger’s career and NATAS honor.