Emyle Watkins
Multimedia ReporterEmyle Watkins is an award-winning multimedia investigative journalist with experience in newspapers, TV and radio. Emyle is currently WBFO’s Disability Reporter and hosts the station's weekly Disabilities Beat segment. Their work has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, UpFirst and Morning Edition. Watkins has also appeared on the BBC World News and BBC 5Live during breaking news.
Outside of their work as a reporter, Emyle authored the Global Investigative Journalism Network’s Guide to Investigating Disability Issues and serves on Investigative Reporters and Editors' LGBTQ+ membership committee.
Emyle provides free and low-cost workshops to colleges, journalists, and organizations on improving coverage of people with disabilities and disability representation in newsrooms. Emyle's passion for disability reporting comes from their lived experience as a disabled and neurodivergent person who grew up with a stay-at-home disabled parent.
Buffalo-born and raised a short drive from the city, Emyle (pronounced like Emily, despite the spelling) got their bachelors degrees in Multimedia Journalism and Digital Media Arts at Canisius University.
Emyle’s journalism career began at the early age of 16, when they became the primary sports reporter/photographer for their hometown newspaper, The Springville Journal. Since then, they have also freelanced or had work published in other newspapers including The Buffalo News, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and The Public.
While Emyle started as a sports journalist, early on in college they realized they wanted to pursue investigative journalism as a way to make a difference for communities and hold those in power accountable.
In college, Emyle quickly moved into an editorial position at The Canisius Griffin, and served as the managing editor there, leading the investigative team, often looking into finances and covering student government/college administration. Emyle also redesigned the newspaper’s website and print product to be more accessible to readers with visual disabilities.
As part of Canisius’ Video Institute, Emyle co-produced and was the reporter for the documentary “NewBorn: Maternal Resources in New York State,” which won a Telly Award in 2020. While on a fellowship at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, they won a Pennsylvania Golden Quill by co-writing “There are Black people in the future,” a series of artist profiles.
Emyle interned at WBFO in 2020. Before joining WBFO, Emyle was an associate producer on the digital and investigative teams at WGRZ -TV (Channel 2). At WGRZ, Emyle helped develop stories on such topics as unsolved shootings in Buffalo, and how over 900 graves were lost in a Cheektowaga cemetery.
Follow @EmyleWatkins.
Email Emyle at ewatkins@WBFO.org
Desk (call only): 716-845-7000, ext 233
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It's alleged that De'Lenci Shannon-Brown, 28, shared confidential information with a convicted felon they may be friends with. -
Aside from the City's ADA Advocate, who is Deaf, representatives from the disability community did not speak until the very end of the speaking portion of the event. Nine people, not including the ADA Advocate, spoke first. -
July is Disability Pride Month and this Friday, on the 34th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the disability community will come together for a festival from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Canalside in Buffalo. This week on the Disabilities Beat, we feature an extended-length panel with two of the artists involved with the local Disability Pride Festival. -
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This week, the Disabilities Beat continues our series "Voices of Disability Pride" with a conversation about empowerment with Alex Jusko, a local life coach and psychic. They discuss how empowerment can help anyone live an intentional life and reach their goals. -
This week, we share the first installment of a new series of profiles of leaders in the disability community, called “Voices of Disability Pride.” Each of these profiles is a chance to hear about someone’s advocacy journey, the skills that helped them succeed and what advice they have for people new to the disability community. This week we’re highlighting Michael Rogers, a prominent self-advocate in Buffalo and Regional Organizer for the Self Advocacy Association of New York State. -
Direct Support Professionals, or DSPs, did not get the cost of living increase they were asking for in this year’s budget. Advocates say wages are too low for this profession, which leads to people seeking jobs elsewhere. In today’s episode, we talk about what DSPs provide to people with disabilities and the challenges of recruiting and retaining workers. -
New York York State’s recently-passed 2024-2025 budget included $55 million so 200 new inpatient psychiatric beds can be added to state-run psychiatric hospitals, according to the Division of the Budget. On today’s episode, we share part of a conversation with disability advocates about how the state’s funding of new inpatient psychiatric beds may impact disabled people. -
Less than 24 hours after a large fire broke out in the Cobblestone District, the city says they still plan to seek eminent domain for the South Park Ave buildings. -
One major change came at the last minute in New York State's Budget negotiations? The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP, will move from being administered by hundreds of organizations to only one.
