Emily Featherston

Investigative Producer

Massachusetts

Emily Featherston

Emily joined the InvestigateTV team as an investigative producer in 2021. Before that, Emily was an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist at WECT News in Wilmington, North Carolina, where she focused on local government, election administration, healthcare and business stories. She came to television from the print world, having worked as an award-winning community journalist in Birmingham, Alabama. Emily is a graduate of Samford University with both a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a Master of Business Administration.

Education

Samford University - BA in Journalism & MBA in Management

Affiliations

Society of Professional Journalists; Investigative Reporters & Editors

Awards

2017 Alabama Press Association Freedom of Information Award

2017 Alabama Press Association Best Local News Coverage, 1st Place

2017 Alabama Press Association Best Education Coverage, 1st Place

2018 Alabama Press Association Online Breaking News Coverage, 1st Place

2020 SPJ Green Eyeshade Award for Politics Reporting, 2nd Place

2020 RTDNAC Consumer/Economic Coverage, 1st Place

Investigations

They are dangerous

Drowning Machines: Risks around low-head dams often learned one tragedy at a time

Updated: Jul. 2, 2025 at 10:05 AM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanResearchers believe low-head dams have caused more than 1,000 drownings over the last several decades, with an average of around 50 people killed each year.

National Team Investigations

Years of data show US air traffic control system ‘straining at the seams’

Years of data show US air traffic control system ‘straining at the seams’

Updated: Jun. 9, 2025 at 12:49 PM CDT|By Joce Sterman and Emily FeatherstonNear collisions, equipment failures and staff shortages have left pilots and controllers stressed

Be Your Own Investigator

Be Your Own Investigator: Finding the true cost of healthcare

Be Your Own Investigator: Finding the true cost of healthcare

Updated: May 23, 2025 at 8:53 AM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanIn the event your procedure or prescription is not an emergency, a little bit of research could save you a lot of money in the long run.

Investigating Rural Internet

Dead Zone: Flawed federal programs maroon rural Americans in telehealth blackouts

Dead Zone: Flawed federal programs maroon rural Americans in telehealth blackouts

Updated: May 14, 2025 at 6:34 AM CDT|By Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News, Holly K. Hacker, KFF Health News, Caresse Jackman, Owen Hornstein, Emily Featherston and Brandon WissbaumTaxpayers, through federal infrastructure programs, have paid billions of dollars to internet companies to hook up rural Americans. Some communities have nothing to show for it.

News

Ada Carol Adkins reviews her logs of the dates when her phone or internet service has been...

Dead Zone: Flawed federal programs maroon rural Americans in telehealth blackouts - Speed Optimized Version

Updated: May 14, 2025 at 4:00 AM CDT|By Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News, Holly K. Hacker, KFF Health News, Caresse Jackman, Owen Hornstein, Emily Featherston and Brandon WissbaumTaxpayers, through federal infrastructure programs, have paid billions of dollars to internet companies to hook up rural Americans. Some communities have nothing to show for it.

National Team Investigations

Critical aviation safety improvements left in limbo for years over costs, competing priorities

Critical aviation safety improvements left in limbo for years over costs, competing priorities

Updated: Apr. 30, 2025 at 4:22 AM CDT|By Emily Featherston, Joce Sterman, Scotty Smith and Jamie GreyNTSB recommendations gleaned from accident investigations are not always adopted — even after additional deadly crashes.

National Team Investigations

‘It Hurts Kids’: Many schools continue to teach controversial reading remediation program

‘It Hurts Kids’: Many schools continue to teach controversial reading remediation program

Updated: Apr. 25, 2025 at 4:51 AM CDT|By Andy Pierrotti, Bailey Williams and Emily FeatherstonOur investigators examine how the program works and dig into the states that have (and have not) banned the specific method.

Investigating Rural Internet

Reliance on outdated technology and piecemeal systems challenge staffs and erode patient care....

Dead Zone: Rural hospitals and patients are disconnected from modern care

Updated: Apr. 10, 2025 at 6:52 AM CDT|By Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News, Holly K. Hacker, KFF Health News, Caresse Jackman, Owen Hornstein, Emily Featherston and Brandon WissbaumTechnological gaps handicap rural hospitals as billions in federal funding to modernize infrastructure lags. Reliance on dated systems is eroding care.

News

A nurse in scrubs and a scrub cap looks at a computer screen while talking on the phone.

Dead Zone: Rural hospitals and patients are disconnected from modern care - Speed Optimized Version

Updated: Apr. 9, 2025 at 4:00 AM CDT|By Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News, Holly K. Hacker, KFF Health News, Caresse Jackman, Owen Hornstein, Emily Featherston and Brandon WissbaumTechnological gaps handicap rural hospitals as billions in federal funding to modernize infrastructure lags. The reliance on outdated technology and piecemeal systems challenge staffs and erode patient care.

National Team Investigations

Low-head dams claim as many as 50 lives a year: Feds are now cataloging them after years of...

Low-head dams claim as many as 50 lives a year: Feds are now cataloging them after years of inaction

Updated: Apr. 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM CDT|By Joce Sterman, Emily Featherston and Scotty SmithIdentifying, inventorying dams that become 'drowning machines' could take years as death toll climbs.

Investigations

A parking lot at an airport. A row of cars is seen along with an arrow pointing the direction...

Wheels Up: Vehicle thieves target airport parking facilities

Updated: Apr. 1, 2025 at 9:26 AM CDT|By Brendan Keefe and Emily FeatherstonVehicle thefts from parking lots and garages at airports nationwide have taken off in recent years.

Investigating Rural Internet

A Black woman sits at a kitchen table with a glucose monitoring kit on the table in front of...

Millions in US live in places where doctors don’t practice and telehealth doesn’t reach

Updated: Mar. 11, 2025 at 6:53 AM CDT|By Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News, Holly K. Hacker, KFF Health News, Caresse Jackman, Emily Featherston, Owen Hornstein and Brandon WissbaumNearly 3 million Americans live sicker, shorter lives in the hundreds of rural counties where doctor shortages are the worst and poor internet connections mean little or no access to telehealth services.

National Team Investigations

Unsupervised ankle monitors leave public at risk from coast to coast

Unsupervised ankle monitors leave public at risk from coast to coast

Updated: Mar. 1, 2025 at 6:49 AM CST|By Chris Nakamoto and Emily FeatherstonAdvocates, victims’ families say lack of laws allow these companies to avoid accountability.

National Team Investigations

Deadly plane, helicopter collision renews concerns over airport ‘squeezed’ to its limits

Deadly plane, helicopter collision renews concerns over airport ‘squeezed’ to its limits

Updated: Feb. 7, 2025 at 11:24 AM CST|By Joce Sterman, Emily Featherston, Jamie Grey, Brandon Wissbaum and Scotty SmithFollowing the deadly midair collision on Wednesday, our investigators found that dozens of close calls have been reported at Reagan National since 2010.

National Team Investigations

Unsupervised: Unsupervised: Juvenile escapes plague communities coast to coast with limited...

Unsupervised: Juvenile escapes plague many communities with limited tracking nationwide

Updated: Feb. 7, 2025 at 11:02 AM CST|By Chris Nakamoto and Emily FeatherstonAs the system weighs incarceration vs. rehabilitation, experts say patchwork of strategies leave gaps in the bars for juvenile justice.

National Team Investigations

Wild Guess: Putting America’s furry, feathered and fabled weather 'forecasters' to the test

Ducks, opossums and squirrels, oh my: Punxsutawney Phil isn’t alone making a ‘wild guess’ on Spring

Updated: Jan. 28, 2025 at 1:27 PM CST|By Emily Featherston, Joce Sterman and Jill RiepenhoffAhead of Groundhog Day, we put the world's most famous groundhog and America’s other furry, feathered and fabled weather prognosticators to the test.

National Team Investigations

Dire delays at hospital ERs create long waits for ambulance crews, put patients at risk

On Hold: Dire delays at hospital ERs create long waits for ambulance crews, put patients at risk

Updated: Jan. 21, 2025 at 3:32 PM CST|By Emily Featherston and Chris NakamotoExperts say extended patient turnover times at emergency rooms risk ‘crushing’ the EMS system, but few regulations exist to limit long waits.

National Team Investigations

Sidewalk barriers deployed after New Orleans terror attack already in city, not used New...

Sidewalk barriers set up after New Orleans terror attack were already in city, not used New Year’s

Updated: Jan. 3, 2025 at 7:25 PM CST|By Brendan Keefe, Jamie Grey and Emily FeatherstonThe sidewalks of the French Quarter are now protected by portable, 700-pound barriers that the City already had in its possession.

National Team Investigations

Why Bourbon Street barricades were not in place to protect against vehicle attack

Why Bourbon Street barricades were not in place to protect against vehicle attack

Updated: Jan. 2, 2025 at 5:47 PM CST|By Brendan Keefe, Jamie Grey and Emily FeatherstonWorkers in New Orleans have added temporary barricades near Bourbon Street to stop possible, future attacks, but why were the existing barricades not used on New Year's Day?

Be Your Own Investigator

Be Your Own Investigator: How to track, read more on Congressional legislation

Be Your Own Investigator: How to track, read Congressional legislation

Updated: Sep. 15, 2024 at 9:47 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanIn this Be Your Own Investigator," we help you find out what's actually in those bills and whether they have a shot at becoming law.

Investigations

Electric cars able to outrun traditional cruisers prompt law enforcement to invest in their own

Amped Up: Electric cars able to outrun traditional cruisers prompt law enforcement to invest in their own

Updated: Aug. 5, 2024 at 1:45 PM CDT|By Brendan Keefe and Emily FeatherstonPolice departments coast to coast are going electric — pursuing savings and efficiency along with bad guys.

Investigations

When trees come into conflict with power lines, there can be deadly consequences.

Powerless: Patchwork of responsibility for keeping power lines clear of trees, brush ignites frustration

Updated: Jul. 8, 2024 at 1:52 PM CDT|By Caresse Jackman and Emily FeatherstonPoor maintenance tree trimming can have deadly consequences, but critics say it's not always clear who's responsible, and the public is often left in the dark.

National Team Investigations

Independence of NTSB aviation investigations questioned over reliance on outside help

Independence of NTSB aviation investigations questioned over reliance on outside help

Updated: May 13, 2024 at 2:38 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanThe NTSB’s mission is to independently investigate all aircraft-involved events, but its frequent use of others for work on-scene troubles critics.

Be Your Own Investigator

Be Your Own Investigator: How to avoid traffic jams on your commute

Be Your Own Investigator: How to avoid traffic jams during your commute

Updated: Apr. 25, 2024 at 10:28 AM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanReporter Joce Sterman shows you how you can be your own investigator so you don't get caught in a traffic jam.

Investigations

Park at your own risk: Collapses continue as aging garages, decks often go unchecked

Updated: Mar. 25, 2024 at 11:08 AM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Chris NakamotoGarages and decks across the country are crumbling, and some experts fear failures will continue unless oversight increases.

Be Your Own Investigator

Be Your Own Investigator: What you need to know about HIPAA

Be Your Own Investigator: What you need to know about HIPAA

Updated: Mar. 18, 2024 at 4:05 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanIt's one of the most recognizable legal acronyms out there, but also one of the most misunderstood.

Be Your Own Investigator

Be Your Own Investigator: Reading the fine print on medical forms

Be Your Own Investigator: Reading the fine print on medical forms

Updated: Feb. 29, 2024 at 4:12 PM CST|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanIn this Be Your Own Investigator, we’ve got what to look for in the fine print before you take that clipboard back to the front desk.

Investigations

Federal data and stories coast-to-coast outline how entrenched bias affects the way properties...

Undervalued: Black homeowners fight for unbiased appraisals

Updated: Feb. 19, 2024 at 3:39 PM CST|By Emily Featherston and Caresse JackmanFederal data and stories from coast-to-coast outline how entrenched bias affects the way properties are valued.

National Team Investigations

Secret Acres: Boom or Bubble?

Secret Acres: Boom or Bubble? High farmland prices encourage investors, concern farmers

Updated: Dec. 18, 2023 at 1:00 PM CST|By Emily Featherston and Madison McVanOutside investment in farmland continues to increase, but some economists and many farmers worry deep pockets are pushing prices above what the land is worth.

Investigations

A simulated health insurance claim form with a stamp reading "Denied" across it.

Permission to Pay: Technologies touted as fix for health insurance frustrations draw criticism, legal action

Updated: Nov. 27, 2023 at 2:48 PM CST|By Emily Featherston, Jamie Grey and Lee ZurikPatients and doctors say the health insurance claims process is increasingly lacking humanity as one major insurance company is taken to court over its use of a computer program.

Be Your Own Investigator

The words "Be Your Own Investigator: Real Estate Records" are superimposed over an image of a...

Be Your Own Investigator: Use public records to boost your search for a new home

Updated: Oct. 23, 2023 at 4:13 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanInvestigative Reporter Joce Sterman walks through the ways public records can be useful when buying a home.

Investigations

A digital illustration in colorful gouache shows silhouettes of the heads of two
children...

Officials Agree: Use Settlement Funds to Curb Youth Addiction. But the ‘How’ Gets Hairy.

Updated: Sep. 25, 2023 at 4:00 AM CDT|By Aneri Pattani and Emily FeatherstonParents, educators, and elected officials agree that investing in school-based prevention efforts could help curb the rising rate of youth drug overdoses. The well-known D.A.R.E. program is one likely choice, but its effectiveness is in question.

Be Your Own Investigator

"Be your own investigator: Can I record that" superimposed over an image of someone holding a...

Be Your Own Investigator: Knowing the rules around recording

Updated: Sep. 19, 2023 at 4:40 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanDo you know what you can and can't record?

Be Your Own Investigator

The phrase "Be Your Own Investigator, Checking Up on Congress" superimposed on a photo of the...

Be Your Own Investigator: Tools to see what lawmakers are up to

Updated: Sep. 15, 2023 at 5:10 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Joce StermanLearn how to check in on what your lawmakers are doing in Washington.

Investigations

A computer-generated city-scape shows a building with the letters "PBM" on top of it. A larger...

Permission to Prescribe: Physicians allege insurance intermediaries, red tape are driving decisions about care, with patients paying the price

Updated: Jun. 12, 2023 at 2:14 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Lee ZurikThe drug benefit industry says it works to lower costs and improve outcomes, but critics say these 'middlemen' have too much control.

Investigations

Critics want insurers held accountable when prior authorization delays affect care; Companies...

Permission to Practice: Doctors, patients say insurance prior-authorizations put profits over people

Updated: Mar. 20, 2023 at 2:53 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston, Jamie Grey, Lee Zurik, Bailey Williams and Payton RomansInsurance companies say these reviews lower costs and protect patients, but what requires advance permission varies plan to plan, and critics argue the policies get between a patient and their doctor.

Investigations

InvestigateTV partnered with Investigate Midwest to look at a $23 billion farm subsidy program...

Secret Subsidies: Program meant to help farmers in trade war overspent, lacked transparency and compliance checks

Updated: Oct. 24, 2022 at 8:53 AM CDT|By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest, Emily Featherston and Jamie GreyExperts say $23 billion USDA program set a precedent for spending without Congressional oversight and had a concerning mix of political influence and limited compliance monitoring.

Investigations

Collision Division: Federal crash test standards favor men, despite women being at higher risk...

Federal agency touts ‘accelerated efforts’ to implement more-advanced crash test dummies, promises continued research into safety disparities

Updated: Oct. 21, 2022 at 11:49 AM CDT|By Emily FeatherstonA report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates new crash dummies could soon be used in federal testing. Updated data shows the disparity in crash safety is less severe than it once was, but female drivers are still at higher risk.

En Español

Los presuntos daños del herbicida dicamba rizan las hojas de los melocotoneros en Flamm...

Preocupación creciente: Miles de agrícolas en EE.UU. dañadas por la “deriva de la dicamba” que arrasa los cultivos

Updated: Sep. 28, 2022 at 3:32 PM CDT|By Joce Sterman and Emily FeatherstonUn popular ingrediente de los herbicidas que algunos agricultores consideran vital para su negocio ha devastado otras explotaciones debido a la capacidad del producto químico para derivar en determinadas condiciones. La aplicación de las normas está en manos de los estados, pero cada vez es más preocupante la necesidad de tomar medidas a nivel federal.

Investigations

Suspected damage from the herbicide dicamba curls up leaves on peach trees at Flamm Orchards...

Growing Concern: Thousands of farms across U.S. damaged by ‘dicamba drift’ that devastates crops

Updated: Aug. 1, 2022 at 2:46 PM CDT|By Joce Sterman and Emily FeatherstonA popular herbicide ingredient some farmers say is vital to business has devastated other farms because of the chemical's ability to drift under certain conditions. Enforcing the rules is in the hands of states, but there is a growing concern over whether federal action needs to be taken.

En Español

Back in March, the U.S. House of Representatives forwards a bill that would cap insulin costs...

Bomba de beneficios: 100 años después de que el primer paciente utilice la insulina, los gastos de bolsillo siguen subiendo

Updated: Apr. 25, 2022 at 5:48 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston, Lee Zurik and Daniela MolinaPara los millones de personas que necesitan insulina, un medicamento vital para los pacientes con diabetes, el costo para muchos para sobrevivir está al nivel más alto. Según una investigación por InvestigateTV es 60 veces más cara por mililitro que una botella de champagne del 2008 Dom Pernigón.

Investigations

Profit Pump

Profit Pump: 100 years after first patient uses insulin, out-of-pocket costs continue to climb

Updated: Apr. 25, 2022 at 5:18 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston and Lee ZurikDiabetes patients say they're being priced out of being able to afford live-saving insulin. Who's to blame is a matter of who you ask.

Investigations

Lawmakers ask DOT Secretary to step in, make changes

Democratic lawmakers push U.S. Transportation Secretary for faster changes to crash test dummy standards

Updated: Mar. 14, 2022 at 12:24 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston, Jon Decker and Jamie GreyThe bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requires research into the gender gap in vehicle crash testing, but lawmakers want Secretary Pete Buttigieg to take action now to close the Collision Division.

Investigations

Programs bridging public schools and homeschooling are growing fast, but critics worry about...

Buy the Book: Public dollars pay for Netflix, trips to the zoo and karate lessons for kids learning from home

Updated: Jan. 31, 2022 at 5:08 PM CST|By Emily Featherston, Lee Zurik and Jamie GreyPrograms bridging public schools and homeschooling are growing fast, but critics worry about what that means for the future of education.

Investigations

A federal database of agricultural land owned by overseas entities appears to have incomplete...

Secret Acres: Foreign-owned agricultural land inaccurately tracked by government

Updated: Jan. 24, 2022 at 4:02 PM CST|By Jamie Grey, Emily Featherston, Lee Zurik, Jon Decker and Cory JohnsonForeign entities have bought 13 million more U.S. farm acres in 10 years, but agriculture policy scholars say the total could be far more.

Investigations

Patients across the country are caught in the middle of a battle between pharmaceutical...

Bridging the Great Health Divide: Discount Drug War

Updated: Nov. 15, 2021 at 6:10 PM CST|By Sarah Jane Tribble and Emily FeatherstonThe number of pharmacies dispensing 340B discounted drugs soared to more than 31,000 this year. Drugmakers struck back by halting some discounts.

Investigations

The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by congress includes provisions to evaluate the...

Collision Division: Infrastructure bill includes evaluation of crash testing

Updated: Nov. 8, 2021 at 11:37 AM CST|By Emily Featherston and Jon DeckerIncluded in the $1.2 trillion bill is a requirement for the government to take a look at crash test policies and procedures.

Investigations

InvestigateTV and the Gray Television Washington News Bureau asked the Biden Administration...

Collision Division: Federal traffic safety agency has yet to address gender disparity in crash testing despite outcry on Capitol Hill

Updated: Aug. 10, 2021 at 2:05 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston, Lee Zurik, Jon Decker and Jamie GreyAs lawmakers debate including female drivers in more crash test standards, the agency in charge is staying quiet.

Investigations

Bills in both the U.S. House and Senate look to update crash test dummies and testing...

Collision Division: Lawmakers cross party lines to address disparity in vehicle safety

Updated: Jun. 30, 2021 at 12:28 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston, Jon Decker, Lee Zurik and Jamie GreyBills in both the U.S. House and Senate look to update crash test dummies and testing procedures to make sure drivers are equally protected.

Investigations

InvestigateTV looked at USDA documents to find out where farm subsidies are going, and who...

Secret Subsidies: Payments to farms allowed to stretch far beyond rural America, sowing concern about who gets what

Updated: May 17, 2021 at 3:01 PM CDT|By Emily Featherston, Lee Zurik, Jackson Hicks and Jamie GreyThe federal government gives out subsidies to help farms through tough times, but much of the information about these taxpayer-funded payments is kept secret.