Deb Becker joined WBUR in 1998 as a freelance reporter, producer and host. She now works as a reporter and news host.
In addition to being the mid-day local news host and general assignment reporter, Deb is also the fill-in host for Morning Edition, All Things Considered and WBUR’s nationally syndicated program Here & Now.
Deb also helps produce and organize various WBUR special programs and series. Her awards include: Best Interview and Best Newscast from Public Radio News Directors Incorporated, Best Newscast and Best Public Service Program from the Associated Press and the Tom Phillips Award for Enterprise Reporting from United Press International.
Deb studied journalism at St. Bonaventure University. She lives with her husband and three children in central Massachusetts.
E-mail: dbecker@wbur.org
Recent Stories By Deborah Becker
Published March 16, 2010
BOSTON — Craig Mullaney is a Rhode Island native and an accomplished soldier, but a 2003 death of a Massachusetts soldier in Afghanistan made him question his military training. Mullaney joined WBUR recently to discuss his book and his war experiences.
Published February 24, 2010
BOSTON — Two fatal shootings of Boston store clerks in three months has prompted new safety measures from City Hall, increased police patrols, but neighboring shopkeepers remain concerned.
Published February 10, 2010
BOSTON — Former Boston Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law has again emerged as a target of scorn in the church’s clergy sex abuse scandal. Irish Catholics want him to resign a post in Rome, saying his position of power shows the Vatican has yet to learn its lesson from the abuse crisis.
Published February 5, 2010
HINGHAM, Mass. — The suicide of a 15-year-old girl last month in South Hadley is raising questions throughout Massachusetts about what schools should do about teen bullying. With bullies now more likely to be on the computer than in the school yard, a lot of taunting is happening on the screen. Some parents and teenagers say it’s time to clearly define –- and deal with — a new era of bullying.
Published January 27, 2010
BOSTON — The Boston Archdiocese is releasing more information about three abusive priests with ties to Ireland who worked in Boston. The Archdiocese says the three men were never accused of abuse before or while they worked here.
Published January 27, 2010
BOSTON — For the first time, the Boston Archdiocese has confirmed that some priests who were accused of sexual abuse in Ireland were then transferred to Boston. An Irish government report last year outlined rampant clergy sex abuse in Ireland, but the Boston Archdiocese has never before acknowledged that any o f those priests worked here.
Published January 7, 2010
Gov. Deval Patrick said both sides have made compromises on the education reform bill that the House approved early Thursday morning.
Published December 9, 2009
Although Alan Khazei won’t go to Washington, we can only hope he will still make good on his promises to spearhead anti-poverty programs in the private sector. A reporter’s notebook.
Published December 8, 2009
BOSTON — After a third-place finish in the Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, Alan Khazei is promising to continue to work on some of the issues he focused on during his campaign — inspired by the hardships he saw across Massachusetts on the campaign trail.
Published December 2, 2009
BOSTON — Even though he ranks low in most polls, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Alan Khazei says he’s been successful before when the odds were against him.
Published November 25, 2009
BOSTON — Playwright Paula Vogel is no stranger to upending traditional ideas about theater and taking on dark themes — often with comedy. Now, Vogel has a new show that’s also decidedly different: “A Civil War Christmas” is billed as an uplifting musical. Vogel joined us in the studio recently to talk about it.
Published November 25, 2009
BOSTON — One of the more enigmatic candidates for the state’s U.S. Senate seat is Jack E. Robinson, a self-described “progressive Republican” who has run — and been trounced — in three elections since 2000, when he first ran for Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat.
Published November 17, 2009
BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick is releasing Tuesday what is described as the most comprehensive plan for integrating immigrants into Massachusetts. The director of the state’s Office for Refugees and Immigrants explains how the 131 recommendations would make economic and civic life more inclusive for the immigrant community.
Published November 16, 2009
BOSTON — The state’s social workers overwhelmingly voted “no confidence” in Commissioner Anthony “Angelo” McClain of the state Department of Children and Families. McClain said the vote is a wake-up call that he can do a better job communicating, but he does not plan to back down from some of the changes he has been pushing at the former Department of Social Services.
Published November 6, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. — As the Obama administration tries to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the town of Amherst is offering a little help. Voters in Amherst this week decided to welcome detainees from Guantanamo who are cleared of terrorism allegations.
Published October 26, 2009
BOSTON — Even though housing prices in Greater Boston are down almost 20 percent from what they were four years ago, this region is still one of the most unaffordable places to live in the country, according to a new report.
Published October 21, 2009
MONT VERNON, N.H. — A New Hampshire judge is considering whether to release the information that led police to arrest four teenagers for the brutal murder of a Mont Vernon woman this month. It took police two days to make the arrests, but the teen online rumor mill identified the suspects almost immediately.
Published September 30, 2009
BOSTON — One casualty in Massachusetts’ budget cuts is the state’s only secure substance abuse treatment center. The center is scheduled to close in five weeks, although a State House hearing on Thursday will review that plan.
Published September 18, 2009
BOSTON — Thursday night was supposed to be the last public forum for Boston’s mayoral candidates before the preliminary election, but Mayor Thomas Menino didn’t show.
Published September 17, 2009
BOSTON — A boisterous crowd is expected Thursday on Beacon Hill for a public hearing on two major education bills.