When I was a kid I thought Tom Brokaw was my dad. It's true. I knew about Dad's real job selling Cessna planes but believed he delivered the evening news, too, before heading home for dinner. I don't know how I got the idea. Perhaps it was the newsman's steady, paternal way, his measured approach and sweep of brown hair that seemed familiar. When Brokaw was on I ran to the TV and kissed it.
And so it is perhaps not surprising I chose journalism as my occupation. I love everything about it. Reading. Writing. Traveling. Meeting new people. Learning new things. Telling stories.
I've been in the business more than 10 years, starting as an intern for PEOPLE in Miami and then joining The Associated Press in Nashville, Tenn. At the AP I was the bureau's religion reporter, covering the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, in a city nicknamed "the buckle of the Bible Belt." On evening and weekend shifts I worked primarily as an editor, overseeing state news and handling broadcast, sports and photos as desk supervisor.
I embarked as a freelancer eight years ago. Today my byline has appeared in PEOPLE, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor and many other publications. I specialize in faith, the environment and social issues, and my work also has appeared in Sojourners, Spirituality and Health and Christianity Today. My stories on the Florida Everglades and other environmental issues have appeared in Newsweek and the Monitor. While faith was the story of Tennessee, here the story of Florida seems to be the environment, the give and take between Floridians and our surroundings, between development and the environment.
Through my experience covering beleaguered Florida mom Casey Anthony for PEOPLE I have appeared as a commentator on CNN Headline News. In 2006 I worked for a month in Boston as a temporary editor on the national desk of the Monitor, assisting with coverage of the midterm elections. My column "After the Boom!" for 20- and 30-somethings appears on www.dscriber.com. I am an active member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and I am the freelance committee chairwoman for the Society of Professional Journalists. I am an occasional speaker on writing and journalism. In 2008 I traveled to Taiwan with an SPJ delegation as part of a professional exchange with journalists there.
I am a Florida native and graduate of the University of Florida. I work and live in Orlando with my husband Wade and yellow Lab Griffin.
For more about me please also visit www.mediabistro.com/amygreen.