Matthew Schwartz

“A fascinating look behind the media mirror that reflects celebrity and power. Matthew Schwartz has spent his long career shining a light in the shadows, uncovering compelling stories. The shortest distance between two people is a great story. This one is incredible, like a friend you won’t want to leave.”

— Bob Dotson, New York Times bestselling author, former national correspondent, the TODAY show.

The toughest job in journalism is that of the investigative reporter. One has to be inquisitive, suspect a wrong, feel it needs to be told and then make it happen. Recording the story for television is fraught with insults, physical abuse, and threats of legal action.

Investigator reporter Matthew Schwartz is a professional colleague and a superb investigating reporter. He’s been attacked, harassed, yelled at, swung at and sued. His professional skin has the outer shell of courage, intellect, and stamina.

Investigative reporters are not crusaders; they are diligent watchers for injustice, political skullduggery, cheats and charlatans who prey upon the innocent and the trusting.

The worst thing an investigative subject can hear from a receptionist is: “Matthew Schwartz is here.”

Confessions of an Investigative Reporter is a good read.

— Rolland Smith, former co-host, “The CBS Morning Program; former anchor WCBS-TV and WWOR-TV; former reporter, NBC News.

Matthew Schwartz is my kind of reporter. We are both old school. Matthew believes in the most important tenants of Investigative Reporting; do the research, do the legwork, know all the facts and go after the bad guy!

When we were competitors in Tampa, whenever one of Matthew’s stories came on one of the many monitors we had in the newsroom of the competition, I always turned up the sound and knew I was going to see a story I wished I had uncovered.

Although Investigative reporting is in my mind the best job in journalism, it is not easy. It involves long hours, reams of paperwork to go through, endless phone calls, meetings with victims and whistleblowers getting more info on the story with the hope that some will talk on camera. Matthew never shied away from doing that work in order to button up all the angles of the story. He was also tenacious and fearless in tracking down the bad guy to hold him or her accountable.

I’m also aware of the great work he did on obtaining an exclusive , interview with Son of Sam killer, David Berkowitz. While that interview occurred before Matthew came to Tampa, I’m aware of it and the work he put it in to make the spectacular piece happen.

Matthew is also an excellent storyteller and if you have any interest in the behind the scenes of a top notch investigative reporter, I know you will want to read his book.

I’ve seen a preview of some of the book and I guarantee it is a page turner that you will have a tough time putting down.

During my six-decade career in Broadcasting, I’ve worker with and against some talented investigative reporters. Matthew Schwartz is among the top tier of those I’ve encountered in my career.

— Mike Deeson, former investigative reporter, WTSP-TV, Tampa/St. Petersburg

Everyone in this business writes a book. For some, it’s one more than they’ve ever read. Those books are filled with anecdotes that are meaningful only to the author. But Matthew is a passionate story teller who has written a thrilling and poignant account of his life and career. I read it in one sitting.

— Michael Horowicz, TV News Producer

“I first met Matthew in 1994 when I went to work for WWOR-TV. I soon learned why he had earned the reputation he had as a member of one of the best investigative teams in the New York market. Fast forward to 2013 and the station I am working for, KVOA, is looking for an investigative reporter to launch its new franchise. I told my news director if you can get Matthew Schwartz he’s all you’ll need. He did not disappoint, quickly earning the nickname “Freight Train” as the investigative reporter who rolled in to town taking down evil doers and anyone else who dared to take advantage of the residents of our city.

“From an exclusive interview with “Son of Sam” killer, David Berkowitz to bringing down a fraudulent moving business and the thousands of stories in between, Matthew has had an incredible career spanning four decades. Now we finally get to hear the stories behind the stories!”

— Sean Mooney, Anchor and Reporter, KVOA-TV, Tucson, Arizona.

Matthew Schwartz propels us into a world few of us have ever seen or even imagined with this candid behind-the-scenes memoir of his years as a prominent investigative reporter. The stories he shares have impacted lives and often changed them for the better. His honesty, his ability to be self-deprecating alongside being duly proud of his accomplishments, and his page-turning words all spin together to make this a rocketing must-read book!

— Lala Corriere, Best Selling Author

Matthew Schwartz is a reporter’s reporter– a top-notch investigative journalist in the tradition of Edward R. Murrow and Mike Wallace. For decades Matthew hasn’t been afraid to tell it like it is, even when his personal safety has been threatened standing up for the public’s right to be informed. From interviewing serial killer “Son of Sam” to dodging a swinging baseball bat wielded by a maniacal gypsy, Matthew has been a pugnacious fighter–a fighter for the truth.

Now in his absorbing debut memoir–“Confessions of an Investigative Reporter: Stories I Couldn’t Tell on TV” you can savor the “inside” stories behind his reports in a remarkable four decades career. I worked alongside Matthew at WOR and WWOR-TV and although we were often rivals, we respected each other and I admired his honesty and thoroughness as an investigative reporter. He’s engaged in public brawls with disreputable salesman and confronted con-men and dirty detectives–his stories responsible for putting them away in jail. Matthew’s reports on homeowners scammed by unlicensed contractors even got his viewers to donate their time to resolve their predicaments. He’s covered three New York mayors and risked his health reporting on 9/11 from Ground Zero. His compelling memoir is a must-read for journalism aficionados and anyone interested in finding out the risks and hardships involved in getting the “real story.”

— Charles Gomez, Author, “Cuban Son Rising;” Former correspondent, CBS News and NBC News.

Matthew Schwartz is the scourge of scoundrels because he digs and digs until he gets the goods on the crooks that prey on ordinary people. Hidden cameras, undercover stings, sifting mountains of documents from the coroner, stakeouts, confrontational interviews – whatever it takes.

In 10,000 stories over decades, he chased down a judge, nailed a pill mill over-prescriber, a scam school operator, a towing racket, the movers from hell, and a whole colorful catalogue of outrageous rascals. Viewers and readers benefit from Matthew’s New York hustle, weapons-grade chutzpah, relentless work ethic, and massive experience.

Matthew and I have been friends and colleagues since a previous century when we had our first television reporting jobs in a small town. I’ve always enjoyed (and learned stuff) from his exploits.

— Jim Randle, former Beijing Bureau Chief, Pentagon Correspondent, anchor, and editor at Voice of America.

Helloooooo America. I had the pleasure of working with Matt at WWOR for several years back in the day when television was BIG. Matt cared a great deal about his work and it showed. Matt had the guts that it takes to be a top-notch investigative reporter. Believe me, there was tons to investigate in the number one television market in America.

In my opinion, it takes team work to get ratings and Matt was an important facet of our team. Kind of like a baseball team, it takes 25 people to produce clickage and when Matt was on the air we clicked. I had a lot of fun with the weather, but as Matt will tell you, when the weather became serious so was I. Matt was a pro’s pro.

He is just as good now as ever in Tucson. When you love what you do it shows. Read his book. Guarantee you will like it.

— Lloyd Lindsay Young, weatherman, WWOR-TV, New York; KGO-TV, San Francisco.

‘Congratulations’ to my valued colleague and friend, on 40-plus years of success, working in the toughest trenches of a very rough TV news business!

You survived, you thrived, and now you get to share with us the quirky, captivating, and compelling details behind the stories that fueled excitement in newsrooms and filled millions of TV screens all those years.

Matthew never let go of the full passion, focus, and doggedness that have been his arsenal for exposing wrongdoers. You see it in every story he produces. And you’ll read about it on these pages.

— Tom McNamara, Host, Arizona Public Media; former news anchor, KVOA-TV, Tucson

After four decades in television news, a few former colleagues truly stand out. Matthew Schwartz is one of them. Matt is the real deal! We have known each other since the late 1970’s when we worked together at the ABC affiliate in Richmond, Virginia.

As it happens, we are both graduates of Ohio University in Athens, which has one of the top broadcast journalism programs in the country. The foundation laid for us as undergraduates served us well as we pursued our television news careers.

Matt is among the smartest, most gifted journalists I have ever known. He has always approached his craft with a sense of fairness and a relentless pursuit of the truth. In an era of journalistic self-aggrandizement, Matt is a definite exception.

As you will read in the following pages, Matt has never made himself more important than the story he is telling. I could not offer any higher praise!

— Frank Robertson is a former news anchor and reporter who worked for television stations in Ohio, Virginia, South Carolina, Arizona and Florida. He is the recipient of a Suncoast Regional Emmy Award, the South Carolina Broadcasters Association television news award the top television news award from the National Education Writers Association.

Matthew Schwartz has been a close friend since we shared work space and room and board while cutting our journalistic teeth at the ABC affiliate in Richmond Virginia in the early 80’s. Matt went on to a distinguished career as an investigative reporter in, among other places, the nations premier TV market of New York City. The streets there yielded a treasure of fascinating stories, including an exclusive interview with Son of Sam serial killer David Berkowitz. Fair, tenacious and untiring in his pursuit of the truth, Matt presented finely crafted tales of some of the most interesting stories of our lifetime. The details of the tales that didn’t always make it to air will be an enjoyable and interesting read to curl up with on a cold rainy night. Matt is a unique colleague and one I am proud to call a friend.

— Jim Bailey, former news anchor, reporter and news manager in South Carolina, Colorado, Virginia, Louisiana, Maine, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee.

Matt Schwartz is one of the great TV News Investigative Reporters in America over the last 25 years. Matt breaks major stories and holds people accountable. The greatest tribute I can pay Matt is that I would have proudly and immediately hired him during the days I was running major market TV News operations. This book is riveting and a must read.

— Mort Meisner, TV Talent Agent