Professional Experience

Amanda joined the WINK News team in October 2011.  She anchors week nights at 4:00 PM, 7:00 PM, and 11:00 PM on WINK-TV and 6:30 PM and 10:00 PM on WXCW.  Amanda previously served as the evening anchor at WDHN in Dothan, Alabama.

Awards and Recognition

Amanda's work on the anchor desk and in the field covering breaking news has been honored by the Suncoast Chapter of  the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), the Florida Associated Press, and the Florida Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

News Philosophy

To give a voice to the voiceless and hold the powerful accountable.

Hobbies, Interest & Community Involvement

Amanda volunteers and contributes to several annual events for charitable organizations including Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida, Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, Healthy Start of Southwest Florida, Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida, and the Southwest Florida Reading Festival. When she's away from work, Amanda enjoys reading, shopping, traveling, and cheering on the Florida Gators!

Education

Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication, University of Florida.

Likes best about Southwest Florida

Amanda was born in Fort Myers and raised between the Gulf Coast and Sebring in Central Florida, so it's great to be home!

Hometown

Born in Fort Myers, Fla., raised in Sebring, Fla.

Memorable Assignments

Amanda's work takes her all over Florida and the country covering stories of national importance. In 2016, Amanda covered the presidential candidates including two nationally televised debates and the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.  In 2017, she anchored WINK's coverage of President Donald Trump's Inauguration.

Interesting Fact

Amanda is a former Miss Florida Gator

Texas boy, late for school, stops to recite pledge

SANTA FE, Texas — A mom in Santa Fe, Texas couldn’t understand why her 5-year-old son stopped at his school doors as she dropped him off at school Thursday. When she found out why, she took a picture that has since gone viral. It was the sound of the Pledge of Allegiance that prompted Thompson […]

More women than ever are running

FORT MYERS (CBS)– Women are outnumbering men in races, and it’s not just for the health benefits. Donna Briganti laces up her shoes and runs almost every day, and says her favorite part about running is the solitude. She’s certainly not alone. More women than ever are running, and their average age is 39. “You […]

PolitiFact: Trump gets ‘Pants on Fire’ on veteran fundraiser comment

FORT MYERS, Fla.- Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail in California, a day after a combative news conference in New York over money he raised for veterans earlier this year.  On Tuesday Trump identified more than three dozen veterans groups that received donations made on behalf of his foundation. Donald Trump continued to […]

WINK News Investigates: Women have worse credit than men

FORT MYERS, Fla- If you’re applying for loans or a credit card, you might be at a major disadvantage and not even know it.  You may not even be able to help it, because simply being a woman can be a set-back. Women have an average credit score of 621, compared to an average credit […]

PolitiFact: Do Trump and Clinton Share Planned Parenthood Views?

FORT MYERS, Fla.- In the run-up to Indiana’s primary, Sen. Ted Cruz accused Donald Trump of sharing Hillary Clinton’s views on immigration. In an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on May 1, 2016, Cruz said “Donald and Hillary, they’re flipsides of the same coin. They’ve both gotten rich exploiting Washington, exploiting government power. So […]

PolitiFact: Donald Trump Wrong on Reagan Comparison

FORT MYERS, Fla.- As voters head to the polls in New York, WINK News looks closer at a possible match-up of the current front-runners, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.  Clinton tops trump in at least six recent national polls. During a speech in New York last week, Trump compared himself to Ronald Reagan who famously […]

PolitiFact: Is Donald Trump ‘neutral’ on Israel?

FORT MYERS, Fla.- As the dust settles following Super Tuesday, the Republican presidential candidates are looking ahead to Florida’s primary on March 15. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) hopes a win his home state will kick off a comeback for his presidential campaign. A pro-Rubio PAC is airing a TV ad in the Sunshine State taking […]

PolitiFact rates Trump’s claims about Cruz’s “joint passport” FALSE

FORT MYERS, Fla.- Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz campaigned in Iowa Friday ahead of the state’s caucuses. The six-day bus tour comes as the latest CNN/ORC poll shows Cruz is favored to win that state. Earlier this week, his closest rival Donald Trump lodged an attack, calling into question Cruz’s American citizenship. Ted Cruz was […]

Celebrate the holidays SWFL style

FORT MYERS, Fla.- Lighted boat parades, historic homes with sea life ornaments, and Santas on top of restaurants, filled with people wearing shorts. It’s all part of the tropical holiday spirit in Southwest Florida. The Saab family, from Ottawa, Canada, decided to visit Fort Myers, after reading online about Holiday Nights, at the Edison and Ford […]

Rising Rent: Where do we grow from here?

FORT MYERS, Fla.- When you can’t afford to own a home, you probably rent.  But what if even rent is out of reach?  Some of the steepest spikes in the U.S. are impacting renters in Southwest Florida. Nearly 1 in 3 renters in Florida are struggling to make ends meet with half of every paycheck going […]