The Decatur Daily Democrat has welcomed a new face to the it’s staff. Matthew Klingenberger, age 25, has joined the team as the new Sports Reporter.
A Fort Wayne native and Fort Wayne Snider graduate, Klingenberger is about two years removed from his graduation from Ball State University where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in General Studies, with minors in Sports Studies and Strategic Communications. At Snider he played Tuba and Trombone for the marching and jazz band for four years. His senior year, the Jazz Band qualified for the ISSMA State Competition.
Klingenberger explained that his passion for sports started when he was very young, beginning with the Chicago Bears. He played football and soccer as he grew up.
“My dad got me into it,” he explained. “He got me into it as a little kid and now I am so hooked onto the team that I can’t give it up.”
He chose Ball State initially for their prominent Sports Media program. He originally wanted to be an on-air reporter, but began to enjoy the writing aspect more and more. Approaching graduation, writing about sports was something that he continued to do on the side, hoping that one day he could make a career out of it.
He has since worked with 1380 The Fan radio station in Fort Wayne, while writing scouting reports for high school football players on the Prep Redzone and reporting on games for SB Live, before recently joining the DDD team full-time.
Along with the Bears, Klingenberger is a Cardinal at heart, continuing to closely follow Ball State’s football and basketball prominence within the Mid-American Conference. He also enjoys following Lebron James in the NBA and Team USA soccer.
In addition to his reporting for the Democrat, he also runs his own sports program, Out Loud Sports, where he covers random topics in the sports world.
“I am really excited to be here, and I look forward to a long future here,” Klingenberger concluded.
