Emilie Ikeda is an American journalist who works as a correspondent for NBC News. She joined the network in July 2021, and reports across various platforms, including ‘TODAY’, ‘NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt’, NBC News NOW, NBC News Daily and MSNBC. She covers breaking news, politics, and human interest stories from across the country.
Before joining NBC News, Ikeda worked as a multimedia journalist and reporter for FOX 5 Atlanta, where she covered some of the most significant events of 2020, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial justice protests, the presidential election, and the Georgia Senate runoffs. She also contributed stories to Fox News Channel and Fox 5.
Ikeda was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1994. She is of Japanese-American descent, and her grandfather was one of the thousands of Japanese Americans who were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II. She graduated magna cum laude from American University in 2016, with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, political science, and dance.
Ikeda is married to Patrick McGuire, a US Army officer who flies UH60 Black Hawk helicopters. They tied the knot in September 2022, after dating for a decade long-distance. They had a dramatic wedding story, as McGuire was bitten by a venomous snake the night before their ceremony, and had to spend 12 hours in the ER.
Emilie Ikeda’s Career Highlights
Ikeda has been a journalist since her college days, when she worked as an MMJ, anchor, and producer for WDVM-TV in Montgomery County, Maryland, and as an MMJ/junior reporter for WTXF-FOX 29’s weekend newscasts in Philadelphia. She also interned at NBC News, CNN, and ABC News.
She joined FOX 5 Atlanta in 2018, and quickly made a name for herself as a versatile and fearless reporter. She traveled across the country to cover some of the most impactful stories of the time, such as the Austin serial bomber, the Bill Cosby re-trial, the Parkland, Santa Fe, and Pittsburgh mass shootings, the Lee County tornado, and the Hurricanes Florence and Michael.
She also reported on local issues and features, such as the Delta Surplus Sale, the advancing 911 technology, the Atlanta airport expansion, and the Georgia film industry. She was known for her live shots, her social media engagement, and her storytelling skills.
She left FOX 5 Atlanta in June 2021, and joined NBC News as a correspondent in July 2021. She is based in Los Angeles, California, but travels across the nation to report on various topics. Some of her recent stories include the California wildfires, the Texas abortion law, the Gabby Petito case, the Haitian migrants crisis, and the Facebook whistleblower.
She has also appeared on several NBC News shows and platforms, such as ‘TODAY’, ‘NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt’, NBC News NOW, NBC News Daily and MSNBC. She has interviewed prominent figures, such as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, former President Jimmy Carter, and Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.
Emilie Ikeda’s Awards and Recognition
Ikeda has received several awards and recognition for her work as a journalist. She was named one of the ‘Top 40 Under 40’ by the Georgia Asian Times in 2020, and one of the ‘Top 25 Asian American Journalists’ by the Asian American Journalists Association in 2021. She also won a Southeast Emmy Award for her coverage of the Georgia Senate runoffs in 2021.
She is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She is also a mentor for aspiring journalists, and a speaker at various events and panels.
She is active on social media, where she has thousands of followers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. She often shares behind-the-scenes photos and videos of her reporting, as well as personal updates and insights. She also has a website, where she showcases her portfolio and resume.