Emyle Watkins
Multimedia ReporterEmyle Watkins is a multimedia investigative journalist with experience in newspapers, web, TV and radio.
Emyle joined WBFO in March 2021 to cover the disability community - a topic area she believes deserves better coverage and investigative reporting focused on disability rights, community, culture, and access issues that impact people with disabilities. As someone who identifies as disabled and neurodivergent, herself, she wants to make sure the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities are accurately represented.
Buffalo-born and raised a short drive from the city, Emyle (pronounced like Emily, despite the spelling) got her bachelors degrees in Multimedia Journalism and Digital Media Arts at Canisius College.
Emyle’s journalism career began at the early age of 16, when she became the primary sports reporter/photographer for her hometown newspaper, The Springville Journal. Since then, she has 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 she realized she 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. She 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, she 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 and later became an associate producer on the digital and investigative teams at WGRZ -TV (Channel 2). There she 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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Jasmine Harris, a law professor and disability rights legal scholar from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, explains in a conversation with WBFO’s Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins how local laws like the recently vetoed Erie County Language Access Act can interact with federal disability laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. -
On this episode of the Disabilities Beat, Emyle Watkins speaks with Erie County’s newest Family Court Judge, the honorable Shannon Filbert, about her perspective as a judge with a disability on what people with disabilities should know about family court. We break down some misconceptions about family court, the role disability can play in custody hearings and where the family court system could improve. -
On this episode of the Disabilities Beat, Emyle Watkins speaks with Kevin Smith, the director of Mental Health Peer Connection, about how peer-led services are helping to bridge a treatment gap. We also learn about their Renewal Center, which offers a peer-led alternative to a psychiatric emergency room. -
This episode kicks off WBFO’s new weekly Disabilities Beat segment. But as we create a new space for stories from the disability community to be shared, how can you, the listener, interact with this segment? What can you expect to learn? Disabilities Beat Reporter Emyle Watkins asked some of our sources what you can expect and we break down what ableism is. -
The closing of a prominent Buffalo pain doctor's clinic several years ago raised questions. But forgotten in the mix was what happened to his chronic pain patients, that came to him with a legitimate concern? The aftermath of Dr. Eugene Gosy's clinic closure has highlighted the challenges Americans face in getting chronic pain treatment while our country confronts the opioid epidemic. -
Governor Kathy Hochul’s Executive Budget included $1 million for Special Olympics New York. WBFO’s Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins first reported in December that the organization was asking the state for at least $1.5 million in the next budget to prevent program cuts. Watkins spoke with their CEO after the budget was released to get her reaction. -
New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray told WBFO Sunday she has "no concerns" for tomorrow's rescheduled Buffalo Bills game at Highmark Stadium. The Bills face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Wild Card Game at 4:30 p.m. -
Wind gusts of up to 55 mph, single-digit and more than a foot and a half of snow are all in the forecast for Buffalo. -
The U.S. Justice Department is seeking the death penalty for Tops shooter Gendron. -
On Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul shared her vision for New York in her State of the State address, which often previews what may be included in her budget proposal. WBFO’s Disability Reporter Emyle Watkins spoke with the head of a local disability services agency to get her reaction.
