Sanchez joined CNN in 2004. At CNN, Sanchez filed domestic and international reports. For eight months, in the interim between Paula Zahn and Campbell Brown, he anchored "Out in the Open" at 8 p.m ET. On January 18, 2010, he began to host his own two-hour show in the afternoons, "Rick's List", where he invited viewers to share their opinions and questions via social media. His use of social networking tools to create a citizen-driven news program was recognized by the Newseum in Washington, D.C. After the cancellation of Campbell Brown's show, Sanchez again took over the 8 p.m. EST slot with an evening version of "Rick's List", which continued until the premier of "Parker Spitzer".