Ben Berke

South Coast Bureau Reporter

Based in New Bedford, Ben staffs our South Coast Bureau desk. He covers anything that happens in Fall River, New Bedford, and the surrounding towns, as long as it’s a good story. His assignments have taken him to jails, factories, city halls, fishing vessels, bakeries, environmental cleanup sites and the homes of hundreds of interview subjects. Ben joined the bureau in February 2021 after three years in Brockton reporting for The Enterprise. His freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Providence Journal. When he’s not working, Ben can often be found near the beach hiking, surfing and collecting the strange things that wash ashore.

bberke@ripr.org

Recently published
The hospital has closed about 40 psychiatric beds, according to its chief operating officer
Famiglietti, a personal injury lawyer who serves on North Providence’s town council, won more than 70% of the district’s votes in a four-way race
Massachusetts lawmakers are considering new legislation filed in response to an investigative series by The Public’s Radio that chronicled the lives of child laborers in New Bedford, the nation’s highest-grossing fishing port
Faced with a mandate to increase public school funding by $15 million per year, Providence is planning to levy its biggest tax increase in over a decade
At a press conference announcing plans to reopen the building’s art studios, the new owner asked local artists to get involved in planning the renovation