Behind the Story

Nicholas Alahverdian, who grew up in Rhode Island, famously faked his own death in 2020 before going on the run while wanted for rape in Utah. Authorities eventually tracked him down at a hospital in Scotland, where he had been living under the alias Arthur Knight. “It wasn’t the law that caught him — it was COVID,” White said. “Arthur Knight is also the name of a DJ from Rhode Island from when Ni...

The South County Star focuses on covering communities throughout southern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut. Nancy Burns-Fusaro, sometimes referred to as the “dean” of the Westerly shoreline, will focus much of her reporting on the arts and lifestyle, which she said are flourishing in South County. “I’m writing about my wonderful community and wonderful people and, as you can imagine, the...

Tim White and Ted Nesi, Target 12 investigators and hosts of the political show “Newsmakers,” broke down recent endorsements in the race for Rhode Island governor, including one from Cumberland Democrats who snubbed incumbent Gov. Dan McKee, the town’s former mayor. White also took viewers behind the scenes of the sentencing of Frank Theis, who was convicted of sexually assaulting two teenagers in...

Kim Kalunian and Dan McGowan are joined by Ted Nesi for a look at how reporters tackle campaign coverage.

Bekah Berger joins Kim Kalunian and Dan McGowan.

Steph Machado joins Kim Kalunian and Dan McGowan.

Steph Machado broke the news that the school district, for an unknown number of years, had been letting students leave school five minutes early. The practice has now come back to haunt the district, with the state’s education department requiring Pawtucket to make up the lost instructional time. The lost time comes on top of four snow days and delayed starts during the winter, which the Rhode Isl...

Ben Berke, who covers Providence, took a deep dive into the campaign finance reports of Councilor Ana Vargas, revealing the politician received an influx of donations in the months leading up to the vote. The majority of the donations came from landlords and others in the real estate industry. “The timing is incredibly striking and she’s refused to explain her position,” Berke said, noting in his...

Ed Fitzpatrick, who covers government and politics, has been closely watching the General Assembly as House Speaker Joe Shekarchi faces a Thursday deadline to decide whether to apply for a seat on the R.I. Supreme Court. If Shekarchi takes the plunge and steps down as the most powerful Democrat in the House, the move could trigger a cascade of changes to leadership . “This is a big deal because th...

Ian Donnis, a longtime political reporter, has been covering the recent failure of a highway ramp in Cranston that disrupted travel for motorists and Amtrak passengers. Last Friday, part of a bridge in poor condition fell onto a railroad track, surprising transportation officials who said there had been no prior signs of trouble. The infrastructure issue comes amid ongoing criticism of the Washing...

David Cicilline, who served in the U.S. Congress, said he remembers a time when there were regional and Washington bureaus of The Providence Journal. Today, those no longer exist, and he said the shrinking of the industry has resulted in an erosion of civic health among Rhode Islanders. The Rhode Island Foundation, which helps support “Behind the Story,” is leading a national initiative locally ca...

The story, “Working the Night Shift,” appears in this month’s issue of Rhode Island Monthly. Lauren Clem, a senior editor, and Jonathan Pitts-Wiley, a photographer, shadowed workers in fields including hospitality, health care, policing, fishing and restaurants. “I am not normally working the night shift, so we had some very sleepless few weeks,” Clem said. “The majority we did on separate nights,...

Eric Halvarson, who has been a contributing writer since August, was hired last month to cover Providence full time. He said the hire marks an important milestone for the largely volunteer-driven organization as it looks to expand its coverage. “One of the motivations behind starting the outlet was to cover all of the city and move beyond downtown and the East Side, and to cover areas that might n...

Alex Kuffner, who covers energy and the environment, first shed light on the issue last month with an in-depth report on the state’s largest sludge disposal facility in Woonsocket, which residents are fighting to shut down. More than 90% of the state’s sludge — a mix of human waste, organic materials and chemicals filtered out of wastewater — is disposed of at the facility in northern Rhode Island...

Ethan Shorey, who served as the newspaper’s editor, has said in the past that he always wanted to spend his entire career at one news organization. But he acknowledged it has become tougher in recent years and felt now was the time for a change. He left the paper on March 6. “I was able to make it work for a really long time,” Shorey said, adding the long hours required at a local newspaper were a...

Patrick Anderson, who covers politics and government, has followed the story since former state directors Jim Thorsen and David Patten became embroiled in the scandal three years ago. The two men traveled to Philadelphia to visit a redeveloped space known as “Bok.” Afterward, state contractors who gave them a tour alleged Patten behaved inappropriately during the trip and that Thorsen failed to in...

Alexa Gagosz, who covers business for the newspaper, has spent years reporting on the mall. She described it as currently being in a state of limbo. “It’s this place that used to be a luxurious place to shop with the Nordstrom’s — with classic mall stores like The Gap, J. Crew and a lot of those have been replaced and gone,” Gagosz said. “When we say the mall is in limbo, it’s like, what is the fu...

Bekah Berger is the co-host of the morning show on 92 PRO-FM and one of the most recognizable radio voices in the region. She has been covering the rollout of “Real Housewives of Rhode Island,” which marks the network’s 20th season of the hit reality franchise. Although the show was filmed locally and Rhode Island is featured throughout, Berger said first-time viewers will quickly learn it is more...

In a special blizzard edition of “Behind the Story,” 12 News journalists Kayla Fish and Corey Welch discussed covering the Blizzard of ’26. Fish, an anchor and reporter, was stationed on Aquidneck Island with Welch, the station’s chief photographer. For hours during the height of the historic snowstorm, the breaking news duo trudged through wind and snow to show viewers the dangerous whiteout cond...

The hosts of “Behind the Story” devoted a special episode this week to examining the coverage of the deadly shooting at a high school hockey game in Pawtucket. The shooting killed two people and wounded three others, who remained in critical condition as of Wednesday. The incident quickly drew national attention. Police identified the shooter as Robert Dorgan, a transgender person who also went by...

Jonny Williams, who covers health-related topics for the Journal, said researchers found troubling patterns in chatbot responses after feeding them scripts over several months and prompting the technology to act as mental health counselors. “Even after putting iterations of different prompts into the AI chatbot, the chatbot was still violating ethical guidelines for counseling,” Williams said. “It...

Bill Haberman, a morning host and news aficionado, is a familiar voice in the state. He hosts an early-morning show and delivers news at the top and bottom of the hour each weekday on WPRO. He spoke about the station’s longtime brand, “Operation Snowball,” and how relaying school closures and cancellations has changed as real-time information has become more accessible. “It used to be a real under...

Mark Dondero, a former 12 News sports reporter, said it’s been fun to watch how invested New England fans become when the Patriots are winning. The team is 2-0 in the playoffs and will face the Denver Broncos on Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. “Nobody thought they were going to be this good,” Dondero said. “Nobody thought Drake Maye could potentially win the MVP award. I certainl...

Nancy Lavin, a senior reporter covering government, politics and policy for the online news outlet, wrote about the governor’s address that typically outlines his tax and spending priorities ahead of his full budget proposal to the General Assembly. Lavin said covering the State of the State is somewhat easier than writing about the budget each year because it doesn’t require as much calculation....

Ellen Liberman, a contributing editor and writer for the magazine, spent several months interviewing Shekarchi, widely considered the most powerful lawmaker in the state. The cover story is available now on newsstands. Her reporting explores Shekarchi’s personal life, follows his career in law and politics and offers a behind-the-scenes look at his role during a tense gun reform debate at the Stat...