Matt Shafer Powell

Matt Shafer Powell, WUOT's News Director, was born and raised in Western Michigan, near Grand Rapids. Like many of those who eventually worked in radio, he spent an inordinate amount of time as a boy with a tape recorder, a microphone and 45's stacked an inch high on the record player. His dreams of being on the radio became reality at the age of 17, when he convinced the News Director at a Grand Rapids radio station to let him work for free. Later, while working toward a broadcasting degree at Central Michigan University, he discovered the thrill of the audio production process; in the years since, he's worked as a producer of commercials and as an audio engineer, creating soundtracks for videos and films.

In public radio, he's found the perfect confluence of his interests in storytelling, news, writing and audio production. He joined WUOT in November of 2002 after heading up Michigan Radio's West Michigan Bureau. A self-described "sports geek", he also enjoys writing fiction, playing guitar and spending time with his wife and three children. Among his guilty pleasures, he lists hockey fights, white socks with sandals and the BeeGees' disco-era stuff.