'A positive influence': Colleagues, friends remember Erie TV news anchor Emily Matson, 42

Reporters at Erie News Now could count on a sure thing when they returned to the TV station's newsroom following a long day tracking down stories in Erie and other communities in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Emily Matson, a veteran news anchor at the station, would greet them with a smile — and, more often than not, a remark that made them laugh.

"She was very, very upbeat," recalled Paul Wagner, a reporter at Erie News Now for 41 years until he retired in 2020. "She was a very positive person. She was always encouraging the new people. She always had a joke for everyone."

Matson, who had worked at Erie News Now for 19 years, most recently as an anchor of the weekday newscasts at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., died Monday. She was 42.

"It is with a very heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of our beloved Erie News Now news anchor Emily Matson," Scott MacDowell, the news director for Erie News Now, part of Lilly Broadcasting, said in a statement.

"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."

Matson was killed when she was hit by a train in Fairview Township, where she lived, according to the Erie County Coroner's Office, which ruled the cause of death as suicide. The incident was reported at 12:45 a.m. Monday in the area of Eaton and Tow roads, according to Erie County 911.

The Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home and Crematory, 4216 Sterrettania Road in Millcreek Township, is handling arrangements. Calling hours are at the funeral home from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday. Dusckas-Martin said a funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church, 2801 W. Sixth St., in Erie.

Emily Matson first made her mark as a reporter in Erie

Matson, an Erie native, joined WICU-TV, Erie's NBC affiliate, in 2004 after graduating with a bachelor's degree in communications and media technology from La Roche University in Pittsburgh.

Matson swiftly made a name for herself at Erie News Now, the local news operation for WICU-TV and WSEE-TV, Erie's CBS affiliate. As she described her early career in her online biography for Erie News Now, Matson started out "working the wee hours of the night" producing the station's morning show.

Matson moved on to a job as a general assignment reporter. She focused on the crime beat. In the studio, she was known for mentoring young colleagues and speaking her mind, all with a sunny disposition.

"Emily was fearless and filterless," said Lisa Adams, a reporter and anchor at Erie News Now for 46 years. "I think those were the two things that made her a great member of our news team."

"We are just devastated," Adams said.

Adams described Matson as "stunningly gorgeous" but a person who was also "100% herself." As an anchor, Matson "did not suffer fools gladly," Adams said, and was persistent with reporters in making certain the reports she read on the air were clear and made sense to viewers.

"She expected a lot of herself and expected a lot of other people in the newsroom," Adams said.

Matson worked to make others around her better, said Jamison Hixenbaugh, a reporter at Erie News Now for 14 years. He said Matson's tutelage of the newer reporters was particularly critical in a small media market like Erie, where reporters often leave for larger markets after two years or so.

Matson's suggestions to the reporters, new and veteran, were always laced with humor, Hixenbaugh said.

"Side-splitting," he said. "She was great. She was one of the funniest people I knew."

Matson's career made her a familiar face in the Caribbean

In her years on the crime beat, Matson was known for having numerous sources among law enforcement and a good rapport with officers, including Dan Spizarny, the Erie police chief who was a lieutenant in the Erie police's Criminal Investigation Division when Matson started on the crime beat. Matson would go on to marry an Erie police officer, Ryan Onderko.

Matson "was a regular" at the police station when she was a reporter, Spizarny recalled.

"She was always upbeat," Spizarny said. "She never had a bad day. No matter how bad the news was that day, she always left making you feel good. You would never see her in a bad mood."

In addition to anchoring the Erie newscasts, Matson produced and anchored Erie News Now's newscasts in Guam and in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, including covering hurricane damage, Adams said. She described Matson as an extremely hard worker who approached her numerous tasks with enthusiasm and professionalism.

"Whatever she was asked to do, she became excellent at it," Adams said. "No matter what she was asked to do, she stepped up to do it with style and elegance."

'I must be dreaming,' Matson said of her job in Erie

Matson thrived on putting the stories of others on air and online. She said she enjoyed her job because she felt she was "really making a difference in the Erie community, meeting new people and telling stories that affect everybody every day," she wrote in her professional biography.

"One of the things I love about my job is that no single day is EVER the same. I love breaking news situations. In fact, I twice received an 'Outstanding Spot News' award from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters."

She also wrote: "I must be dreaming!  An anchor gig in my hometown! I am so happy to be in Erie, telling the stories which impact my neighbors every day."

Matson was also a presence in the community. She appeared at the many community events that Erie News Now sponsored and worked with young people interested in journalism.

One of the journalism programs that benefited from her volunteer work was at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, now part of PennWest. She and others in Erie news media acted as role models for Edinboro students in 2014 under an initiative of Tony Peyronel, then the chairman of the journalism and public relations department at Edinboro.

Matson's passion for her job and her insight connected her with the students immediately, recalled Peyronel, now the business and marketing specialist for Impact Corry, in the city of Corry. He said Matson's ebullient personality helped her bond with students as much as it suited her role as a TV news anchor.

"She almost had a glow about her when she was on the air," Peyronel said.

A reporter and anchor who connected with Erie

Matson also connected with the subjects she covered. Adams described her as "tough as nails but a really sensitive person" and Erie News Now retiree Paul Wagner said Matson "was very connected to everyday people."

Wagner recalled that people flocked to Matson when she and other Erie News Now personalities walked in parades. Matson, he said, always had time for members of the community — just as she always had time for her friends in the newsroom.

"She was a positive influence on everyone," Wagner said. "You would come in from a rough day, and she would tell a joke and make everyone feel better."

If you are having thoughts of suicide or need help with depression or other mental health issues, the following resources are available:

∎ Call 988 for the suicide and crisis hotline.

∎ UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor: 814-459-9300.

∎ Department of Psychiatry at Saint Vincent Hospital: 814-452-5568.

∎ The Achievement Center of LECOM Health: 814-459-2755.

∎ Stairways Behavioral Health: 814-453-5806.

∎ NAMI of Erie County: 814-456-1773.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA TV anchor Emily Matson, 42, remembered as 'positive influence'