Makaylah Chavez joined the TMJ4 news team in January 2026 as the Southern Milwaukee County Reporter, but she is no stranger to the E.W. Scripps Company. She transferred from TMJ4's sister station KRIS in Corpus Christi, TX where she spent two years as a multimedia journalist and one year as the sunrise reporter.
Makaylah has covered all types of stories - from investigative pieces, to the 2025 flood in Kerrville, to enterprise and consumer segments.
New to Wisconsin winters, Makaylah comes from the 90-degree winters in South Texas. She grew up in McAllen, TX and went to school at The University of Texas at Austin for one year until COVID hit. She then transferred closer to home in South Texas to Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where she graduated in the fall of 2022 with a B.A in Communications and minor in English.
In college, she worked as the opinion and managing editor for the university newspaper, winning several awards for her work at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Awards. She also worked as the radio station manager, working on creating local radio ads and hosting live events where she also won awards. In her time in Corpus Christi she won the 2024 Media Advocate of the Year award for a Selected Texas Child Welfare news story, as well as Journalist of the Quarter at her station.
This is her first big move away from home, road-tripping from border to border. Outside of work, she enjoys working out, running, painting, watching movies and spending time with her cat Bruno Mars.
Makaylah encourages all kinds of Milwaukee recommendations on things to do, places to see and restaurants to try. She is excited to serve Southern Milwaukee County. To connect, email her at makaylah.chavez@tmj4.com or message her on social media. She is always willing to listen and see how she can help.
