From 2011 to 2016 he reported for the American daily newspaper Stars and Stripes, covering the U.S. military from bureaus in southern Germany and Naples, Italy, and filing coverage from Afghanistan, the Middle East and locations at sea. Beardsley was named a 2016-2017 fellow with the Robert Bosch Foundation in Berlin. He reported for the Naples Daily News in Florida before coming to Europe. Beardsley graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005 and has a master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.