J. Matt

J. Matt is a feature-writer and reporter — as well as a documentary and assignment photographer — from, and based in, Honolulu. Their work focuses on global warming and environmental concerns and where those realms intersect with place and social, political, and economic affairs. Their writing has run nationally and their pictures in publications worldwide. Skilled at both narrative and investigative reporting, writing for radio, eliciting previously guarded responses in interviews, and longform composition, J. Matt (honestly) loves the editing process and understands implicitly that everything good in print, or on air, is the product of a fruitful collaboration. In addition to their reporting and writing skills J. Matt has a B.F.A in photography, with honors, from the San Francisco Art Institute and works to marry an aesthetic and critical fine-art-photography background to their documentary and photojournalism assignments — when appropriate. Sometimes the news is just the news. They are represented by ZUMA Press and a wire service contributor.

Familiar with fireground reporting and reporting from the aftermath of the nation's two deadliest modern wildfires, backcountry travel and photography, making pictures underwater, reporting from large-scale civil protests and dangerous industrial sites, as well as having been assigned to nationally-significant political stories, J. Matt is a good bet when assigning a journalist where safety is at stake and an easy-going, conscientious traveling companion is needed. And, for all that, they deeply appreciate being on a story that just isn't a total bummer; or life-and-death. Their humor is bone dry or preposterous, without much middle ground, but never inappropriate for the circumstances at hand. Lauded by the American Society of Journalists and Authors in 2024 as a journalist whose work, "elevated our industry's standards and continue(s) inspiring fellow writers and journalists to push the boundaries of storytelling and reporting," and lead reporter on a team winning Silver (documentary) and Bronze (history) Signal Awards in 2024, J. Matt is always excited to tell a new story. More about J. Matt and their work can be found at www.tinyshocks.com.

*A note about the ‘okina (inverted apostrophe indicating a glottal stop, and a consonant in the Hawaiian language) and kahakō (macron indicating accent) use here—there is a clear absence of both in my captioning. Captions are pulled from metadata created to be hosted on the news wire where the Hawaiian language becomes unsearchable using either. I endeavor to use both correctly in any writing which is not carried on the wire.