Matt Byrne
GRANTEE
Matt Byrne has covered crime and public safety for the Portland Press Herald since 2016, with a focus on accountability reporting and breaking news. It is his second beat since being hired at the Press Herald in late 2012, when he left The Boston Globe's suburban news bureau.
He reported extensively on the post-conviction appeal of Anthony Sanborn, who was convicted of a 1989 murder of a Portland teenager. Sanborn maintained his innocence, and, after a years-long legal battle that culminated with five weeks of hearings in 2017, Sanborn was released from prison. Byrne's 2020 coverage of racial inequities in Portland policing and outdated oversight structures have helped shape the conversation about police reform in the city.
