Profile: David Ertischek
David Ertischek ‘01 has held the position of writer and content producer in the Office of Communications for the past five years. He mainly writes for Emerson Today, the College administration’s news site. He also co-manages the Office of Communications’ X account and is the webmaster of and a writer for Expression, the College’s magazine for alumni and friends.
Naturally, Ertischek enjoys writing about his alma mater and its singular community members. His favorite articles focus on what he calls “Emerson stories,” such as the College’s prop warehouse, the Robbins Center, or how alumni in the sports industry communicate with athletes.
Ertischek comes up with many articles ideas on his own by keeping attuned to what’s in the news and asking faculty and staff to share their expertise in relation to current events. For example, he’s written about the film Barbie from three different angles since last summer: sexism at the Oscars, the film’s ASL version, and rebranding success stories.
Ertischek also oversees a team of student writers and photographers, assigning articles to them and providing feedback on their work. He is involved in the interview and hiring process as well.
Prior to Emerson, Ertischek handled communications and social media for the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District (BID). Through his work in this role, he learned where to get the best food in downtown Boston. He has several recommendations, including D’Guru, Falafel King, and Chacarero, and more. Before working for the Downtown Boston BID, he was a writer and editor for GateHouse Media New England and Patch, where he launched Patch’s first Boston site.
After graduating from Emerson with a degree in Writing, Literature and Publishing and concentration in creative writing, he started his professional career as a preschool teacher, where he “learned some of the best lessons of his life.” Knowing he wanted to pursue a writing career, he continued to freelance for local Boston-area publications during his preschool days before landing a full-time journalism job.
Ertischek grew up in Ossining, New York. He currently lives in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston with his wife, Rachel. The couple are both writers and editors, and thus named their daughters Juliet and Calliope.
Ertischek’s passion for animals has resulted in quite the menagerie. Along with his human family, he has a 75-gallon freshwater aquarium with a few fish who are older than his 6-year-old daughter. Fittingly, his cat, Tarzan, also had a “byline” on a news site, Boston.com, after he was found stuck in tar. Ertischek and his family adopted Tarzan after a construction worker rescued him from his harrowing tale of a tail.
If that weren’t enough to keep him busy, Ertischek is the sole employee of JamaicaPlainNews.com, a local news site that reports on the Boston neighborhood he’s lived in for 22 years. “I’m the owner, publisher, writer, editor, marketing executive, senior advertising executive, IT person, animal reporter, schools reporter, and everything else,” said Ertischek wryly. “I certainly do it for the love of journalism, and it keeps me connected to the community I love. And I’m able to give back to the community by letting people know about new restaurants, upcoming community meetings, and local causes to support.”
One of his favorite nature spots is Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum, which is a quick jaunt from his house. He has a favorite magnolia tree and enjoys viewing the wildlife, including deer, foxes, snapping turtles, and even elusive fisher cats. Back home, he and his daughters tend to their garden, growing vegetables, herbs, fruit, and whatever piques their interests.
Vani Hanimirian ’26