Keith Herbert returning to Newsday as AME for investigations

Keith Herbert, a veteran journalist who played a key role in Newsday’s high-impact three-year investigation Long Island Divided, will succeed Arthur Browne as Newsday’s assistant managing editor for investigations.

Herbert, who has been a politics editor for NBC News Digital, will begin in June and work with Browne on Newsday’s series investigating the internal affairs process for Long Island police officers.

Herbert, 55, previously hired by Newsday in 2007, served in a variety of roles in the newsroom until 2021, most recently as deputy editor for investigations.

“I’m really excited to help tell stories on Long Island, a place where I’ve spent a significant amount of my career,” Herbert said.

Deborah Henley, Newsday's top editor, hailed Herbert's experience as a reporter on the investigations team as being key to his new role.

“Keith brings a deep knowledge from his time covering Long Island to his new role overseeing our award-winning investigations team," Henley said. "As an investigative reporter, he was a key member of the team that produced our project Long Island Divided, which led to changes in state law and spurred the toughest enforcement of fair housing laws in decades.”

In Long Island Divided, Newsday sent testers carrying hidden cameras to meet and record meetings with real estate agents. The investigation revealed widespread separate and unequal treatment of minority potential homebuyers on Long Island.

The series received several accolades, including a Peabody Award, and led to the passage of several anti-discrimination housing laws in New York.

Herbert, a native of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, earned a bachelor’s in journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia. Before Newsday, he worked as a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and at The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He lives in Forest Hills, Queens.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.