Emily Burris
Anchor, Reporter
I'm someone you'd call a 'Conch.' I earned that name being born in Key West, a tiny island in the Florida Keys. I grew up a NAVY brat living in and traveling to dozens of different states. It was during this time I developed a unique curiosity about the people and places around me, and a desire to always be 'in the know.'
As a student at The University of Florida, I fell in love with broadcasting. I spent many late nights and early mornings at the College of Journalism and Communications, anchoring nightly news broadcasts for WUFT-TV, broadcasting morning drive updates for NPR's Morning Edition on WUFT-FM, and uncovering stories in the community as a reporter for both stations.
While in school, I began working as a photographer and editor for the local ABC affiliate, WCJB-TV20, starting my professional career there after graduation as a multimedia journalist. I quickly took on more responsibility as the Weekend Anchor and then Morning Anchor at WCJB, anchoring two-and-a-half hours a day on their morning and noon news programs.
My adventures in Florida weren't done, however. In 2015, I packed up and moved south to Fort Myers where I became the Weekend Anchor and Reporter for ABC7, WZVN-TV. Through heartbreaking stories of loss, powerful damage from mother nature, and inspiring examples of people making this a fun place to live and work, I've gotten to explore almost every part of Southwest Floria from Port Charlotte to Marco Island.
Every day provides a new challenge, a new story, and a new chance to connect with some of the friendliest people who call Southwest Florida home. I know that I've found my calling, and work hard every day to become a better journalist for my audience. I feel truly blessed to be able to pursue my passion, and can't wait to see where this career takes me, one story at a time.
After four years of reporting from sunny Gulf beaches, tracking Hurricanes on both coasts, and anchoring countless newscasts with those "only in Florida" stories, I consider myself pretty well versed in the Sunshine State. But my ties to Florida started much earlier than my television career.
When I wasn't working, I was spending time with my sorority, Delta Zeta, planning and fundraising for different philanthropies. I also took advantage of Gainesville's surprisingly vibrant restaurant scene, enjoying everything from a custom pizza at Satchel's (a local favorite), to late night sushi downtown at Dragonfly.
UF challenged me as a student, a journalist, and a person. Walking across the stage at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center graduating cum laude was one of the proudest moments of my life.
