MEET OUR GRADUATES: Raymond Baccari – The Next Face of Political Journalism in R.I.

Raymond Baccari is super polite and eager to please, the kind of person who apologizes for bumping into furniture, but there’s more to this mild-mannered reporter than meets the eye. 

A communication major, with a concentration in media communication, Baccari may not have a hidden “S” on his chest, but he’s super driven. His dream is to anchor the news. And few have done more to realize their dreams than Baccari.

At age 22, Baccari was a regular guest commentator on R.I. PBS’s “A Lively Experiment,” a public affairs show in which panelists analyze the week’s local and national events. He’s the youngest panelist in the history of the show, and he’s very much on top of his game.

Take a look at one of many episodes in which he appears.

Baccari discovered his passion for political reporting at a young age. While other teenagers were saving for the latest Xbox games, he was spending his money on the daily newspaper. Raised by his father, Baccari says his dad taught him hard work, good old-fashioned morality and created an environment for his interests in the news to flourish.

In high school, after winning second place for two documentary films he created involving interviews with Rhode Island legislators, Baccari realized that he had found his element – in front of a news camera. His idol is admittedly WPRI 12  journalist Tim White, who hosts his own TV show and interviews local politicians. Baccari hopes to do the same. 

Fresh out of high school, he started his own political talk show on YouTube called “Ray-ality TV.” His guests have included R.I. Gov. Daniel McKee, House Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, among others. So far, he’s produced over 100 episodes.

In 2020, his first year at RIC, things really took off for Baccari. In his freshman year, he joined the Anchor newspaper. In his sophomore year, he joined Anchor TV. In his junior year, he was promoted to editor-in-chief of the Anchor, general manager of Anchor TV and he began a semester-long internship at ABC6 News. In his senior year, while holding the roles of program manager and vice president of Anchor TV, he joined Student Community Government, Inc. as representative at-large.

“At RIC, I’ve learned the TV side of news and the print side. I’ve been in front of the camera and behind it. It’s been fun,” he says.

But his greatest influence, Baccari says, has been Jim Hummel – professional advisor for the Anchor newspaper.

Jim Hummel spent 13 years as a Providence Journal reporter and another 13 as an investigative reporter for ABC6 News. He is host of “A Lively Experiment,” but he is most famous for the Hummel Report, an online news source devoted to exposing waste and corruption in Rhode Island government. Hummel has broken big stories that have gotten people fired. His protégé, Baccari, has broken some big stories of his own.

Last year, Baccari’s investigative reporting triggered the scandal around R.I. Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos’ falsified endorsements during the 2023 special election for Rhode Island’s First Congressional District.

“It was breaking news, when I put out the story,” he says. “WPRO radio picked it up. GoLocal Prov wrote an article about it, saying, ‘First reported by Raymond Baccari from the Anchor.’ And on the same day, at 5 p.m., I was invited to be a guest on the Dan Yorke Show. I called in to talk about it. It’s like a blur. It was amazing.”

“Raymond, by far, is the most ambitious and curious reporter I’ve worked with at the Anchor, particularly when it comes to politics,” Hummel says. “If there’s a political story to be reported, Raymond will do whatever it takes to track it down. His perseverance and social media presence has made him a familiar name among Rhode Island’s leading reporters and top politicians and landed him a spot at the debate table as one of the moderators for the CD2 race last year.”

Baccari graduates a semester early, with a 3.9 GPA. 

It’s been a good run, he says. “Rhode Island College has been the best place for me to reach my full potential, and it has the best environment with the best resources for my abilities to grow. I’ve been involved in every aspect of broadcast journalism, and I couldn’t have done it without being at RIC.”

“Being a smaller school, people knew me by name. I was known as Raymond Baccari, the reporter, the guy who’s everywhere. When President Warner would see me on campus, he’d say, ‘There goes the press,’” Baccari beamed.

Baccari experienced tragedy, as well, during his tenure at RIC. His father died in his freshman year. For most of us, losing a parent at such a young age jolts us out of our comfort zone and leaves us at a loss to figure out our place in the world. Baccari carried on.

“I just try to give my all to everything that I do,” he says. “My grandfather and my father are the two people I look up to the most. My grandfather passed away two years before my dad. Both of them always encouraged hard work, doing good in school, going to college and getting a good job, and they created a home environment where I could do that. Neither of them were into politics but they were very supportive of me. I used to tell them, when they were still alive, ‘I’m going to make it some day and then I’ll take care of you.’ I just want to keep my promise.”

And he has. Recently Baccari accepted a position at WPRI 12 News as digital content producer and assignment desk editor. That means he will be working with his idol – Tim White. As Baccari puts it: “The dream starts now.”

Also see:

“Raymond Baccari – Political Journalist in Search of a Newsroom”

“My Internship in a TV Newsroom”