Behind the Story

Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, joined this week’s episode of “Behind the Story” to discuss the organization’s public records work and legal fund. In his conversation with Eli Sherman and Tim White, Silverman detailed NEFAC’s first legal-fund victory, a Sept. 8 Maine Superior Court decision ordering the release of records soug...

Hogan, who recently started covering the capital city, attended a board meeting last week that erupted into chaos. Multiple members called for the school board president to step down, while residents aired their frustrations about the dysfunction.

“This is not how school board meetings normally go, including in Providence,” Hogan said.

The internal strife comes as Providence is in its first school year since regain...

Tim White, who covers the criminal justice system, has been tracking a developing story in Cranston, where police raided the former home of a notorious drug dealer that they suspected was being used as a stash house.

The stash-house theory didn’t pan out, but police nonetheless arrested one man for illegally selling marijuana and abusing a pit bull. Two other men were also charged with animal cruelty.

The home was formerly occu...

Nancy Lavin has been tracking the issue for months and most recently reported on the city’s contract with a new company to operate its wastewater treatment facility.

Meanwhile, the city is still trying to figure out what to do with its sludge incinerator, which has long been a source of controversy.

The facility serves a regional need but has also been a source of pollution, lawsuits and frustration for local officials a...

Antonia Noori Farzan, who has worked at the newspaper since 2021, recently reported on a political ad launched by Republican congressional candidate Vic Mellor that used AI to create footage of incumbent U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, a Democrat, standing in a room with men in suits around a table stacked with cash.

Magaziner’s aides called the ad “sleazy politics,” while Mellor’s campaign ridiculed the Democrat ...

Anastasia E. Lennon, who covers New Bedford, broke the news that Officer Emily Pacheco was placed on leave after an ex-girlfriend accused her of using the automatic license plate reader technology to track her movements.

Her reporting prompted the city to suspend its Flock program pending further review. Pacheco has denied the allegations.

“If you’re a law-abiding citizen, and you’re not doing anything wrong, you ...

The duo has moderated dozens of debates over the years, including Tuesday’s debate between the Democratic candidates for Rhode Island attorney general.

White and Nesi discussed how they prepare for different types of debates and how that process can vary depending on candidates’ participation and name recognition.

Later in the show, Dan and Eli discussed the “stories we wish we wrote,” including:

Dan&rsq...

Gail Ciampa, who covers food and dining, has spent years reporting on the restaurant industry, becoming one of the state’s most prominent voices on culinary news.

But that’s not how her career at the newspaper began.

“The day I arrived I was a fashion editor, of all things, which was one of my least favorite jobs,” she said, explaining that things changed after a conversation with the food editor.

“She...

Christopher Gavin, a reporter with the Globe’s Rhode Island bureau, has been covering the arrest of 70-year-old Ronald Fischer, who was on the run for more than 20 years. Fischer was found aboard a sailboat off the coast of New Jersey after disappearing just before a jury found him guilty of sexual assault in 2005.

“This is somebody who was convicted by a jury of his peers 20 years ago,” Gavin said. “There&r...

What's it like to cover a global tournament through a local lens?

12 News sports anchor Aniekan Okon joined this week's episode of "Behind the Story" to discuss his experience covering the FIFA World Cup, with international matches hosted at Gillette Stadium, which has been dubbed "Boston Stadium" for the tournament.

"These days where there are so many difference and it seems like we're kind of pulling as people in opposite directi...

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 Nichola...

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 diversity i...

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 the 1980s. Foren...

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 Island Department of Education i...

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 reporting that Va...