Emily Neil
Covering Bucks and Montgomery counties for WHYY News. Reporting around Philadelphia since 2018.
Winner of two 2026 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards
Highlights
Recent work
About
I'm a bilingual multimedia journalist covering Bucks and Montgomery counties as a suburban reporter for WHYY News, the public media newsroom serving the Philadelphia region. Previously, I was a reporter and editor at AL DÍA News, a bilingual print and digital news organization based in Philadelphia, and a communications officer for SERES, a Guatemalan non-profit focused on youth leadership and sustainability education in Guatemala and El Salvador.
My work has appeared in WHYY News, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Citizen, The Trace, Religion News Service, Blind Magazine, Generocity, GridPhilly, IJNET and ¡Presente! Media.
I was a 2022–23 Religion News Service and Interfaith America fellow, and I've edited for Global Press Journal alongside reporters based around the world. Since 2020 I've co-hosted El Café de la Tarde, a weekly Spanish-language show on Philatinos Radio in South Philadelphia.
Experience
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Mar 2024 – present
Suburban reporterWHYY News, Philadelphia
Two to three stories a week for radio and web across Bucks and Montgomery counties: reporting, writing both scripts, recording and producing the audio, and shooting photos. General assignment on Saturdays.
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Mar 2022 – Mar 2024
Digital content producerWHYY News, Philadelphia
Final edit on web stories, photo selection, partner content, weekend social and the daily newsletter, while reporting and recording original stories for web and radio.
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May 2021 – Oct 2023
Story editorGlobal Press Journal
Edited stories with reporters based in countries around the world, working in Spanish with Spanish-speaking reporters and translating materials.
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Feb 2020 – Mar 2024
Freelance journalistPhiladelphia
Religion coverage for Religion News Service as a 2022–23 RNS and Interfaith America fellow. Reported on gun violence resources in Philadelphia for The Trace's Up the Block. Bylines in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Citizen, Blind Magazine, Generocity, GridPhilly, IJNET, ¡Presente! Media and WHYY News.
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Jan 2018 – Feb 2020
Deputy editor, staff writer, fellowAL DÍA News, Philadelphia
Ran editing, translation, design and visuals for a fully bilingual weekly print edition with a circulation of 30,000. Built the paper's partnerships, including its role in Broke in Philly, and created Cuéntame, a first-person storytelling initiative for U.S. Latinos.
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Nov 2016 – Dec 2017
Communications managerAsociación SERES, Antigua, Guatemala
Ran all communications, social, web and newsletters. Shot photo and video at programs, and designed and taught Spanish-language media education workshops for youth ages 13 to 25.
Education
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2016
M.S., JournalismColumbia Journalism School
Focused on photo and visual journalism alongside long-form feature reporting.
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2014
B.A., Middle Eastern StudiesBarnard College, Columbia University
Minor in Spanish and Latin American Studies.
Languages and tools
- LanguagesFluent Spanish. Conversational Persian (Farsi).
- AudioProTools. Radio scripting, recording and production.
- VisualDSLR. Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, iMovie.