Photo: Erie News Now
Veteran Erie News Now news anchor Emily Matson has died at the age of 42, the station announced in an official statement shared on its website on behalf of its parent company Lilly Broadcasting Monday (December 11).
"It is with a very heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of our beloved Erie News Now news anchor Emily Matson," the statement reads. "Emily was a shining light in our newsroom, delivering news with a passion and love she had for the Erie community and Northwest Pennsylvania. We loved Emily dearly and our hearts go out to the Matson family and her husband Ryan at this time."
Erie News Now didn't provide additional details on the death of Matson, who worked as both an anchor and reporter in her hometown market for nearly two decades, having also previously worked as a morning show producer.
“I must be dreaming! An anchor gig in my hometown! I am so happy to be in Erie, telling the stories that impact my neighbors every day,” Matson's Erie News Now bio states.
Matson initially worked as an intern for WJET-TV in Erie in the early 2000s before moving to Erie News Now as a morning show producer and eventually landing a job as an on-air reporter.
“I was sad to leave the morning crew, but excited when offered the reporter job I’d been striving for,” Matson's bio page states. “As a general assignment reporter, I focused on the crime beat since my first day on the job, and I love it! I feel I’m really making a difference in the Erie community, meeting new people, and telling the stories that affect everybody every day.”
Matson would later work as Erie News Now's nightly co-anchor, winning the Outstanding Spot News Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters twice.