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Bryan West arguably would have fulfilled his craziest dream of becoming a journalist for Taylor Swift, but he doesn’t think the role is all that unconventional.
“I would say this position is none other than a sportswriter who is a fan of the local team,” West, 35, told Variety in an interview Monday.
“I’m just from Phoenix and all the anchors were dressed in Diamondbacks apparel, they need the Diamondbacks to win,” said West, a former KPNX reporter, an NBC associate in Phoenix.
USA Today and The Tennessee announced West’s hiring on Monday. The media announced in September that it was hiring a reporter to cover pop star Taylor Swift. As specified in the project announcement, the position would be worked remotely and paid between $40,000 and $100,000 per year. year.
West told Variety that in addition to being a fan of Swift, he also has the journalistic qualifications for the job. He has won two Emmy Awards and an Alfred I Award. DuPont-Columbia University for its journalism, according to its website.
Michael Anastasi, Tennessee’s editor-in-chief and vice president of local news at Gannett, the outlet’s parent company, told Variety that they were “very pleased with the caliber of the pool” of candidates. Anastasi said the job attracted a wide range of candidates, from die-hard enthusiasts and influencers to seasoned journalists.
When asked how many other people had applied for the journalist position, a representative for Gannett referred Insider to a previous Wall Street Journal article.
The Journal article, from September, says Gannett won about 1,000 shows in two weeks for two positions they were recruiting for: reporter for Taylor Swift and reporter for Beyoncé.
“But we ended up with someone who I think has the right balance between being a seasoned journalist who has serious data skills and someone who understands everything about Taylor’s global world and the universe she’s entering,” Anastasi told Variety.
Representatives for Anastasi did not respond to an after-hours request for comment from Insider.