Gannett has found its full-time Taylor Swift reporter in Bryan West, an Arizona journalist with a passion for all things Swift. West told Variety how his journalistic background—“going to Northwestern, winning awards, working in newsrooms across the nation”—gave him the professional credentials needed to obsessively cover the pop star. West moved to Nashville and will work out of The Tennessean’s newsroom, Gannett confirmed to Variety. The paper also brushed aside any criticism over its hiring of a Swift (and, soon, a Beyoncé) reporter, saying the loss of some jobs didn’t mean new ones shouldn’t be created. West’s Swiftie bonafides were on display in his application video, which was set to the singer’s fan-inspired anthem “Long Live.” “I would say this position’s no different than being a sports journalist who’s a fan of the home team,” West told Variety. “We were very pleased with the caliber of the pool that we had,” Tennessean editor Michael Anastasi said. “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.”
