KINGSTON, R.I. – April 8, 2026 – Tim White, an award-winning investigative journalist for Providence’s WPRI-TV (CBS 12) who has exposed corruption and fraud within the region throughout his career, will deliver the University of Rhode Island’s 2026 Taricani Lecture on First Amendment Rights on Tuesday, April 21, at 5:30 p.m. at the Robert J. Higgins Welcome Center, 45 Upper College Road on the Kingston Campus.
White’s longstanding investigative work includes looking into the Police Department in Fall River, Massachusetts, that resulted in the agency’s leader stepping down; exposing rampant fraud in the government’s Small Business Administration loan program meant to help businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and the documentary “The Mafia Tapes” on the 30th anniversary of an infamous 1989 mob induction ceremony.
“We are thrilled to have Tim White be this year’s Taricani Visiting Journalist,” said Daniel Hunt, the Harrington School of Communication and Media’s journalism and public relations chair. “Tim is a widely respected, award-winning investigative journalist, and our students here at URI can learn so much from him.”
In his talk, White will discuss defending local news and a free press. The lecture is free and open to the public; registration is required. Hunt will moderate the discussion—which will also be livestreamed.
White, the son of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Jack White, is the chief investigative reporter and managing editor of WPRI’s “Target 12 Investigators” team. White joined WPRI in 2006 and has won seven New England Emmy Awards, five of them for his investigative reporting, eight regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and several New England Associated Press Awards in his career.
White also recently led the team’s news series that led to a former high school basketball coach being charged with sexual assault; a 2016 investigation that questioned where a powerful Rhode Island state representative actually lived—resulting in a criminal conviction of the politician; and an in-depth look at the region’s housing crisis.
Along with his investigative work, White is the executive producer and co-host of the WPRI weekly current affairs program “Newsmakers.” He also co-authored “The Last Good Heist,” detailing the daring heist of a secret mafia-run bank in Providence that netted the robbers $30 million in cash and jewels.
In 2013, White was selected by The Washington Post as one of the top political reporters in Rhode Island. Before joining WPRI, White was managing editor of WBZ-TV (CBS 4) in Boston, where he also led the news station’s award-winning political unit at the time.
“This is deeply personal for me. Jim Taricani was a great friend who, despite working at a competing newsroom, was always willing to help,” White said. “Frankly, it was Jim’s advice that pushed me to take this job 20 years ago and move from Boston to the Providence market. We lost him much too soon.”
“Tim’s investigative reporting at WPRI embodies the legacy of Jim Taricani. Investigative reporting is critical for democracy as it holds our political leaders accountable and fosters civic engagement in local communities,” Hunt said. “Tim’s commitment to uncovering the truth has shed light on stories that might otherwise go untold throughout the state of Rhode Island.”
The Taricani Lecture on First Amendment Rights honors the memory of Jim Taricani H ’18, a veteran Rhode Island award-winning journalist and nationally respected investigative reporter with WJAR-TV (NBC 10) in Providence for nearly four decades. A valued URI community member, Taricani was the husband of Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce President Laurie White ’81, who with the Taricani family, endowed the lecture series in his memory, his work and his courageous commitment to protect First Amendment rights. To help support the Taricani Lecture in its effort to bring distinguished local, national and international journalists to campus to share their expertise and perspective to this critically important topic, visit the University of Rhode Island Foundation gift page