Rick Maranon is proud be reporting back in the town where his career all started.
He started at FOX 23 in March 2014 as a multimedia reporter. Rick came to FOX23 from Eugene, Oregon where he literally did it all from weatherman to producing to investigations. Before that, he was a producer in Oklahoma City, but started his career in news on the print side of things at the Tulsa World in 2010.
Rick is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and holds a political science minor as well. During his senior year, he was a full-time student at OU while also solo-producing the top weekend morning news show in Oklahoma City.
He enjoys covering aviation and preservation of historical places, but don’t be surprised if you also see him filing Freedom of Information Act requests regularly in addition to reading legislation at a local coffee shop in his free time.
A few awards Rick has won in recent years: 2011 Cimarron Alliance Horizon Award, 2nd Place Criminal Justice Reporting 2011 Oklahoma SPJ, 3rd Place 2011 SPJ Mark of Excellence Award.
What made you pursue a career in broadcast journalism?
I love journalism in general. I never really got into it for the TV aspect. I’m sure if it was 1925, I’d be sitting at a typewriter with a cigar in my mouth smoking away while I type out my notes. I love bringing to light hidden things, and I’ve come to learn that regardless of the medium, journalism has a way of touching people’s lives like nothing else out there (for better or for worse). The trust is very empowering. What’s your favorite thing about Oklahoma?
I love the people. Southern traditions and values mean a lot when you live in the Pacific Northwest for two years. Family and friends mean the world to me, and many of them live near Tulsa. I hate to sound like the Wizard of Oz, but there is no place like home. What’s your most memorable story
I’ll never forget the time I found a major error in a piece of legislation that was about to pass the Oklahoma House and had already passed the Oklahoma Senate when I was a reporter for the student newspaper at OU. The bill was intended to take away rights from the LGBT community, but because of the error, it actually removed protections for race and religion. I’ll never forget coming in to the campus newsroom the next day, and the story had thousands of hits. It also aired on MSNBC and went viral on the Huffington Post. It was the first time I had ever won a major journalism award from a community organization.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
1970s action and disaster moves like Towering Inferno, Airport, and Earthquake. Everyone remembers Karen Black for her other film roles, but to me, she’ll always be the flight attendant that landed the 747 in Salt Lake City in 1975. Pop in an old action DVD, and my whole day is planned out right there.
If you have a story idea or would just like to drop Rick a note, you can email him at rmaranon@fox23.com.
