Bill Rappleye, Veteran Rhode Island Reporter, Passes Away
Thursday, January 07, 2021
Veteran Rhode Island journalist Bill Rappleye has passed away after battling cancer.
Rappleye left WJAR-10 in January 2020.
A veteran journalist, Rappleye might be best remembered for his battle with then-Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin.
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“You’re a public official and we’d like to know if you were interviewed on the 38 Studios question,” Rappleye said to Kilmartin during an unrelated news conference at the Attorney General’s office.
But Rappleye’s question was never answered.
“Bill, you’re in my house now and we have a lot of professionals who took time out of their day to be here and we’re going to start now,” Kilmartin said.
Rappleye’s Career
WJAR shared the following when Rappleye joined the station in 2013:
Bill gladly returns to Rhode Island airwaves following a 10-year absence.
He broke into television news in New Bedford in the early 1980s, working as a photographer/reporter for cable television.
He followed that up with seven years at WLNE, where he broke stories during the Rhode Island Housing scandal, and established himself as the station's environmental reporter.
After that, he moved on to Boston, and later spent two years reporting in New York City. Most recently, you may have seen Bill's reports on the Fox News Channel.
Throughout his career, Bill's ties to the Ocean State have remained constant; three of his daughters attended North Kingstown schools.Every year Bill makes a point of hooking as many stripers as he can in the Bay. He thinks covering politics in Rhode Island is nearly as much fun.
