Tape log from WLNE-TV (1991)
_About
The News Media Archive of Rhode Island (NMARI) was founded in 2025 by Becca Bender to collect, preserve, and grant public access to the state's audiovisual news heritage. Rooted in the belief that local news is vital civic infrastructure, NMARI serves as both an archive and a journalism support organization, safeguarding the historical record while freeing news outlets to focus on their core mission of delivering trusted journalism.
_Collections
Our collections span every form of local audiovisual news from the mid-twentieth century to today, including commercial radio and television, public broadcasting, cable access, podcasts, independent video journalism, and other emerging formats. By transforming ephemeral news into enduring historical documentation, NMARI ensures that Rhode Island's recorded voices, events, and daily stories remain accessible for research, education, and discovery across generations.
We are currently building our collections, and they are not yet open for research.
_About_Becca
Processing the WLNE-TV Collection, 2026
Becca Bender (she/her) is a moving image and audio archivist committed to centering public access, collaborating with the communities depicted in the archive, and reducing silences in the historical record. For years, her work as a documentary archival producer was stymied by a lack of access to local news collections, prompting her to return to graduate school at NYU's Moving Image Archiving and Preservation program, determined to help build the solution. That work led her to found NMARI in her adopted state of Rhode Island and co-found the Local Television Legacy Initiative, a national movement dedicated to preserving local TV news as a public resource.