About

I simply cannot refer to myself in the third person, it reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where George starts referring to himself by name after he meets Kramer's friend, Jimmy. Remember "George likes spicy chicken"? So, in short, I ask you to indulge me and let me speak from the first person. Hopefully, this isn't a deal breaker.

My career started as a television and radio reporter for a CBS affiliate. I anchored the morning news breaks and wrote packages for the five o'clock newscast. I am proud of the fact that I won two Alaska Press Club awards for my reporting (one for best environmental story and the other for best profile) and I'm honored to be the first-ever recipient of the Alaska Broadcasters Association scholarship.

I continued to utilize my broadcasting experience as I segued into public relations and corporate communications. I then went on to publish a youth soccer magazine and was acknowledged with an Association for Publication Excellence (APEX) award in the "Most Improved Magazine" category. I have also worked closely with more than a dozen authors, as an editor and associate publisher, at an independent book company where we produced regional history books that were rich in content and stunning photography. (An interesting side note is that the CEO of the news station I worked for gave me one of these beautiful books when I resigned, years before I went to work for the company that published the books! Ironic, huh?) 

I am very proud to have spent two years at the Los Angeles Times where I managed internal communications and worked closely with the publisher and CEO. Because of my contributions to the company's Your Times campaign (which highlighted the columnists and reporters at the Times), I was honored along with my team and given an Innovation Award for my work. My tenure at The Times was life-changing and I will always be honored to have worked alongside some of the country's best journalists.

Most recently, I have been helping people and businesses who are exploring the social media space. I am privileged to have introduced the legendary comedian Elayne Boosler to Twitter and have helped her grow her following on Facebook (as you may know, Elayne was the first female comedian to have her own comedy special on cable and she helped paved the way for women comics). I have spoken on social media networking at the University of Chicago and was on Sparkah.com's "LA's Top 100 Bloggers You Should Take to Lunch" list.

I was asked to guest blog on Spin Sucks in 2011, one of Advertising Age's top PR/Marketing sites (see my post HERE, and my article was named the 7th most popular post of that entire year). I was also named to the PR33 List of Top PR/Communications Blogs in 2012. I have worked hard to develop an engaged online network (check out the Buzz section to see who's written about me or my blog). My clients have included Ashley Furniture, BlogWorld & New Media Expo, CRC Health Group, Snoring Dog Studio, Invisible People, Elayne Boosler, and many others.

Although my professional experience spans the areas of publishing, PR, communications, broadcasting, and social media, there is one thread that remains the same: storytelling. All these mediums require stellar messaging and the ability to educate, engage, and motivate the audience. It's all about the power of words, hence the title of this blog and my business, Words Done Write (sorry, I'm a sucker for a pun!).

For more about me, visit: www.AmberAvines.com. 

DISCLOSURE: Nothing you read on my blog is a sponsored post. If I find something interesting, I like to share it. Everything I write is my opinion only and no money or other compensation has changed hands (but, hey, if anyone offers to throw truckloads of money and fabulous prizes at me, I'll disclose it to ya!).