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Approaching his 25th year working in broadcast news, Matthew Simon is a National Murrow/Regional EMMY®-winning newsroom leader.  He has worked in large, medium and small markets across the country. Grateful for the perspective of performing nearly every newsroom job during that nearly quarter of a century journey, today Simon is a multi-award winning, compassionate newsroom manager, with a driving passion for investigative journalism and NPPA-style human experiential storytelling.

As WFTX-TV’s assistant news director, Matthew is part of the management team that oversaw Hurricane Ian planning, wall-to-wall continuous coverage execution and, now, continuing coverage. He also used his extensive background of experience to launch an investigative unit and drastically improve the station’s reporting quality through consistent feedback and coaching. Only three weeks on the job, Simon led his team to a FL Association of Broadcast Journalists’ breaking news nomination for coverage of a rare winter solstice tornado/severe weather outbreak. Simon prides himself just as much in leading and coaching the next, great broadcast journalist generation as he does in delivering impactful, community, result-driven investigative content.

Before moving to WFTX, Simon served as special projects/investigations executive producer for America’s #1 CBS affiliate, WHIO-TV Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio, where he led his team to dozens of award wins, including accolades for a mass shooting’s breaking news and weather storytelling, and overseeing the investigation which led to an Ohio law change in how agencies charged with protecting children must share information.

Prior to his Ohio move, Simon spent five years in Wisconsin, leaving as the senior investigative reporter for WSAW/WZAW-TV, the CBS/Fox affiliates for the most watched stations in the Wausau/Rhinelander, WI television markets.  He also helped inaugurate the station's 4:00 p.m. newscast and co-anchored it from 2016-2017. From 2015-2016 he was an evening reporter/anchor for WISC-TV, the CBS affiliate and number one 'legacy' station in Madison, WI.

Before moving to Wisconsin, Simon freelanced as a video journalist in the Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville market for Time Warner Cable's 24-Hour statewide news channel, Time Warner Cable News.  Before joining Time Warner Cable News he spent seven years working in Alaska television.  

Simon was an investigative reporter for Alaska's number one news source, KTUU-Channel 2 News (NBC) in Anchorage.  On the weekends, Matthew managed the newsroom as a supervising producer.  He joined KTUU-DT, after spending six years with KTVA-TV CBS 11 News, leaving the station as weekend anchor/producer.  He also served as the station's senior reporter, covering the political beat.

His Alaska resume includes covering: former governor Sarah Palin's administration and anchoring her vice presidential nomination breaking news; the death of the longest serving Republican Sen. Ted Stevens; a series of political corruption trials that rocked the state; anchoring Mt. Redoubt volcanic eruption breaking news coverage; investigative stories exposing rural Alaska alcohol problems and insurers not covering high risk patients and flying to Juneau to cover yearly legislative sessions.

Simon was equally as well known in Alaska as a tireless community advocate, heading up KTVA's award winning "Cancer Connection" community service program and campaign. This included talking to hundreds of Anchorage School District children about his cancer experience. 

Prior to KTVA-TV, Matthew worked as a general assignment reporter at KAKE-TV (ABC) in Wichita, Kansas, where among much crime news he covered the capture of the infamous BTK serial killer; reporter at WSFA-TV (NBC) in Montgomery, AL; and weekend anchor/investigative reporter at KOMU-TV (NBC) in Columbia, Missouri, where he helped start the station's Target 8 consumer/investigative unit, still in existence today. Simon's career started as a promotions intern/producer at WVTM-TV (NBC) in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. A graduate of the prestigious University of Missouri School of Journalism, Simon earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree with a minor in history.  Born in Gillette, Wyoming, Matthew moved to Birmingham, Alabama when he was two. He grew up in the Birmingham suburb Mountain Brook.

Matthew Simon's Education

University of Missouri-Columbia

Bachelor of Journalism/History Minor, Broadcast Journalism, Modern American History

2000 – 2004

Activities and Societies: MUTV News- Primary Anchor/investigative Reporter for campus television station

Matthew Simon's Experience

2021-Current, WFTX-TV, Ft.Myers-Naples, Florida DMA

Assistant News Director

Assistant News Director for E.W. Scripps’ Ft. Myers-Cape Coral- Naples, Florida (Market 46) Fox affiliate, WFTX-TV. Work in partnership with the news director overseeing a staff of approximately 40-50 content creators producing 50 hours of news per week plus digital/streaming content. Direct reports include general assignment and investigative news reporters/multimedia journalists and content planner. Responsibilities include: overseeing daily and long-term content planning & execution, including major breaking news/severe weather events; script approval & editorial decisions; hiring and coaching reporting staff to grow skill sets based on weekly feedback sessions. Specifically use my prior 20 years of investigative/general assignment reporting experience to coach MMJs on human experiential-NPPA style storytelling and daily investigative techniques. Accomplishments include overseeing planning and continuing Hurricane Ian coverage execution and 30 minute special; Launching an investigative unit/hiring an investigative reporter and creating an overall more competitive, market leading news product. Also started, and currently lead, monthly statewide meeting between Scripps’ FL investigative/special projects teams.

2019-2021, WHIO-TV, Dayton, Ohio DMA

Executive Producer: Investigations & Special Projects

Serve as part of the newsroom’s senior leadership team, as #3 manager, for America’s #1 CBS affiliate. Responsibilities include strategic planning, major project execution, analytics analysis, hiring staff, coaching, retention and human resources issues. Manage a staff of approx. 50 newsroom employees and able to take over the newsroom in news director’s absence. Experience building creative and impactful newscasts, investigations, and special features with emphasis on breaking news, weather and special projects. Monitor and review content for quality control, ethical, and legal considerations, including libel, defamation, privacy, and FCC regulations. Skilled at generating compelling, original, human-centered content using National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) techniques. Identify stories with broad sweeps appeal and craft well-paced storytelling focusing on the human experience. Point person during major breaking news coverage, including a mass shooting and tornado outbreak, as well as content driven newscasts, specials topics like police reforms/race relations, back to school, election election coverage and producing documentary-style specials. Also serve as a newsroom coach, teaching the next generation investigative and storytelling skills. Repeatedly garner awards and achieve top ratings for special reports, investigations, documentaries, weather events, and breaking news. Establish department goals to promote the station’s brand.

2016-2019, WSAW/WZAW-TV, Wausau-Rhinelander DMA

Senior Investigative Reporter/ News Anchor

Senior investigative journalist for market's only investigative unit. One of the newsroom's senior staff members, focusing on breaking exclusive investigative stories. Also assist in coaching younger journalists and aid the news director in overseeing major event coverage.

2014-2015, WISC-TV, Madison, WI DMA

News Reporter/ Anchor

Primary enterprising, multi-platform evening storyteller/high-energy, personality driven ‘command’ anchor for Southern Wisconsin’s most-watched news station. Duties include daily live shot general assignment turns, with an investigative/government focus, fill-in anchoring on multiple newscasts & continuously contributing web/social media content. Storytelling style relies heavily on emotion & human experience, creative, conversational writing, while not relying on official sound bites.

2013 – 2014, Time Warner Cable News

Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville, NC DMA

News Reporter (Freelance)

Freelance video journalist for Time Warner Cable's 24-Hour news channel covering North Carolina's six county Sandhills region. Responsible for developing story ideas, cultivating sources, shooting, writing, reporting and editing daily television and website news stories. Coverage area includes: Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Raeford, Southern Pines, Aberdeen, Pinehurst, Dunn & Lumberton

2011-2012, KTUU-DT, Anchorage, AK DMA

Supervising Producer/Investigative Reporter

General assignment reporter, specializing in investigative story telling & promotable investigative pieces during sweeps. Three days a week were spent field reporting, consistently filling in for weekday producers & occasionally filled-in on the anchor desk. Also managed the newsroom on the weekends as a supervising producer & produced the early newscasts.

2005 – 2011, KTVA-TV, Anchorage, Alaska DMA

Weekend Anchor/Senior Reporter

Anchor/Producer, weekends
Responsible for planning coverage, producing/anchoring shows, managing staff of 5-8, editorial approval & website\social networking management

Senior Reporter, state legislature/politics
Primary live shot reporter
Produced numerous, exclusive stories
Covered 3 governors, including Sarah Palin's administration
Extensive knowledge of oil/natural gas tax policy & legislative process

Responsible for station’s Cancer Connection Program
Produced monthly cancer feature stories
Partnered with school district to put cancer education in health classes
Various community appearances to raise cancer awareness
Served on 3 cancer boards: Relay For Life, Alaska Men's Run, Alaska Men's Retreat

2004 – 2005, KAKE-TV, Wichita, Kansas DMA 

News Reporter

General assignment reporter enterprising stories & sources, and producing multiple day turn live shots & stories

May 2004 – October 2004, WSFA-TV, Montgomery, Alabama DMA

Reporter/Photojournalist

Generate, shoot, write, and edit general assignment stories

2000 – 2004, KOMU-TV, Columbia, Missouri DMA

Investigative Reporter/Weekend Anchor

Investigative/Consumer Reporter: August 2003 - May 2004
Enterprise reporter focusing on fraud, corruption, cover ups, consumer complaints, and information.

Co-launched a successful consumer/investigative unit that is still in operation today

General Assignment Reporter: August 2000 - August 2003
Generate, shoot, write, and edit general assignment stories

Anchor: December 2000 - May 2004
Anchor weekend newscasts/ morning news cut-ins
Fill-in for primary anchors

Producer: December 2000 - May 2004
Produce six, ten, and morning cut-ins and microwave/ satellite lives

1998 – 2000, WVTM-TV, Birmingham, Alabama DMA

Promotions department intern

Produce topicals, sweeps promotions, and community service announcements