Emily Green is a print and radio reporter with a wonderful body of work. While in San Francisco, she covered City Hall for the San Francisco Chronicle and is now freelancing for clients such as Univision, National Public Radio and Public Radio International. We met in Mexico City after she moved from San Francisco, CA. Emily is a funny, kind, and lively person. I knew I had met someone who I could throw ideas around with and was excited when we began pitching stories together. When the applications for the El Salvador IWMF trip opened, I asked Emily to team up with me. I was confident that we could come up with good stories because I felt she had the drive and passion to tell underreported stories.
As the time approaches to embark on our trip to El Salvador, I’m really looking forward to collaborating with Emily. In the meantime, I asked her the following questions:
Why did you pursue a career in journalism?
I am interested in so many things. When I was in college, I couldn’t decide on just one issue or part of the world to focus on. Journalism offered a great vehicle to learn and investigate a diverse range of topics, as well a means to see the world and experience it first-hand in a way that is not available to most people.
Why did you choose to focus on your chosen medium (print, audio, video, photo)?
I originally focused on print journalism because that is the medium I grew up on. As a kid growing up, I read a hard copy of The New York Times nearly daily. But as I became older, I became more interested in radio. I love the way sound can tell a story, and also it is a wonderful way to mix storytelling and news gathering.
How do you decide what stories to tell?
I tell the stories I know I would want to read. Especially in this news environment that is satiated with depressing narratives, I seek out uplifting stories that underscore human resiliency and generosity.
Address a challenge that you have been presented with when reporting stories from the field.
Working as a female freelancer is definitely challenging at times. I have to constantly weigh security risks versus what I can financially afford. In other words, if I can’t hire a driver or a fixer, do I feel safe as a woman driving and reporting alone in certain parts of Mexico? These are considerations I am always weighting.
Why do you want to report from the US-Mexico border or San Salvador?
The narrative we hear out of the United States is very one-dimensional: Gangs, poverty, violence. I want to provide a more nuanced portrait of the country.