Beth Fertig is a senior reporter covering courts and legal affairs. She focuses on how different New Yorkers interact with the civil and criminal justice systems. Her work explores whether justice is meted out fairly and whether programs within the courts can reduce incarceration and solve social problems. She also covers the federal immigration courts and how changes in immigration law affect New Yorkers under President Donald Trump's administration.
Beth started working at WNYC in 1995 covering city politics and spent many years covering public education. She is the author of Why cant u teach me 2 read? Three Students and a Mayor Put Our Schools to the Test (FSG Books) which grew out of a radio series on the low graduation rate for special education students. She also worked on the award-winning WNYC series “Being 12” and reported on efforts to promote integration in the New York City public schools. Follow her @bethfertig.
Beth is a New York City native who discovered her love for journalism at her college newspaper at the University of Michigan. She also has a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago. She is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio. She’s won many local and national awards, including the prestigious Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award for Broadcast Journalism for her series of reports in 2001 about an effort to privatize some struggling city schools.
Beth also won an Edward R. Murrow award for an investigation of a subway fire. And she’s won numerous awards from the city's Deadline Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the New York Press Club -- which gave her a special award after the 2001 terrorist attacks for a profile on the friendship of two WTC survivors.
Read Beth's latest reporting on Gothamist.
Beth Fertig appears in the following:
Presiding Under Pressure
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Why It's Harder to Win Asylum, Even in New York
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
'Randomness' at the Border: A Columbia Law Professor Visits Migrants in Tijuana
Wednesday, April 03, 2019
Fast-Tracking Families Through Immigration Court
Tuesday, April 02, 2019
Fewer Undocumented Immigrant Crime Victims Are Stepping Forward
Monday, March 25, 2019
At Adult Detention Centers, 18-Year-Old Asylum-Seekers Advocate For Themselves
Saturday, March 09, 2019
A Different Kind of Family Separation at the Border
Wednesday, March 06, 2019
U.S. Separates Mother and Daughter Fleeing Persecution Due to HIV Status
Wednesday, March 06, 2019
A Mother and Daughter Both Have H.I.V. The U.S. Lets in Only One.
Wednesday, March 06, 2019
Public Defenders Claim Court Hearings by Video Deny Immigrants Due Process
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
City's Federal Courts Brace for Full Force of Shutdown
Monday, January 21, 2019
Christmas at the Border: Volunteers Spend Their Holiday Helping Migrants
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Stock Market Losses Make Some Holiday Shoppers Anxious
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Bronx DA Won't Ask Supreme Court to Decide on Jury Trials for Immigrants
Wednesday, December 05, 2018
NYC Volunteers Prepare to Offer Moral Support to Migrants on the Border
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
Remembering Former City Schools Chancellor Harold Levy
Thursday, November 29, 2018
New York's Highest Court Rules Immigrants Deserve Jury Trials, Even for Misdemeanors
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Immigrant Groups Have a Special Reason to Oppose Amazon's Move
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
NYPD: We Take White Supremacist Groups Seriously
Monday, November 19, 2018
Lawsuit: Immigrant Detainees Wait average 80 Days for Court Date
Friday, November 16, 2018
