Meet Matt Morey – New Reporter for The Democrat News
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TERI MOSS, Contributing Writer
After 37 years of seeing the familiar face of Al Kopitsky covering local news and sporting events, a page has turned, and there’s a new reporter in town. Meet Matt Morey.
Matt is 32 years old, grew up in Ironton, Missouri and graduated from high school at Arcadia Valley. “I was taught to write by Mrs. Sargent and Mrs. Klempert and writing prompts from Mr. Barzowski,” Morey said. “There are too many teachers to name. I hope that I don’t disappoint them.”
Morey received his associate’s degree at Mineral Area College and his Bachelors’ Degree in Psychology at Southeast Missouri State University. While attending SEMO, Morey worked for the student-run newspaper, The Arrow. “I needed something to fill up my last semester and I have always liked journalism,” Morey said. “After one semester as a volunteer writer where I had gotten to interview some Ukrainian students around the turn of the war, they called me back to ask about an editorial position. I cried when I got the call because it was weeks after the interview, just a day after I had basically given up journalism. I figured the job would go to someone more seasoned or younger. And I had just graduated and wanted to get out of school.”
“I worked as the Editor for The Arrow a short time before realizing I had to take more classes to keep that job. During that time, I learned more about the craft that I had overlooked from working at the Daily Journal and I developed confidence in it. The staff and Dr. Buck are all amazing and people should take SEMO as seriously as Mizzou when it comes to journalism.” He said SEMO was one of Missouri’s only two accredited schools in journalism, the other of course being Mizzou.
Morey worked at The Daily Journal in 2019 for what he described as “basically an internship.” He remembered his best article there. “I got a tip that the mushroom factory in Bonne Terre was closing. Minutes later, I walked in and the CEO or someone from California was visiting and looked sad. He asked me if I could cover the story the next day. I said sure since it was so close to my own deadline anyway.” He has also written some freelance for arts publications.
When asked about his inspiration for pursuing a journalism career, Morey had this to say. “I think I wanted to be a muckraker, like in Fast Food Nation, which I read in grade school. It was about the shady side of the fast-food industry in the 90s. Usually I read novels or essays.” Some of his favorite writers are David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon. “I like so many things about reporting because my interests change a lot, so some of the things I like this week may be boring next week.”
Before reporting for The Democrat News, Morey worked at retail stores selling ink and computers. More recently he worked the night shift as an EEG technician while living in Columbia, at Mizzou Hospital. There he learned a lot about the medical industry. His plan was to get story ideas and write during the slow hours, but he soon realized it was difficult to write since there are rules on writing about clients or people with medical issues. Morey added to his employment history, “I was once an axe-throwing instructor until my shoulder started to hurt because of throwing a hundred times a week. I’m still pretty good at it though.”
Hobbies for Morey include playing games, watching movies and playing the bass guitar. “Reading is a given. I just started reading War and Peace. It’s pretty good but I’m not sure I’ll finish it.”
Morey likes Fredericktown because of the small-town environment that’s familiar to him. “You can walk down the street to get food and know everybody in town. The people have been friendly so far and are excited when I ask about articles.”
The question asked Morey about what he would like to see in Fredericktown. He responded with, “Maybe ax-throwing or other places for people to hang out, or more tennis.”
The interview ended with him asking for patience from the Democrat News readers. “I’m still new so I’m not going to be able to do everything the same as Al did for 37 years. Please feel free to drop by the Democrat News office with any questions or concerns, or praise you may have.”
