James Raymond Watkins (born October 21, 1956) is an American journalist and television news presenter/anchor.
Watkins was previously employed by WPIX-TV from October 26, 1998, to October 9, 2011, where he was the weeknight anchor for PIX11 News at Ten for 11 years.[1] During Watkins' career as a New York City news anchor he also worked for WNBC-TV (weekends) and alongside WPIX's Kaity Tong for 14 years.[2] While working at WPIX, Watkins received three Emmy awards and an Edward R. Murrow Award for Broadcast Excellence.[3]
Watkins was Tribune Broadcasting's lead anchor during the 9/11 live television coverage consecutively for 5 days. In 2014, his recollections of the tragedy, starting with the day before the World Trade Center attack, were featured in the NatGeo documentary "9/10: The Final Hours."[4] His TV news career included time at WPHL Philadelphia (anchor), the syndicated FOX Los Angeles "Entertainment Daily Journal" (correspondent), WBZ Boston's "Evening Magazine" (co-host), and WTVF-TV Nashville (anchor).
Every year, Watkins hosts a television program at the Hispanic Day Parade, which occurs on the second Sunday of October. Watkins, a native of Ohio, was a former anchor and reporter from CBS affiliate WTVF in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee.[5] He writes columns for AM New York, a free weekday daily distributed in New York City. He also writes a blog for the television station's news program. In 2014, Watkins announced his departure from WPIX and later joined News 8 WTNH-TV in New Haven, Connecticut. On August 19, 2015, Watkins left WTNH News 8.
Watkins is married and has three children, including a teenaged son with autism.[6] Watkins is an autism advocate and has been a keynote speaker at numerous autism benefits.