Ted Daniel ’96, journalism, has known he wanted to be a journalist from a young age. Growing up watching the nightly news with his family, he was impressed by how journalists were able to impart information to viewers. Today, Daniel is an investigative reporter for WFXT Boston 25 News.
Why did you choose to study at URI?
It was the opportunity of being close to home but still far enough away, where I spent all my weekends on campus, and I knew some other people who went there. It just was a fit for me.
URI’s journalism program had a broadcast track to it, and that’s what I knew I wanted to do from when I was 11 years old. I saw a live newscast in Monterey, California, and I was like, “Oh, that looks like something that would be, you know, exciting, where you have to be on your game, and you have to be focused.”
What made you choose to study journalism?
My family and I grew up watching ABC World News. It was on in the household every night, and you’d see the correspondents around the world, and I always thought, “Wow, these people, they appear so smart.” You know, they were able to impart information that, at that time, a lot of people didn’t know. I liked the idea of being able to share information with people and help them learn and understand what’s going on in their world. I’ve never had an issue speaking in front of large groups. It’s always been something I felt comfortable with. So it just seemed to be a good career path for me.
How do you use the skills you learned while you were at URI today?
I use a lot of what I learned. I remember a media law class with Professor Linda Levin. I deal so much now in the legalities of what we do: Where you’re allowed to shoot video from or what you’re allowed to say. That always sticks with me. I’m dealing with lawyers all the time who are proofing my story. So that was a good little foray into understanding a big component of journalism, especially investigative journalism.
In terms of the social part of being a reporter, you have been able to just go up to anybody and talk to them. You have to cold-call people all the time, and you have to strike up a conversation. There was a lot of opportunity to do that at URI, and I think that’s certainly benefited me.
Describe your favorite memory from your time as a student.
I remember doing my first news package, where I went out with a camera, did the interviews, wrote a script, and then I voiced it and edited it together. I was like, “Okay, this is how it works. This is the way we put these stories together.” That was a good memory of getting out there and actually putting the stories together. That’s when I excelled, and that’s what I was like, “Okay, I think I understand this.”
During my last semester at URI, I also did a full-time internship at ABC Channel 12 WPRI in Providence. I would go in four days a week and work a full day in their newsroom. That was such a great experience for me that that really helped me get my first job because I went out with photographers, they would allow me to step in front of the camera, and they would record things for me. That allowed me to get my first audition tape. That was very beneficial to me because in a lot of our industry, getting your first job really depends on what that first tape looks like. My time at URI allowed me to have an excellent tape, so I had a job within a month.
What one piece of advice would you give Harrington students who are preparing to enter the workforce?
Be willing to make sacrifices. I made a lot of sacrifices. I made $13,500 under contract for my first professional television job at an ABC affiliate in Vermont. I moved around the country in a U-Haul. I moved to Tennessee and lived in Chattanooga. I had never really heard of Chattanooga, but it turned out to be a great experience. I moved to Tampa after that and then back to Rhode Island.
If you really want it, be willing to make sacrifices and go after it. I know in our field people who are willing to go the extra mile, who understand that despite some of the challenges, that job it’s a pretty interesting and exciting field to be in and never lose sight of that. Don’t be afraid to hustle and work hard and make sacrifices, and it will pay off in the long run.