Erin Cox

Biography

Erin is thrilled to return to her alma mater and hometown to teach journalism! She graduated from Utah State University with her bachelor’s degree in journalism and communication with a broadcast emphasis in 2018. In 2023, Erin graduated from the University of Utah with her master’s in political science: international relations with an emphasis on China.

As a 22-year-old student at USU, Erin launched her professional career covering President Trump’s Inaugural Ceremony and the first Woman’s March in Washington D.C. for Utah Public Radio—an award-winning radio piece for the 2017 SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards. She returned to the East Coast later that year to work in the Senate as a communications intern.

At USU, Erin researched and co-wrote an award-winning paper on Utah women and the constitutional defenses they employed for suffrage. In college, Erin was a freelance photographer for all Salt Lake City TV stations. Her TV debut came on New Year's Eve of 2017 when she covered a search and rescue for KSTU. Later that evening, she learned the story aired nationally for both CNN and Fox National News.

As a student, Erin won her first Emmy award for her extensive coverage of sexual assault at USU. She was hired by KSTU within a week of her college graduation in 2018 to work as a Multimedia Journalist (MMJ), which means she’s her own photographer and editor on top of being a reporter.

A year into her full-time career, Erin reported live for Fox National News on the missing University of Utah student MacKenzie Lueck case. Erin joined the KSL 5 News Enterprise Team in 2022 to work on in-depth investigations and stories surrounding religion and diversity. She continues her work a reporter on days she’s not in the classroom.

Erin is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist and a 6x Emmy nominee. As a member of the National Press Photographers Association, (NPPA) Erin has placed among the top journalists in the West region. In the Utah Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Erin has been recognized for “Best COVID-19 Continuing Coverage,” “Best Videographer” and “First Place in Criminal Justice Investigation.”

She is one of the only trilingual reporters in Utah who speaks Cantonese fluently and Mandarin Chinese. Erin lived in Hong Kong China for 18 months of church service and fell in love with the culture, language and people.

When she’s not pursuing a story, you can find Erin enjoying time with her family, hiking, researching Utah’s history and serving within her community.