Wood, journalist who covered Middle East, joins AP to focus on North Dakota oil

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Josh Wood is joining The Associated Press to report from North Dakota on the oil boom that is transforming the state and the U.S. energy sector.

Wood, 26, has worked as a freelance journalist in the Middle East since 2009, based in Beirut. His work, including coverage of the Syrian conflict and its spillover in the region, has been published in The New York Times, International Herald Tribune and The Christian Science Monitor, among others.

The appointment was announced Monday by Central Region Editor David Scott and Upper Midwest News Editor Doug Glass.

Wood grew up in Saudi Arabia, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He holds a bachelor’s in Middle Eastern studies from George Washington University. He begins his new assignment March 1.