Matthew "Matt" Power (October 22, 1974 – March 10, 2014) was an American journalist.
Early life and education
Power was born October 22, 1974, in
Middlebury, Vermont
Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History.
History
One of ...
and grew up in nearby
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
. His mother was Jane Steele. His father was John Power. He had two sisters, Julie Ruppert and Elizabeth Robison.
Power studied at
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
[ and at ]Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. He left Columbia before graduating to intern at ''Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...
''.
Career
Power worked both as a print and broadcast journalist. His work appeared in such periodicals as '' GQ'', ''Harper's Magazine'', ''Men's Journal
''Men's Journal'' is an American monthly men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and gear. It was founded in 1992 by Jann Wenne ...
'', ''National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'', and ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. His articles were also collected in annual anthologies such as '' Best American Travel Writing'' and ''Best American Spiritual Writing'', and he was a three-time finalist for the Livingston Award
The Livingston Awards at the University of Michigan are American journalism awards issued to media professionals under the age of 35 for local, national, and international reporting. They are the largest, all-media, general reporting prizes in Ame ...
for Young Journalists in international reporting.[ Additionally, ]WNYC
WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...
noted Power "was considered one of the most vibrant, young voices in public radio".
Personal life
At the time he died, Power lived in Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and was married to Jessica Benko.[
]
Death
Power died in Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
on March 10, 2014,Levison Wood
Major Levison James Wood VR (born 5 May 1982) is a British Army officer and explorer. He is best known for his extended walking expeditions in Africa, Asia and Central America. He has also undertaken numerous other overland journeys, includin ...
, who was trekking along the Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
in a year-long attempt to become the first person to walk the length of that river, when Power unexpectedly suffered from severe heatstroke while walking in the bush and died within hours before help could arrive.
Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award
In honor of Power, New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
established the Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award in 2015.[ Since then, the annual award has supported the work of non-fiction writers.]
References
External links
Official website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Matthew
1974 births
2014 deaths
American male journalists
People from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
People from Middlebury, Vermont
People from Cornwall, Vermont
Deaths from hyperthermia