Indiana Broadcast History Archive

Kristi Lee, an Indianapolis native, has worked in radio for more than 40 years. After starting at her Ben Davis High School radio station, she went on to become one of the first female television engineers at WRTV, Channel 6, in Indianapolis. 

In 1987, Lee joined “The Bob & Tom Show,” where she still works to this day. Known as the show’s “voice of reason,” she shares the mic with her co-hosts on the long-running comedy-news program. 

In the 1990s, Lee also served as an announcer for the Indiana Pacers and called various sporting events for ESPN2. Over the years, she has worked at WIRE, WNAP, and WENS radio stations in Indianapolis. Radio Ink Magazine has named her one of the most influential women in radio three times, She also hosted her own podcast, Kristi Lee Uninterrupted. 

Kristi Lee was inducted in the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2022.

Early Life

“Kristi Lee” was born Theresa Ritz on July 17, 1960, in Indianapolis, Indiana. She grew up on the west side of the city and attended Ben Davis High School, where she first discovered her passion for radio. At 15, she joined the school’s station, 90.9 WBDG, after a classmate told her it would be an easy A. Her teacher, Bill Wakefield, quickly recognized her talent. A year later, another teacher, Dana Webb, became her mentor and helped her land her first job in radio at WNON in Lebanon, Indiana. At just 16, her mom had to drive her to and from the station to air religious shows and baseball games. 

After high school, Lee enrolled at Indiana University as a pre-med student but left after one semester. She began working at IU Hospital while continuing to pick up part-time shifts at radio stations. She never expected to make a career in radio, but always found a way to stay on the air. 

At one of her early radio jobs, the station manager told her that her name didn’t sound fit for “Top 40” radio, so he changed her first name to “Kristi.” It stuck — everyone called her that afterwards, even her husband and friends. 

The Phone Call and WRTV Channel 6 

While working at IU Hospital, Lee received a phone call that changed her career path. 

When she was a senior in high school, her teacher Dana Webb encouraged her to get her First Class license, a requirement from the Federal Communications Commission that tested employees' knowledge of television technology. Before her last year of high school, Lee spent the summer at Webb’s kitchen table studying. 

A year later, Lee got a phone call during work at the hospital from the director of engineering at WRTV Channel 6. He said he heard she had her First Class FCC License and asked if she wanted to interview for a position at the station. Lee eagerly accepted and was hired as a television engineer in 1980. She said she was one of the first female television engineers in Indianapolis. 

There, Lee said she learned invaluable lessons about television and the broadcasting world. She worked behind the camera, ran audio, did commercial production, and became the technical director for the early and late news. 

While she was working full-time at WRTV, she also disk jockeyed part-time on weekends for WFBQ Indianapolis, where she’d play classic rock from midnight to 6 a.m. Here, she met Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold, the creators of “The Bob & Tom Show.” 

The Route to “Bob & Tom” 

At 25, Lee sold everything she owned, quit WRTV, and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her boyfriend. There, she worked for an ABC affiliate station, KOAT, but she didn’t enjoy her job. She said while New Mexico was beautiful, she often felt lonely and homesick there. 

When she got a phone call telling her that “The Bob & Tom Show” was looking to hire a woman, she decided to leave New Mexico to join the show. Kevoian and Griswold met Lee in Indianapolis at WFBQ — she finished her weekend night shifts when they would come in for the morning shift. They thought she might be a good fit for the show, so Lee moved back to Indianapolis to try it out. 

Lee was on “The Bob & Tom Show” for six months before deciding to move back to New Mexico to marry her boyfriend. But after the relationship didn’t work out, she planned to move back to Indianapolis to look for work. In 1987, while on the way to a job interview at another Indianapolis radio station, she stopped by WFBQ to say hello to her old coworkers, Kevoian and Griswold. 

Kevoian and Griswold told Lee not to go to her interview and said they wanted to find a way to get her back on the show. She accepted and has worked with the team ever since. 

First impressions of “Bob & Tom” 

When “The Bob & Tom Show” first came to WFBQ in Indianapolis, Lee said she was “really angry.” The popular comedy-news talk show was replacing her friend’s slot on local radio. But quickly, Lee came to appreciate the show. She said their work was crazy, fun, the type of thing that wasn’t being done in radio before — the type of thing that Lee wanted to be a part of. 

Once the show was syndicated in 1995, Lee’s airtime increased. She went from doing minute-long newscasts to becoming one of the full-time hosts. After the show was syndicated, Lee said she made more money, but missed the local aspect of the show, its identity in Indianapolis. 

Work in Sports Broadcasting 

While she worked at the “Bob & Tom Show,” she attended an Indianapolis Pacers golf outing. There, she met someone from the Pacers entertainment team, who asked her what she’d be doing if she wasn’t on the radio. She said she’d be a sports reporter. Two weeks later, she was offered a job to work as a co-host on “Full Court Press,” a Pacers sideline announcing show. 

When Terry Linger, one of the early producers of ESPN, saw Lee on “Full Court Press,” he called her to invite her to work as an announcer on his new channel, ESPN2. 

Her last time on air was in 1998 when she was pregnant with her first child. She said while she loved sports reporting, she couldn’t manage working at “Bob & Tom,” traveling for sports reporting and being a mom all at once. 

Being the Only Woman in the Room 

In Lee’s career, she’s gotten used to being the only woman in the room. Like on “The Bob & Tom Show,” Lee was often the only woman at the television and radio stations she worked at. 

She said when she looks back on her career, she experienced several moments that she thinks would never happen today. While there were times that made her feel uncomfortable, she said she never took comments personally. She’s considered herself "one of the guys," for a long time, she said, though she's not sure if that helped or hurt her career.

She now tries to mentor young women in broadcasting, though she acknowledges it’s still a tough industry. She’s experienced how media can pit women against one another, and the long-term impact that can have on confidence. 

Lee said the industry has majorly improved for women. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Lee said it was fairly uncommon for stations to have women anchors. 

Working at “Bob & Tom” 

Her relationship with “Bob & Tom” is the longest of her life. She compared the cast to a big, old married couple — they know each other’s moods and idiosyncrasies. Lee said she thinks that’s helped the show last as long as it has. They know each other well enough to have natural conversations, to riff off each other. 

She said her role on the show has always been “the straight person.” She reels the rest of the cast back in when their jokes go too far. 

Highlights at “Bob & Tom Show” 

During her time at “The Bob & Tom Show,” Lee swam with dolphins at the Living Seas exhibit at Disney World, rode hot air balloons and drove race cars. One of the best moments, she said, was getting to meet some of her heroes, like Dolly Parton and Peter Frampton (Heitger-Ewing). 

She’s also been able to travel around the country with “The Bob & Tom Radio Comedy Tour,” and meet popular comedians like Mike Birbiglia and Nate Bargatze. 

Going forward 

In 2015, when Kevoian retired, Lee briefly left the show as well. Since she was unsure about the future of the show without him, she figured it would be a good time to try to explore working on her own, after spending decades on the show. She left for only six months, when she worked on her podcast “Kristi Lee Uninterrupted.” She was about to move to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a radio job, when she got another call from Griswold. He asked her to come back to the show, where she’s been for the last nine years. 

Even now, Lee isn’t slowing down. She serves on the Indianapolis Zoo Board of Trustees and volunteers with Newfields and the Heartland Film Festival. She says she wants to “keep moving,” even if she technically “retires” one day. 

Victoria Basile interviewed Kristi Lee for the IBHA Oral History Collection in 2024.

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Written by Victoria Basile, edited by Katherine Maners

February 2026

Bibliography 

"Certified Radio Operator (CRO) and Certified Television Operator (CTO).” The Society of
Broadcast Engineers, 30 Nov. 2021, https://sbe.org/certification/certification-levels/certified-radio-operator-cro-and-certified-television-operator-cto/#:~:text=There%20was%20once%20a%20requirement,of%20a%20federal%20government%20exam.

Heitger-Ewing, Christy. “Kristi Lee Named to 2022 Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.”
Towne Post Network - Local Business Directory, 22 Sept. 2022, https://townepost.com/indiana/noblesville/something-to-talk-about-kristi-lee/

"Kristi Lee’s Hall of Fame Video Bio.” Media Collections Online, 2022, https://media.dlib.indiana.edu/media_objects/tq57pc45t/section/rj430t28b

The Bob & Tom Show. “Kristi Lee, L Radio Morning Show Co-Host.” Bob and Tom Info, bobandtominfo.com/kristi-lee

“The Bob and Tom Show.” Radio Hall of Fame, 2015, www.radiohalloffame.com/bob-and-tom