About Beth
An award-winning journalist who finds the human stories in policy, and most recently led editorial content for an education foundation within the Emerson Collective.
Beth Fertig is a veteran public radio reporter who won two of the highest honors in broadcast journalism: the duPont-Columbia and Edward R. Murrow awards.
She was known for investigative and longform reporting at WNYC, NPR’s largest affiliate station, where she became a familiar voice to millions of people. She also freelanced for The New York Times. More recently, Beth was senior editorial director for the XQ Institute, a nonprofit within the Emerson Collective focused on making high school education more relevant and engaging.
During her long tenure at WNYC, Beth reported live on NPR during the 9/11 attacks, covered city government, transportation, immigration, and the New York City public schools.
She uncovered the lack of services for children with special needs. A radio series led to her book, “Why cant u teach me 2 read? Three Students and a Mayor Put Our Schools to the Test” (FSG Books), about three students who got all the way through their city high schools without learning to read. She was integral to “Schoolbook,” an online collaboration between WNYC and The New York Times with data and reporting on the city’s schools. She also co-developed a buzzworthy, weeklong multimedia series called “Being 12.”
Beth later covered the Trump administration’s impact on immigration. She investigated a Bronx man who took advantage of immigrants’ fears by selling them fake IDs, leading the state to shut down his business, and won a Gracie Award for her coverage of family separations at the southern border. She also reported on the Covid pandemic.
During her time in public radio, Beth filled in for talk show hosts at WNYC and appeared on local TV news segments discussing her areas of reporting expertise.
She left journalism in 2021 and spent almost three years as Senior Education Editor at the XQ Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to rethinking the traditional high school experience to better serve today’s students. As a member of XQ’s marketing and communications team, she created content to publicize “The First Class” documentary, helmed a partnership with the education news site The 74, and wrote and edited content along with numerous internal reports. She also collaborated closely with XQ’s external public relations firm.
“Fertig” means “ready” in German. It’s an appropriate name for a writer and editor known for rising to any challenge under demanding deadlines. With decades of experience explaining complicated topics for a national audience, Beth is an expert at finding the human stories in policy. She’s a writer and editor who can help your podcast, publication, or nonprofit amplify and sharpen its message.