• by Ray Schultz , November 6, 2023

Gannett has taken a journalistic foot forward, hiring a reporter whose only job will be covering singer Taylor Swift and her cultural and business impact. 

Bryan West was named to the job, and he starts today, working out of The Tennessean’s newsroom in Nashville, Variety reports. 

West has worked at NBC’s Phoenix affiliate, and is also a veteran Swiftie. He met the superstar once in 2018 and has a photo to prove it.

Critics argue that Gannett cut hundreds of editorial positions last year and that this is a frivolous misallocation of resources. 

But Gannett sources deny that charge. 

“I oversee all of the newsrooms across the country for Gannett,” says Michael Anastasi, editor of The Tennessean, according to Variety. And it’s very important to note that I’ve hired hundreds of local journalists in the past few months, at all of our papers — big, medium, small — and that these aren’t positions that are supplanting other positions in our company.”

For his part, West told Variety, “I would say this position’s no different than being a sports journalist who’s a fan of the home team.”