Gannett hired a Taylor Swift writer. Now what?

I have to admit, the first quote I saw from the new Taylor Swift beat writer for Gannett made me roll my eyes and shake my head.

Bryan West, the man who just landed what might be the most fun job in journalism, was talking with Variety’s Chris Willman about his new gig covering the world’s most famous singer.

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

Arghhhh!

First, West needs to get one thing straight. If a sports journalist is a fan of the home team, they’re not a real sports journalist. To be fair, West went on to say, “I just came from Phoenix, and all of the anchors there were wearing Diamondbacks gear; they want the Diamondbacks to win.”

I have no doubt that is true. News anchors often make sports reporters’ jobs harder by breaking out the jerseys and pom-poms. (That’s another column for another day.)

But once this former sportswriter got past the tired and false cliché that beat writers root for the teams they cover, I had another concern: If West is such a fan of Swift — he proudly identifies as a Swiftie — might that impact the coverage Gannett and USA Today is going to get from him? Is this going to be nothing more than a fan writing glowingly about his favorite singer-songwriter?

Willman wrote for Variety, “Is a Swiftie destined to be a softie, when it comes to news that might cast the star in a harsher light? West addressed the objectivity issue in his video submission for the job, saying he would be able to report fairly on the superstar — and be critical if necessary — with a slightly comical example: He said the proof was in his citation of three Swift songs that he can’t stand …”

I couldn’t tell if West was being tongue-in-cheek or if he truly believes that not liking a song passes for criticism. And I’m not sure his submission video instills any confidence that the coverage is going to be anything more than love letters to Swift and her followers.

Time will tell if West is willing to write critically about Swift if necessary. But he does have some reporting chops. West, 35, graduated from Northwestern and worked at the NBC affiliate in Phoenix. He is a two-time Emmy-winning TV producer and a winner of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for investigative work. He will work out of Nashville and the newsroom of the Tennessean, writing for USA Today and Gannett’s more than 200 local daily papers.

And let’s be clear. This is not an ordinary beat. Being a fan of Swift is not only acceptable, you’d have to say it’s imperative. You cannot have someone covering Swift who isn’t expertly knowledgeable about her music, her career and her life. You need someone who knows more (or at least as much) as the people who are most likely going to be reading and watching and listening to the journalism you produce.

West’s coverage is going to be fascinating to watch. First off, give Gannett some credit for thinking outside the box to hire someone to cover a cultural phenomenon such as Swift, whose every move — from what she wears to attending her boyfriend’s football games — is practically break-the-internet news. (Oh, there’s also her remarkable music, which touches people in ways rarely seen.)

On one hand, the timing of the hire does seem a bit off. Swift’s immensely successful “Eras” tour started back in March and wrapped up the United States’ leg back in August. She will spend most of next year touring in Europe and isn’t scheduled to perform in the U.S., at least in a full concert, again until next October. A movie about the tour debuted a month ago. When there’s already a movie out about something, it seems like you’re a little late to the party. It feels as if this latest Swift wave already crested and this hire is at least six months too late.

Then again, Swift is only 33 years old. She is an icon who will continue to make news and put out music and be hugely popular for years and perhaps decades to come. Gannett could easily argue that it’s never too late to jump on the Swift bandwagon. It’s never a bad time to cover her.

But there are the key questions when it comes to that coverage.

First off, what’s the access going to be like? It’s hard to imagine a reporter from Gannett (or anywhere) is going to have special access to Swift herself for exclusive interviews.

If that’s the case, what is going to be unique about West’s coverage? What is West going to give us that is special? What is West going to give us that we can’t get from other news outlets and the myriad Swift fan sites that reveal information and insight that Swifties vigorously consume? Do a Google search on “Taylor Swift Fan Sites” and look at some of the impressive work that comes up.

Or do a Google News search and read the dozens of stories from just the past couple of days, including a Harper's Bazaar story of Swift having a New York City girls’ night out with Selena Gomez, Sophie Turner, Cara Delevingne, Gigi Hadid and Brittany Mahomes, a New York Times story about record sales of her ‘1989’ rerecording and an E! story about her relationship with football player Travis Kelce.

So where does Gannett and West fit into all of this?

Assuming West won’t have access to Swift, will he have access to those who have access to Swift?

Ben Goad, the Tennessean news director who will be West’s direct boss, told Willman, “This is not a traditional ‘we’re going to write three print stories a week and draw a paycheck’ type of beat. He’s going to be on video, going to be on social, going to be interacting with Swifties, and going to be out and about at tour stops, on red carpets, at the CMAs, wherever people are enjoying or reflecting on who Taylor Swift is. There’s no shortage of things to write. You know, it’s not unprecedented to have somebody (dedicated to covering) someone who’s a Senate candidate, or an athlete, like when LeBron James goes to Miami and has people just covering him. So I think there’s precedent for it. But also, I think, we’re taking a pretty bold step here, and I’m very optimistic for how it’s going to turn out.”

Using Goad’s comparison to covering someone such as LeBron James, it’s true that many who cover James don’t have direct access to him. (Although many do, and James regularly is available for questioning in press conferences.) But those who can’t talk to James one-on-one build sources from those close to him. And you do get the sense West is not only going to write about Swift, but the worlds that orbit her. That seems like a smart plan.

The other big question is: Who is the target audience? Who, exactly, is going to look at the pieces West produces?

There’s nothing wrong with trying to attract the general USA Today reader who is interested in Swift’s career but doesn’t know the lyrics of every or any song. But this new beat seems geared towards Swifties. The challenge is giving something new to those who already have their go-to sources for everything Taylor and still want more. It’s going to be up to West to find that “more,” even if that “more” isn’t always pretty.

Tell you this much, I can’t wait to see it.

One more note …

Apparently, Gannett had hundreds of applicants for this Taylor Swift job.

Michael Anastasi, editor of the Tennessean and Gannett’s vice president of local news, told Willman, “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 … and of course there were a number of fans who just were following their dreams and hoping to win the lottery.”

Wait, “one very established White House reporter?”

Please, we must know that name.

The latest notable journalism covering the war between Israel and Hamas

• For The New York Times, Ameera Harouda, Maria Abi-Habib and Abu Bakr Bashir with “As Gaza Hospitals Collapse, Medical Workers Face the Hardest Choices.”
• Semafor’s Max Tani with “Satellite companies are restricting Gaza images.”
• Nabih Bulos, a Los Angeles Times special correspondent, with “Gaza diary: What life is like under daily airstrikes, blackouts and scarcity.”
• For The Atlantic, Michael Walzer with “Even the Oppressed Have Obligations.”

Pulitzer Prize update

The Pulitzer Prizes have done a good job in recent years changing with the ever-shifting media landscape. Case in point: adding a category for Audio Reporting in 2020.

Now it is making another change to better reflect today’s journalism. The Pulitzer Prize Board announced Monday that it is expanding eligibility for its journalism awards to digital news sites operated by broadcast and audio organizations.

That means outlets such as, say, NBC News, CNN and NPR are now eligible for Pulitzer Prizes. However, the board made sure to emphasize: “Entries from these organizations should rely essentially on written journalism.”

That doesn’t mean entries cannot include some video or audio, but the bulk of the entry must be the written word.

Pulitzer administrator Marjorie Miller said, “The Board made this change to open the door to more digital news sites that are doing important written investigative, enterprise and breaking news work. Although video may be part of the entry, these are not awards for broadcast journalism.”

In recent years, Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded to news publications that did use video and audio to supplement their coverage. For example, The New York Times won the 2021 Public Service Pulitzer for coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. The winning entry included video work, as well as an episode of “The Daily” podcast.

This now allows news outlets that primarily are broadcast organizations (either visual or audio or both) to also be considered, as long as the nominated work is essentially the written word.

A new Post

 

Catching up on news that broke over the weekend: Will Lewis, former chief executive at Dow Jones and former publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has been named chief executive of The Washington Post.

The Post made the announcement after it was first reported by The New York Times. Before that, Puck’s Dylan Byers reported Lewis had interviewed for the job and appeared to be in the “catbird’s seat.”

In a statement, Post owner Jeff Bezos said Lewis is an “exceptional, tenacious industry executive whose background in fierce, award-winning journalism makes him the right leader at the right time.”

Lewis said he was “thrilled and humbled to be at its helm as both a media executive and former reporter.” He added, “Leading this bold media brand means building on my commitment to championing high-quality journalism and safeguarding our democratic values, while growing The Post’s business and advancing its impact to the next generation and beyond.”

Lewis told Post reporters Elahe Izadi and Karla Adam, “We’re going to expand. We’re going to get our swagger back. I know that right now is not our greatest time, but we’re going to grow again. And we’re going to get that confidence back and that swagger back. I can tell you that with absolute confidence.”

Lewis said this despite the Post announcing just last month that it was offering voluntary buyouts in the hopes of reducing staff by 240 employees.

Lewis has extensive experience in journalism.

“Still,” Izadi and Adam wrote in the Post, “Lewis’s hiring at The Post drew immediate curiosity across the media world because of his history working in the highly partisan British media world, and in particular with (Rupert) Murdoch, the billionaire who became a driving force in global conservative politics.”

Lewis will start his new job on Jan. 2, 2024.

The British are coming

Will Lewis is taking over as chief executive of The Washington Post. Mark Thompson recently took over as the big boss at CNN. And Emma Tucker became the first female editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal last December. What do all three have in common? They’re all British.

Axios’ Sara Fischer writes, “What to watch: Whether the British leadership will bring the sense of metabolism and grit often associated with the U.K. media to three of America’s most powerful legacy newsrooms. Already, Tucker has reportedly wondered, ‘What do they all do all day?’ when remarking about her new American colleagues.”

Debatable

The third Republican presidential debate is set for Wednesday night in Miami and will be aired on NBC and NBC News’ various streaming services. “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt and “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker will moderate, along with Hugh Hewitt, host of “The Hugh Hewitt Show” on Salem Radio Network.

Following the debate, NBC News Now anchors Tom Llamas and Hallie Jackson will anchor post-debate special coverage and analysis on NBC and NBC News Now live from Miami. And over on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow will lead special coverage beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern. Maddow will be joined by Nicolle Wallace, Ari Melber, Joy Reid, Chris Hayes, Lawrence O’Donnell and Stephanie Ruhle. Jen Psaki will lead coverage from midnight to 1 a.m.

I’ll have more thoughts on what to look for in the debate in Wednesday’s newsletter.

Media tidbits

• The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Cartwright writes about more revelations from Brian Stelter’s upcoming book on Fox News: “The Untold Story of How Jeanine Pirro Failed Up and Tucker Carlson Flunked Out at Fox News.”
• The Washington Post’s Paul Farhi with “‘Are you sitting down?’ The windfall that transformed NPR 20 years ago.”
• The New York Times’ Katie Robertson with “New York Times Writer Resigns After Signing Letter Protesting the Israel-Gaza War.”
• Writing for Nieman Lab, Andrew Donohue of the Voice of San Diego with “This is the beginning of the end for The San Diego Union-Tribune.”
• The Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins played in Germany on Sunday — a game that aired at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time (and 8:30 in Kansas City). According to Sports Business Daily’s John Ourand, the game in Kansas City drew a 94 share. That means 94% of all TVs turned on in Kansas City at the time were tuned into the game. That’s a ridiculously high number. I’ve been following TV ratings, particularly for sporting events, for a long time and have never heard of a 94 share for anything.

Hot type

• For ProPublica, Kitra Cahana and Searchlight New Mexico’s Ed Williams with “Here’s What Can Happen When Kids Age Out of Foster Care.”
• New Yorker contributing staff writer Ed Caesar with “The Kingpin Who Kidnapped Migrants for Ransom.”

More resources for journalists

• Hiring? Post jobs on The Media Job Board — Powered by Poynter, Editor & Publisher and America’s Newspapers.
• Poynter ACES Introductory Certificate in Editing (Online) — Enroll now.
• How to Improve Your Coverage of LGBTQ+ Communities (Webinar) — Start anytime.
• How Any Journalist Can Earn Trust (Self-directed course) — Enroll now.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].