LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Isaiah Kim-Martinez joined the WHAS11 News team and the city of Louisville as a multiskilled journalist in June 2021. In October 2023, he was named Senior Reporter.
Isaiah previously worked as a reporter in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for two years – coincidentally another river city – where he covered everything from politics to natural disasters to social justice movements. Isaiah feels his time in the Tennessee Valley opened his eyes to just how much people can impact a community if they set their minds to it.
He’s a proud graduate of the University of Miami, not far from his hometown of Fort. Lauderdale, Florida, where he spent the majority of his childhood--spoiled with sunny weather!
Once when he was little, Isaiah was told he should go into broadcast someday because they “get paid by the word.” That was a family friend’s subtle, half-joking way to say Isaiah wouldn’t stop talking.
Years later, Isaiah took his affinity for conversation and turned it into an adoration for storytelling. He initially honed in on sports reporting in college but decided to put a focus on hard news work by the time he graduated at UM with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
During his time in school, Isaiah also worked at two hometown stations in Miami – as an intern at WSVN-7News in 2017 and later as a sports associate producer at NBC6 Miami up until graduation.
Isaiah continues to be thrilled each day at the opportunity to cover Kentuckiana, and provide a voice to the voiceless.
In his free time, Isaiah loves to try new local foods. He is into just about every sport and he spends far too much money playing golf!
You can reach Isaiah through email at IKimMartin@whas11.com and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.