Mountain State Spotlight has hired Erin Beck to provide on-the-ground reporting from communities across West Virginia. She started this week.
Erin is a native West Virginian with more than a decade of journalism experience. Her work has appeared in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, the Register-Herald, and several other West Virginia publications. She has previously worked with Mountain State Spotlight as a freelancer covering the 2021 legislative session.
“Erin believes deeply in the kind of work that Mountain State Spotlight does holding powerful interests in West Virginia accountable — and, as a West Virginia native, she is familiar with the issues that affect West Virginians every day, and skilled at telling their stories powerfully,” said Senior Editor and Co-Founder Ken Ward Jr.
Erin grew up in Doddridge and Ritchie counties. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in public health at West Virginia University.
Erin has earned multiple West Virginia Press Association awards and completed a year-long Association of Health Care Journalists fellowship. She is experienced in writing about civil rights issues and the West Virginia Legislature.