EMILY SWANSON / NYC-based journalist

In August 2022, I moved from Minneapolis to NYC to attend the CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Prior to becoming a reporter, I had long careers as a high school English teacher and restaurant chef.

My reporting career has taken me all around NYC streets, community and government meetings and courts, for quick-turn stories as well as impactful investigative work.

Now, as one of two staff reporters with the Bronx Times under Schneps Media, I cover the entire borough in terms of housing, politics, legislation, arts, development, nonprofit work, crime and courts, schools, food and more. With more eyes on the Bronx than ever — and mayor who pledged to pay special attention to the borough — our work at the Bronx Times is rapidly growing in readership and prominence.

My own body of work for the paper — more than 700 stories, from quick turn to long form — has been cited in federal court and linked by major outlets, including the New York Times. We are now working on a yearlong series, Our Forgotten Borough, tackling the biggest issues affecting the Bronx today. I have also written several pieces for amNewYork (also under Schneps Media), covering daily news and longform stories for an affordable housing series.

I also create daily posts and videos for the Bronx Times’ Instagram account, which has doubled its following since mid-2025.

My Bronx reporting career first began at the J-school, where I wrote for the CUNY-run outlet, the Mott Haven Herald.

Also while in school, I interned with The City Reporter (formerly called THE CITY) and researched violations at New York City’s daycares for a news package that won a national 2024 Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Mark of Excellence Best in Show award. Another news package I worked on, South Bronx Businesses Battle Back, won a first-place SPJ Mark of Excellence award.

I have several other bylines covering national daily news for The Guardian US. You can see those stories here.

I live in the South Bronx neighborhood of Port Morris. Outside of work, I enjoy photography, cooking and watching the Yankees, Liberty, Knicks, and my hometown team, the Minnesota Timberwolves.