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:
Three Young Girls Were Separated at the Border from a Father with HIV
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Undocumented Restaurant Worker Is Arrested by ICE During Deposition Against His Employer
Friday, August 16, 2019
As Raids Failed to Materialize, Many Immigrants Still Felt Fearful
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Queens DA Candidates Champion Progressive Policies – Some More Than Others
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
What You Need to Know About the Queens D.A. Candidates
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
American Bar Association Says Immigration Courts Are 'On The Brink Of Collapse'
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
A Cautionary Tale For DACA Recipients From A Detained Student
Thursday, May 30, 2019
NYC's Immigration Court Is a 'Pressure Cooker'
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
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
