Tatge is a past Kiplinger Fellow in Public Affairs Reporting at Ohio State University where he completed his master's degree in journalism. The fellowship was named after W.M. Kiplinger, W. M. Kiplinger editor and founder of the Kiplinger Letter. Kiplinger was one of OSU's first journalism graduates (1912) and he also founded Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Following in Kiplinger's footsteps, Tatge found that economics, not politics, was more fascinating. Upon graduation, Tatge embarked upon a career in business journalism. Tatge went on to complete his MBA at Ohio University. He holds a bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University.