Today we’d like to introduce you to Emani Payne
Hi Emani, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
From an early age I knew I wanted to make a positive impact on my community. Growing up in Los Angeles I saw first hand the stark contrast between the dazzling celebrities and their mansions under the Hollywood lights and those with no lights or home at all on Skid Row. I knew I wanted to help provide a voice to the voiceless and make my community a place where all feel safe, informed and welcome. It’s something I’ve kept top of mind throughout my decade long career as an Emmy Award Winning Evening News Anchor and Reporter. From California to New York and several other states in between, I’ve had the honor of creating meaningful change though my storytelling. My stories helped lead to a mans wrongful conviction being vacated and the case later being featured in a Netflix documentary, my exclusive storytelling also lead to two new district mentoring programs being created to stop youth violence and bullying in Texas high schools, they helped a teenager afford eye sight saving surgery, they lead to a single mother being gifted a new home for Christmas after she lost her previous home in a fire and helped countless people stay safe and informed through catastrophic severe weather events including major hurricanes, tornadoes and snow storms. To me I was finally doing the work I set out to do since I was a little girl and saw the real positive impact it was having on real people in the community everyday. My work over the years has been recognized through being awarded an Emmy Award and receiving a few additional Emmy nominations, being named 2024 News Anchor of the Year, being recognized as a 2024 Salute to Excellence Nominee by the National Association of Black Journalists and several other awards and recognition. I began sharing my work and behind the scenes images from my days on the job and overtime gained a following of thousands of curious and engaged followers across my several social media platforms that now check in for updates on not just the news of the day but also the latest in my fashion, beauty, travel, and lifestyle diaries as well, which I’ve enjoyed adding into my content creation journey. Still however, I feel like there is much more work to do maybe more now than ever before.
My childhood home and neighborhood recently burned down in the Eaton Fire, and while I am saddened about so many childhood memories being turned to ash it’s great to see that goal I had since I was a little girl come to life. Those who had everything and those who had nothing, joining together, working side by side, neighbor helping neighbor to make the community a place where everyone feels safe and welcome. The world is changing rapidly including within the broadcasting industry however, if we keep that mission top of mind I truly believe we will all be ok.
Extra details about me: I grew up as a dancer and was previously an All American dancer before deciding to study Journalism. I went to college at Northern Arizona University where I studied Journalism and Political Science. I’ve always loved both Journalism and Fashion and absolutely love how those two worlds collide every day in my work as a News Anchor. Just as I spend time stringing words together in hopes of crafting the perfect story I also spend time crafting the perfect on air look as well, with many viewers telling me over the years they get excited to tune in each night to see what I might wear next! In my free time I love traveling to tropical destinations, I love to read and read a new book every month, I also love to volunteer and consider myself a foodie so I’m also on the hunt for the next best restaurant in LA, NYC and MIA!
My parents instilled confidence in me from an early age by always believing in me, my dreams and talents. If I can share any advice with the younger generation it would be to do it scared and do it unapologetically. Believe in yourself and show up for yourself everyday, especially on the bad days and dream big but follow up those big dreams with an actionable plan. And I share with them my now well known social media motto “Be Kind. Be Confident. And Be You!”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was not always an easy journey to reach my goals and accomplish my dreams. It involved a lot of blood, sweat and tears, many sleepless nights, missed birthdays and holidays and more hours of overtime and hours worked on the weekends than I’ll ever be able to count ha! There were times where I was completely drenched for hours as I stood outside reporting on hurricanes and storms or the times where I finished an hour long edit of my recent travels and then the whole video disappeared and I had to start over, or the times where I had to leave in the middle of a date because of breaking news (that was always interesting) or when I had to wake up at 2am everyday to work on the morning newscast. More difficult however were the times self doubt would creep in and I had to learn to overcome that and remain confident and steadfast in the pursuit of my dreams. Despite the hardships however, when you love what you do and believe in the impact of the work and have a true passion for where you’re headed you start to look forward to the long nights because those are the times you’ll look back on and be able to say that’s what got me to where I am today. I am forever thankful for the beauty in the struggle to success and for my ability to learn new things and find a way to combine all of my passions in the content creation space.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I am always looking for new friends and I’m in the process of launching a social club/community so stay on the lookout for that! I am also looking forward to staying more consistent on my social platforms and continuing to grow those communities throughout my continued content creation journey this upcoming year! If anyone wants to follow along I can be found on most platforms under the username @emanipaynetv
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emanipayne.com
- Instagram: @emanipaynetv
- Youtube: @ItsEmaniPayne
