Ten years ago I walked through the LPM newsroom and stopped by a dingy office to meet a group of rumpled reporters that called themselves the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.
The crew was small, but they had big ambitions.
A decade later, KyCIR has built a reputation for doing hard-hitting, impactful journalism that’s rooted in accountability, truth and fairness.
KyCIR reporters exposed how a Kentucky congressman mixed politics and personal finances, they uncovered how the University of Louisville Foundation purchased a vacant factory in Oklahoma at a donor’s request, they revealed a myriad of shortcomings with how Louisville Metro Police investigate sexual assault crimes and unfurled the twisted mechanics of disaster relief.
The reporting has won awards, changed policies and sparked investigations.
And we’re just getting started.
I’m thrilled to get to lead this team of dogged reporters into the next chapter. I started reporting with Louisville Public Media in 2013. I’ve covered city hall, public schools and countless topics in between. I joined the investigative team in 2017 and helped report on police’s ability to bust down your door and take your belongings, politicians mired in controversy and the power of road paving in Kentucky.
I’m a product of Kentucky — born and raised in Eddyville, went to college in Bowling Green. Today, I live in Crescent Hill with my wife and two young sons.
My past — and present — drive my belief in the power of journalism. This work can make a better Kentucky for all of us. And 10 years from now, it’s my intent that we can say that’s so.
Our focus will be on doing stories that matter, that are high stakes and that you care about. We are committed to sniffing out corruption, to examining unfair policies and unjust systems and giving people a space to own their stories.
The office here at LPM is much different than it was a decade ago. That dingy office is gone, and most of those reporters are, too. But our mission today is the same as it was back then — to relentlessly pursue the truth, to reveal the wrongs that hurt people and to respond to the community's needs.
I hope you’ll join us along the way.
