Tim White, investigative reporter at WPRI in Providence, will be teaching the broadcast news class next semester.

 According to WPRI, White has been working for the Eyewitness News teams since September of 2006. He has won four New England Emmy Awards for his work as an investigative reporter. All of his Emmys have been awarded for his work covering local news in the Rhode Island area.  

 “I couldn’t be more excited to teach the broadcast journalism course at Roger Williams University this spring,” said White. “I’ve had the pleasure of lecturing several times over recent years at RWU journalism classes, and recently WPRI 12 partnered with the university on political polling and debates.”

 Megan Willgoos, a junior journalism student who will be taking White’s broadcasting class next semester, is looking forward to the experience.

 “It’s going to be awesome having him as a teacher,” she said. “When he came in for our News II class, he gave all of us so much insight and taught in such a fun way. It’s so cool he’s on television every day because that is my goal when I leave RWU next year.”

 Willgoos said that having White as a teacher will be especially valuable because he has a lot of experience in broadcasting, and she is looking forward to learning from him.

“Having someone with so much experience will help us learn from his mistakes and his success,” she said.

Natalie Almeida, senior journalism student, is also excited about learning from White’s experience for a more personal reason.

“I am from Rhode Island and have grown up watching Tim and have admired him,” she said.

 Almeida is also excited for the unique opportunity to possibly work with the journalist. She is most looking forward to learning how White prepares for going on camera, his technique for speaking and anything about how he does his job.

Almeida and fellow students were able to shadow White and fellow WPRI Reporter Ted Nesi during the Gubernatorial debate that took place at RWU in September. These students got to watch the reporters during their mock debate as they prepared for their role as moderators for the event before it began. Before the debate began, the students got to interview the reporters about the process they go through to prepare to be moderators. 

When Almeida asked them how they choose the questions they are going to ask the candidates, White answered that he and Nesi choose their questions based off the current political topics. He also said that they interview local political organizations about what topics are important to them.

“As an aspiring broadcaster, I feel like for me having this opportunity is really exciting,” Almeida said. “We get to possibly work one-on-one with him whereas in a newsroom as an intern you mostly work with the entire station.”

White said that he did not hesitate to sign on the for position when the opportunity came up. He said the class will focus on the RWU journalism program on digital-first storytelling, forward thinking and getting students on the right path for a career in news.

“I have been struck by the energy, drive and intelligence of the students and the high quality of the faculty at the Department of Communications,” said White. “News gathering is a constantly evolving landscape but its mission has always remained the same: to inform and serve the public.”