'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
An esteemed local reporter and news anchor from Pennsylvania called Emily Matson passed away unexpectedly on December 11 at the age of 42. The news of her death was confirmed by NBC affiliate Lilly Broadcasting. However, the cause of her demise remains undisclosed, according to Deadline.
Lilly Broadcasting, the parent company of WIPU-TV in Erie where Emily Matson worked alongside Erie News Now, shared in a statement on its official website:
“It is with a very heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of our beloved Erie News Now news anchor Emily Matson. Emily was a shining light in our newsroom, delivering news with a passion and love she had for the Erie community and Northwest Pennsylvania.”
The statement further added that Emily was loved dearly and offered condolences to her family and husband Ryan.
Emily Matson
Emily Matson was an Erie-based award-winning popular news anchor and reporter associated with WIPU-TV and Erie News Now for roughly two decades. As per Deadline, her career began as an intern at Erie’s WJET-TV in the early 2000s.
Later, she moved to WICU 12 where she hosted the station’s first morning show with Mark Soliday before going on to become its on-air reporter. According to her LinkedIn bio, she loved reporting crime stories and contributed to the Erie community.
Matson was also the co-anchor of WICU’s night show which ran from 7 pm to 11 pm and for which she earned the Outstanding Spot News Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters for two consecutive times.
Considered an icon in the field of Erie’s broadcast journalism, Emily joined Erie News Now, the largest news publication in Northwest Pennsylvania (as per The Sun) in 2004, a year after she graduated from La Roche University, as mentioned on her LinkedIn profile. She also made it to the Dean’s List of Students every year at her alma mater.
Tributes pour in for Emily Matson
Following the news of her death, many journalists and colleagues of Emily Matson came forward to share their tributes on social media. Fellow reporter Katie McGraw took to Facebook to share:
“What an incredible loss. I am heartbroken and truly gutted to share the news of my friend and former coworker’s passing.”
Likewise, another colleague and meteorologist Sara Tonks wrote on the platform that Emily's presence in the newsroom and the studio was felt by everyone and she always enjoyed listening to her talk to others.
Erie News Now reporter Christyn Allen took to Instagram to share a lengthy and heartfelt note and stated that Emily was a “coworker turned friend turned sister,” and was “a voice of reason, the brightest light, an insanely hard worker, a goofball, and your biggest cheerleader.”
She further continued by saying that to know Emily was to love her and called her a “fiercely loyal friend” among other things. Allen also requested her followers to hug their close ones and pray for whoever knew and loved Matson.
