Jacob Payne

Meticulous. Persistent. Proven.
Hire me to conduct your research when results matter.

Jacob Payne

Here I am

It's me. That guy. Ready to do the things you need done.
Read about me, check out what I do and see where I've been.

I'm back to doing what I love – research. It's what allowed me to report great stories for so many years. It’s exciting and effects real change.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. I’ve chosen to live my life here because of that beauty and its people who love what I love. If you’re a Kentuckian, you *get* what I mean. It’s not something that’s easily explained. It’s just in your blood, you catch the bug, you get sucked in, hooked on it. From fine Kentucky bourbon to Eastern Whippoorwills to the foothills of our Appalachians, I love it all. Every bit of it. It’s intoxicating.

So it only makes sense to keep my network of sources, law enforcement contacts, friends, legislators and the like intact. Democrat or Republican, candidate or issue, cause, concern, reporter, that means I’m for hire. My work speaks for itself and there’s a literal decade of material proving my value. Not afraid to toot my own horn here because there aren’t many others who have had the persistence and determination to dig things out of the darkness these last several years. Need someone to uncover something in Kentucky? A typical D.C. firm won’t have the access I have struggled to gain no matter how much you pay them. Just ask disgraced former University of Louisville President James Ramsey, Louisville Metro Animal Services, State Representative Will Coursey or the Montgomery County Board of Education.

I want to continue lending the voice I’ve gained to people who deserve it far more than me.

Services

I work with attorneys, journalists, hiring committees and political or issues campaigns – regardless of partisanship – to produce comprehensive research products. No one in Kentucky has better access or more well-developed sources.

Experience

Deep investigative reporting that exposed corruption. Forced the creation of new laws and whistleblower protections. Uncovered the worst pension system in the country. Ended a political dynasty. Revealed secret histories of drug trafficking, prostitution and murder.

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