Howdy!
I'm Matt Keyser, a Texas-based freelance writer with more than 12 years of experience in journalism. I specialize in in-depth narrative storytelling that highlights the world around us and shares injustices in our society.
My work has covered the many flaws of the Texas criminal justice system,
My stories — both written and podcasts — has been featured in The Washington Post, CNN, Forensic Files, The Dallas Morning News, VAULT Studios, and in newspapers and TV stations across the country.
If you don't find me at my computer, I'm likely trying to keep up with my two daughters or smoking barbecue in my backyard. [If I didn't pursue journalism, I most definitely would have been a chef.]
You can reach me at bymattkeyser[at]gmail[dot]com.
Matt searches wide for all groups affected by the issues at the heart of any news story he pursues, and he obtains illuminating comments from those people, who act as magnets for readership and viewership. He's truly a remarkable reporter.
- Bill Lodge, retired journalist
Clips
*Please note: Some stories are republished on my website because the originals can no longer be found online.
Longform & Investigations
On Travis Scott's Utopia Mountain, a night of release turns deadly
(Washington Post, November 2021)
The police, district attorney, and trial judge all agree he's innocent. Why is Lydell Grant still a convicted murderer? (The Innocence Project of Texas, September 2020)
TRANSPARENCY (KHOU, November 2016; winner of the 2018 Alfred I duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award)
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Profiles
How Mattress Mack became Houston's hometown hero (KHOU, December 2017)
He's 90, she's 71, and Hurricane Harvey destroyed everything they own (KHOU, October 2017)
In a Texas County, DA Brian Middleton Seeks ‘Justice and Humanity’ (Arnold Ventures, November 2022)
Defying Gravity (Brenham Banner-Press, March 2012)
Essays
I was terrified to be a dad. Then I heard my babygirl cry for the first time. (mattkeyser.com, April 2017)
Podcasts
Mixed Matched (CNN, single episode, September 2022)
Missing Pieces: The murder case against Sandra Melgar (KHOU, six episodes, November 2018)
Santa Fe: Life After the Shooting (KHOU, six episodes, May 2019)
Selena: A Star Dies in Texas (VAULT Studios, investigative research, May 2020)
For more than two decades I've worked alongside some of the most talented reporters and writers in journalism. Few can match the empathy, passion and advocacy Matt Keyser brings to his stories. His narrative style doesn't just transport you into the lives of his characters, it truly makes you care about them. Many of them are living on the edges of society, with stories of struggle and injustice that need to be told. Unlike other journalists, Matt champions their causes, which often highlight larger breakdowns in society's systems. I believe he represents the standard that more journalists should strive to achieve. Not only might it make the world a better place, it would surely make for one hell of a read.
– Scott Noll, investigative reporter