Emyle Watkins

About Emyle Watkins

Greetings! My name is Emyle (pronounced Emily) and I\'m an investigative journalist focused on covering the disability community. As a disabled and neurodivergent journalist, I\'m proud to lead WBFO\'s Disabilities Desk, which focuses on covering disability rights and access issues. We cover disability without pity, and swap out the \"inspirational\" for the investigative journalism this community so greatly deserves. Our coverage looks at a variety of topics, including history, independent living, housing, education, employment, transportation, and language. I believe that journalism is an incredible tool for making the world a better place and that we have a responsibility as journalists to enterprise stories that seek justice and change for individuals and our community. Some highlights of my career include: Working with Investigative Reporter Steve Brown on uncovering the final resting place of around 900 people who had been moved during a 1950\'s exhumation that left little records, or headstones. This resulted in a monument being placed, as well as a headstone for the family at the center of our story. Researching, reporting, and co-producing \"NewBorn: Maternal Resources in New York State,\" a documentary about the barriers women in New York State face to receiving maternal resources. The 30-minute documentary won a Telly Award for Social Issues in 2020. Revamping/Redesigning the print and web products for my college newspaper, which included making both accessible to readers with visual disabilities. Being part of a four-person team that covered the “There are Black people in the future” artist residency for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2019. Our coverage won a Golden Quill Award for Excellence in Written Journalism, Daily, Arts/Entertainment. Completing internships and fellowships in TV, radio, and newspapers while in college. I maintained a 3.67 GPA, was an editor for the college newspaper and worked for local news while in school as well. In all my work, I hold a commitment to truth, integrity, and compassion. I believe in the importance of being present and vulnerable, with and for others, and hope to be an integral member of any team I am a part of.I have bachelor\'s degrees in multimedia journalism and digital media arts, which helped me become a versatile storyteller who can tell stories through writing, audio, video, photo, and design. In my free time, I love traveling, exercise, cooking, reading long-form journalism, creating art, and watching sitcoms.

Experience

1. Lead Disability Reporter (Wbfo, Buffalo\'s Npr Station)

   Buffalo Toronto Public Media

   Mar 2021 — Present · Buffalo, NY, US

   The WBFO Disabilities Beat looks at disability rights and access issues impacting people with disabilities both in our market area, Western New York and Southern Ontario, as well as the greater US and Canada. Unlike our Health and Wellness Desk, which looks at medical treatments, advancements in care and health equity, our Disabilities Desk looks at issues that impact the social quality of life and equity for people with disabilities, such as access to transportation, employment, education, independent living, caregiving and housing. We also look at disability as a cultural identity and report on representation, language and history. Investigative reporting on disability through a social lens allows us to ask what in our communities was not built with people with disabilities in mind, as well as what changes could allow people with disabilities to have equal access to every part of life. We have a commitment to covering disability in a way that is accurate, compassionate and responsive to the disability community\'s voice by following the National Center on Disability and Journalism style guide, which holds the most up to date language and guidance on reporting on disability, from people with disabilities. We also recognize that people with disabilities have been infantilized and stereotyped in the media, especially through \"inspirational\" content, so we are committed to telling stories that don\'t aim to \"inspire\" but instead aim to listen to the disability community and tell their stories with honesty and the intent to change real issues.

Education

• Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University

  Howard Center for Investigative Journalism Investigative Editing Certificate, Investigative Journalism

• The Summer Institute of Buffalo for Human Rights and Genocide Studies

  Certificate, Human Rights & Social Activism

  2013 — 2014

• Springville Griffith High School

  High School, Regents with Advanced Designation

  2012 — 2016

• Albright-Knox Art Galley Future Curators Program

  Art History, Criticism and Conservation

  2016 — 2016

• Canisius University

  Bachelor’s Degree, Multimedia Journalism and Digital Media Arts

  2016 — 2020

• Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Arts Center

  Hands on Class, Video Production & Studio Lighting

  2015 — 2015

• New York State Summer School of The Arts: School of Media Arts

  Certificate, Digital Photography

  2014 — 2014

Skills

• Photography
• Working with Others
• Blogging
• Customer Relations
• Lightroom
• Digital Photography
• Digital Media
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Storytelling
• Magazines
• Event Photography
• Indesign
• Creative Writing
• Social Media
• Editing
• Communication
• Photoshop
• Editorial
• Writing
• Newspapers
• Portrait Photography
• Leadership
• Journalism