Who is Bryan West? All about the reporter who becomes the first full time Taylor Swift journalist

Bryan West becomes the first Taylor Swift reporter (image via @Mollybrown1992 on X)
Bryan West becomes the first Taylor Swift reporter (image via @Mollybrown1992 on X)

Bryan West, 35, is a veteran journalist from Arizona who has been appointed the first full time Taylor Swift reporter.

From Nov. 6, West will work on the Swift news beat for USA Today. He will be a part of the paper's music team and will report for the paper's more than 200 local dailies out of its Nashville office.

When Gannett first announced the job posting for the Swift beat in September along with a Beyonce-Knowles-Carter reporter job, the news chain was subject to backlash from journalists and readers.

Many pointed to the massive layoffs in the journalism industry among local news publications, including The Times and LAist.


I am a Swiftie - says Bryan West

Bryan West had uploaded a video cover letter explaining 13 reasons why he's perfect for a Taylor Swift reporter.

"I am a swiftie, so I do follow a lot of Taylor news, I know about vevery outing, every new song, every lyric, every album release, every party, every acts."
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Bryan West had worked for Tegna, Gannett, Arizona's AZCentral and 12 News for eight years.

He says he's used to the news fast-paced work environment. He also talks about having met Taylor Swift during her reputation tour. Commenting on his new job, West said in an exclusive withVariety;

"I would say this position's no different than being a sports journalist who's a fan of the home team. I just came from Phoenix, and all of the anchors there were wearing Diamondbacks gear; they want the Diamondbacks to win.

He added:

"I am just a fan of Taylor, and I have followed her whole career, but I also have that journalistic background; going to Northwestern, winning awards, working in newsrooms across the nation.

He continued:

"I think that's the fun of this job is that, yeah, you can talk Easter eggs, but the it really is more of the seriousness, I like the impact she has on society and business and music."

Bryan West is a two-time Emmy-winning TV producer and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award winner for investigative work, among other accolades.

Before the announcement about his position went public, Bryan West during an outset of a call with Variety, Bryan said;

"I do think our biggest moment of contention is gonna be the secret vault songs."

Michael Anastasi, editor of the Tennessean and VP of Gannett's chain of local news, said that cynics assumed the company put up the job posting for the publicity and were not looking for a real journalist.

"We were very pleased with the caliber of the pool we had. I think if we ended up hiring five more people. We would have highly qualified candidates.
"It ran the gamut from veteran hard-news reporters, including at least one very established White House reporter to swifties who have blogs and are influencers."

During his position for reporter for the NBC affiliate in town, West was renowned for being a swiftie where the other anchors would make fun of him on-air;

"We're surprised Bryan didn't call in sick to work today because Taylor released a new album."

As a Taylor Swift reporter, Bryan West is now set to report on the singer's business ideas and the economic impact of the Eras Tour, all while being a Swiftie.

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