Matt Houston
WAFB Reporter
Baton Rouge, La.
Matt Houston was born in Tyler, Texas and graduated from LSU in 2018. His dad was a TV anchor during most of his childhood, and his mom worked in administrative offices at a handful of different businesses and charities.
Matt’s dad called high school football games on the radio and Matt went to every game with him from third grade until Matt made varsity on his own team in high school.
“I made my radio debut in the 8th grade during a 12-overtime game between Jacksonville and Nacogdoches,” he said. “It still holds the record for the nation's longest high school football game. After that, I joined him as a color commentator each Friday night.”
In 2014, Matt took a job at the local ESPN Radio affiliate and continued to work there as a seasonal producer and co-host until he graduated from college.
During the Spring 2016 semester at LSU, he joined TigerTV. He also hosted a football tailgate show for KLSU.
Matt began covering the state legislature for the Manship School News Service in Fall 2016. Before taking over as the legislative reporter at WAFB in May 2018, he had already covered seven legislative sessions as a print journalist.
Matt also has a passion for sports.
“I played baseball, basketball, and football and wasn't particularly great at any of them,” he said. “I enjoy cleaning, listening to music, and playing video games when I am not at work.”
Contact Matt via email at matthouston@wafb.com.
Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, wants to legalize prostitution. She’s filed a bill that would remove sex work from the state’s criminal code, arguing it would make the practice safer.
Sen. Bill Cassidy is among the Republicans who say President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief plan is too expensive. Like the others, he’s pointed to proposed aid for schools to illustrate his point.
Through a partnership with tech-giant IBM, Baton Rouge Community College will offer free training in emerging technology that could help some workers land better-paying jobs.
Marian McGavran, now the state’s top-credentialed eating disorder expert, says the pandemic has made it easier for some people to succumb to their condition.
Lawmakers are nearing a compromise that would limit ‘qualified immunity’ for law enforcement, a policy that makes it nearly impossible to sue a policeman who’s hurt someone, even if that officer broke the law.
Baton Rouge mayor-president Sharon Weston Broome and police chief Murphy Paul have asked a judge’s permission to release body camera footage of an incident involving a BRPD officer and a 13-year-old.
More than 20% of Louisianans have developed Covid-fighting antibodies, either because they’ve been infected or because they’ve been vaccinated.
The Department of Health is taking about 16,000 vaccine doses from nursing homes and giving them to pharmacies.
Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and other local officials are scheduled to hold a news conference on continued gun violence in Baton Rouge.
About two-thirds of the people who were laid off in April 2020 are working again, economists say.
Senator Bill Cassidy tells 9News he won’t decide on impeachment until the trial is over, but explained a few scenarios that could sway his vote.
The number of patients hospitalized statewide with COVID-19 has fallen Louisiana since Jan. 10. However, in Baton Rouge, it’s a different story.
Economists expect Louisianans to spend more on cars than in either of two prior years
Gov. John Bel Edwards’s first spending proposal for the coming budget year will likely slash state services to offset a budget hole worth “hundreds of millions,” Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne said.
President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package includes billions in temporary tax cuts for working parents that could cut child poverty by as much as 40 percent, experts say.
Gov. John Bel Edwards says, in Louisiana, it makes more sense to first spread the doses out across the state.
The university will build computer models that can predict how coastal erosion, frequent severe weather events, and rising seas affect terrain near military installations.
Gov. Edwards is expected to address the state’s continued spike in COVID-19 cases, the alarming increase in hospitalizations, and the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine for Louisiana residents 70 and older.
Many U.S. workers will now have to use vacation days to get paid if they are exposed to COVID-19 and cannot work.
Louisiana republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy will cast different votes Wednesday, Jan. 6 when Congress decides whether to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral college victory.
The Louisiana Department of Health says Thanksgiving did not contribute to an explosion of new Coronavirus cases, as some doctors feared.
Though it will be months before anyone who wants a vaccine can get a shot, doctors are already telling patients they’ll need to continue wearing a mask after they’ve been immunized.
It’s been more than a month since the Nov. 3 presidential election, but President Donald Trump has officially won the state of Louisiana.
Researchers say Louisiana spends more money per mile on highways than 30 other states, but 13% of the state’s bridges are in poor shape.
The federal Health and Human Services secretary praised Louisiana’s vaccine distribution plan as one of the nation’s premiere strategies.
Gov. John Bel Edwards will hold his first news conference to address the state’s response to rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2.
Lawmakers in Congress are working to get some COVID-19 relief measure passed before the new year.
The two candidates in the runoff for East Baton Rouge mayor-president, incumbent Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and former state Rep. Steve Carter, participated in a forum held by the Baton Rouge Press Club Monday, Nov. 30.
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) says it’s harder to pin this latest spike in COVID-19 cases on a specific holiday, event, or even age group. Instead, the state is losing its fight with the virus on a number of different fronts.
LSU is defending its decision to keep secret the names of some football players who have been accused of sexual misconduct.
Residents of Louisiana can save about 5% on most purchases Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21.
Becoming one of the highest-ranking Black officials in the United States, Cedric Richmond will serve as Senior Advisor to the President and Director of Public Engagement.
The report claims LSU failed to get proper authorities involved when federal laws and school policies required it.
The Salvation Army of Baton Rouge says it will have to leave about 25 kettles in storage this year because they’re having a hard time finding people to ring the bells.
BREC wants to make the Airline High Park Fair Grounds look more like Highland Community or Forest Community Park.
The Port of Baton Rouge could soon pave the way for a new plant across the Mississippi River... and it could mean hundreds of jobs for the Baton Rouge area, all focused on producing clean energy.
Political analysts say East Baton Rouge Mayor-president Sharon Weston Broome has an easier path to re-election than her challenger, Steve Carter, has to unseating her.
A number of people made a last-minute dash Monday, Nov. 2 to get their absentee ballot dropped off in time.
Louisiana voters will get to decide Nov. 3 whether state lawmakers should get to spend money that does not belong to them.
Governor John Bel Edwards is still ignoring a petition from lawmakers that would halt all the state’s COVID-19 rules for a week.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry says the state has arrested five people for allegedly stealing unemployment benefits.
Lawmakers are moving forward with a compromise plan that would change how the secretary of state sets up rules for elections during emergencies.
Louisiana lawmakers are moving ahead with two bills that could put some cash in the hands of bar owners, though there’s no clear way to pay for the programs just yet.
Under this proposal, nursing home residents would be able to pick and choose who they see without limitations.
Soon, voters will have the opportunity to decide whether Louisiana’s constitution allows for any access to abortion.
Louisiana lawmakers are moving forward with a few plans to keep taxes from going up on businesses.
Lawmakers want schools to spell out exactly how they expect students to behave while they’re engaging in virtual learning.
Some Louisiana lawmakers want to make it harder for local governments and universities to cut their police budgets.
Voters will get to decide whether sports betting should be allowed in their parishes during the presidential election, though it would not happen where it is approved for at least another year.
Governor John Bel Edwards provided an update on the state’s response to COVID-19 during a news conference on Thursday, Oct. 1.
