Rische was born in Stuttgart in 1962. As a schoolboy he wrote for a local newspaper. After his education and military service, he trained at the "Vaihinger Kreiszeitung" and from 1985 at the German School of Journalism in Munich.

In 1986, Rische started writing for the "Stuttgarter Nachrichten:" In 1987 he moved to SWF Television in Baden-Baden. He later transferred to ARD's culture channel "Eins Plus," where he also worked as a studio director and filmmaker.

In 1992, Rische took on the role of head of youth programming at Deutsche Welle TV in Berlin. The shows made on his watch included the very popular 'Heat.' He went on to head the "Society and Culture" department, and from 2003 onwards the "Society and Entertainment" department. He is responsible for programs such as the daily 'euromaxx' magazine and the music show 'popXport,' as well as special projects such as 'The Promise of Music' with Gustavo Dudamel (2008) and the award-winning 'Beethoven Project' with Paavo Järvi (2010).

Since 2012, Rolf Rische has been in charge of DW's "Society and Documentaries" department.