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 MBTA said trains will begin carrying passengers from Fall River and New Bedford to Boston on March 24, pending final approval by the Federal Railroad Administration
Mayor Jon Mitchell said the presidency has a four-year term but “the runway for climate change is a much longer one,” suggesting future presidents may revive support for the offshore wind industry
For the state of Massachusetts, UMass Dartmouth’s Star Store campus was expensive and short-lived. For New Bedford politician John T. Saunders and his relative who still owns the property, it was a windfall
2,483 people visited the Whaling Museum for the annual event, arriving from 37 states and countries as far away as Australia, Brazil, and Sweden