10 Within 10 Recognition
Matt Franklin '04
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When all the other little kids were watching cartoons, Matt Franklin, ’04, was mesmerized by the TV news and enamored with the anchors.
“They had front row seats to every activity and event in the community,” Franklin recalls. “They interviewed politicians, reported breaking news, told people’s stories.”
When he was 10, he got to tour the local TV news station.
“I was totally excited,” he recalls. “I saw the hustle and bustle of the newsroom, people writing … I could feel pure adrenaline in the air. I knew I wanted to be part of it.”
Franklin landed a TV reporting and fill-in anchor job at WLNS in Lansing while he was a junior at CMU.
These days, he’s the lead anchor for the evening newscasts at WJRT-TV, the ABC news station in Flint.
“People think we just sit there and read the news,” Franklin says. “But it’s a big responsibility. There’s a lot of weight in our words. You have to make sure what you’re saying is accurate. People turn to us to find out what’s happening during a crisis. We have to stay calm, cool, and collected.”
And be ready for anything. “When you work in an urban area, you’re going to have to report on stories that are so heartbreaking I think, ‘Why am I doing this?’
“But the moment you stop feeling anything is the moment you should consider a career change,” he says. “You’ve lost your heart.”
Franklin spends a lot of time giving back to his community, from hosting charity events to mentoring inner-city youngsters.
“So often we get caught up in our own little world,” he says. “I want to do for others what people did for me.
“You never know what child you might inspire.”
10 years of 10 within 10 - 2023 update
Current city and state: Flint, MI
Current job title and employer: Evening Anchor at ABC 12 News (Flint/Saginaw/Bay City)
What is happening in your life today that you didn't expect when you were named one of the 10 within 10?
Since being named one of the 10 within 10, I've celebrated two big milestones. The first was winning my first Emmy Award for a special series I co-hosted and co-produced called "The Path Forward." It was an in-depth and raw look at issues of race in mid-Michigan following the death of George Floyd in 2020. Then a few months later, I was selected to join the CMU Alumni Board Association. I felt that this was my chance to give back to an institution that has given so much to me. I truly believe without my foundation at CMU, I wouldn't be where I am in my professional career. Joining the Alumni Board is my chance to help spread the word about CMU!
When you think of CMU today, what word comes to mind?
Pride. I haven't met a CMU Chippewa who isn't proud to let the world know they went to CMU!