Author: Lee Matz

A false normal: Looking back on Milwaukee in 2023 and a social shift to the Uncanny Valley

A false normal: Looking back on Milwaukee in 2023 and a social shift to the Uncanny Valley

Posted by | Jan 1, 2024

With the end of any year comes a time for reflection. That was never more true for me in 2023. It has been an unprecedented year of opportunities and adventures, along with the corresponding sacrifices. A senior photojournalist for Milwaukee Independent, I visited five countries in the combined span of two months, and produced a full year’s worth of journalism in that short time. It was a time of inspiration, and exposure to unparalleled trauma. Aside from the physical toll of travel, wounds, and injuries along the way, the emotional tax also came at a steep price. After each...

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So Long Ukraine, and Thanks for All the Hotdogs*

So Long Ukraine, and Thanks for All the Hotdogs*

Posted by | Aug 23, 2023

As I reflect on my second assignment to Ukraine from June to July, and the corresponding news series of articles, interviews, and photo essays I produced, a flood of thoughts come to mind. One in particular involved a hotdog. I originally intended to post the image for this story to social media. As I thought about how to introduce it for context, what I wanted to say stretched beyond a simple caption. I have had the privilege and burden to see a side of Ukraine during war that no other journalist in Wisconsin has been exposed to. I have...

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Seeking Truth: Journalistic integrity in the face of Russian propaganda, lies, and disinformation

Seeking Truth: Journalistic integrity in the face of Russian propaganda, lies, and disinformation

Posted by | Aug 23, 2023

“A country that cannot face its past has no future.” – Yang Jisheng Recently, someone asked me about how I keep my journalistic integrity when I cover Ukraine and get so close to traumatic events. I said firstly, ethics in school and ethics in reality are not the same. American journalists do a lot of harm, serving the corporate media and not the public welfare, without taking any responsibility. I believe in “truth” and “accuracy,” but we no longer live in a world of objectivity. Journalists are supposed to remain detached, and for the most part I feel it...

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Hasidic life in Uman: A journey across Ukraine to the Tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

Hasidic life in Uman: A journey across Ukraine to the Tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

Posted by | Aug 4, 2023

Return to Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from areas across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, from June to July of 2023. It was the second time in the span of a year that the award-winning Wisconsin news organization traveled to the country during the war. The purpose of this journalism project was to document a humanitarian aid mission by the Milwaukee-based nonprofit, Friends of Be an Angel, and report about conditions 17 months after Russia's brutal full-scale invasion. mkeind.com/returntoukraine I have written many times over the years...

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Remembering Oskar Schindler: A photojournalist’s diary from the streets of Jewish Kraków

Remembering Oskar Schindler: A photojournalist’s diary from the streets of Jewish Kraków

Posted by | Aug 4, 2023

Return to Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from areas across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, from June to July of 2023. It was the second time in the span of a year that the award-winning Wisconsin news organization traveled to the country during the war. The purpose of this journalism project was to document a humanitarian aid mission by the Milwaukee-based nonprofit, Friends of Be an Angel, and report about conditions 17 months after Russia's brutal full-scale invasion. mkeind.com/returntoukraine I have spent my life only hearing about...

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Wisconsin volunteers sort and pack donated medical supplies for use in Ukraine’s hospitals

Wisconsin volunteers sort and pack donated medical supplies for use in Ukraine’s hospitals

Posted by | Aug 2, 2023

Return to Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from areas across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, from June to July of 2023. It was the second time in the span of a year that the award-winning Wisconsin news organization traveled to the country during the war. The purpose of this journalism project was to document a humanitarian aid mission by the Milwaukee-based nonprofit, Friends of Be an Angel, and report about conditions 17 months after Russia's brutal full-scale invasion. mkeind.com/returntoukraine Volunteers from across Wisconsin gathered in a local...

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