Beth Whitehouse

When I was growing up in New Jersey, one of the best days of each school year was when the Scholastic book fair order form came home, and my parents let me circle as many choices as I wanted. As a kid, I would also create my own books, stapling construction paper together to bind “Diary of a School Desk” or “The Lost Cow.”

After reading a biography of Nellie Bly, a journalist who went undercover to report on a mental institution, I thought, “This is the perfect career for me.” Not only could I write for a living, I would explore important and interesting topics.

I became a reporter because I love to write. I will ask a million questions because I care, and I want to know. My role is to help families make the most of their time together.

I headed to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. After graduation, I joined the Peace Corps, teaching English in a village school in West Africa.

My first journalism jobs included covering the city of Sarasota for the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, followed by stints at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale and The Miami Herald. I also worked for The Asbury Park Press — my hometown paper in Bruce Springsteen territory at the Jersey Shore.

But I was no stranger to Long Island. My mother’s sister lived in Oakdale, and when I was a kid we would drive out often, my father cursing the traffic on the Southern State Parkway. The six cousins would sleep on cots downstairs while the grownups played Pinochle up in the dining room. One of my best memories was a trip we took on the ferry to Fire Island. A boat! To the beach! What could be more exciting?

In 1993 I joined Newsday, covering the Hispanic community and, coincidentally, Fire Island. In fact, I met my son’s father on a July Fourth weekend at a happy hour at Flynn’s in Ocean Bay Park. My family now spends time in Fair Harbor or Ocean Beach every summer.

News stories I have worked on include the Long Island Rail Road shootings and the crash of Flight 800. For the latter, I share a newsroom Pulitzer Prize. I became an assistant Long Island editor, then feature writer and columnist. I have been an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. And, I wrote a real book – not one stapled together by me – called “The Match: ‘Savior Siblings’ and One Family’s Battle to Heal Their Daughter.”

I currently write for Explore Long Island, covering families.