LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: After much anticipation, the largest newspaper chain in the United States, Gannett, has finally revealed that Bryan West — a 35-year-old former Phoenix journalist — has been hired for the much sought-after position of Taylor Swift reporter at USA Today.
According to an earlier MEAWW story, West apparently relocated to Nashville to take the job, and he will be covering all things Swift out of the Tennessean's newsroom.
This year, the now-billionaire popstar broke records on her Eras Tour and made a $100 million movie about the same, which turned her into an economic force.
It, thus, makes sense that USA Today was searching for a full-time correspondent to follow Swift.
However, criticism began to arrive from Swift's fans as well as journalistic watchdogs before the 35-year-old West had the opportunity to submit his first report on his new beat.
Newsroom ethicists took issue with Bryan West's candid job application video
On Monday, November 6, Gannett revealed that West would take up a highly sought-after position as the organization's first-ever Swift correspondent.
This would cover all things pertaining to the global pop phenomenon for USA Today and Gannett's nationwide network of more than 200 other newspapers.
The criticism began pouring in shortly after Variety revealed that West had been hired on Monday. The report featured an interview with West that gave both Swifties and media ethicists cause for concern.
West, a former Phoenix TV news reporter, caused controversy when he declared himself to be “a fan of Taylor.” Several journalists questioned whether he could be unbiased about his new beat after hearing such a comment.
In a time when slanted entertainment reporting and traditional news reporting with an emphasis on objectivity were at odds, West admitted that he would have to sort of tread carefully.
In his application video, West stated, "I may be a big Swiftie, but I can report on Taylor objectively. I can tell you right now three songs that I can’t stand by her."
Meanwhile, Swift fans argued over whether he was a big enough Swiftie to win over their favorite celebrity. Some in both parties claimed that a woman would be a better fit for the position, per the New York Times.
Internet users disapprove of Bryan West's hiring, calling it 'dumb move'
Besides the heresy of a Swiftie denying the absolute genius of every Swift song, several individuals have turned to X (formerly Twitter) to voice their disapproval of a man being appointed to the position.
Documentary filmmaker Ben Crew tweeted, "A 35-year-old guy in an industry rife with lay-offs beating out hundreds of women to become the official reporter on a pop star sounds like a '90s Hugh Grant movie where it's revealed over a record scratch in the trailer that he actually knows nothing about the pop star."
One online user wrote on X, "Well fire him. he doesn’t even get song titles right"
A second user mocked the decision of hiring a man to cover Taylor Swift, saying, "I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man?"
"Hiring a man to cover Taylor Swift. Dumb move @USATODAY," said another one.
One more wrote, "Paying a man a salary to obsess over a woman when women have been doing it better and for free for years is so classic lmfaooo"
Journalist and editor Ben Goggin also wrote on X, "The problem with the Taylor Swift reporter hire is that Gannet hired a full stan, rather than someone who is capable of being critical of one of the most powerful people in pop culture."
The online disagreement went on with another one explaining, "This is nothing on Bryan West, but @USATODAY choosing a man to be the full time Taylor Swift reporter feels like a huge step backwards in the year of the Barbie movie. Taylor Swifts fandom is inclusive but for them to pick a man over women feels like they’ve never heard 'The Man'.
One more added, "Late to this, but my main thought on the Taylor Swift correspondent is it's very weird to hire a massive fan of a specific person to lead the coverage of that person, apply the same approach to any other area of journalism and it looks deeply unserious."
Political reporters, bloggers, and influencers had all applied
Some believed that Gannett's September job posting, which included a Beyoncé reporter position, was a publicity stunt and that the magazine was not really looking for a qualified journalist for the position.
A journalist with the ability to "capture the music and cultural impact of Taylor Swift" was sought after in the application.
It was published at a time when Swift was still making news for all the right reasons, including her enormously popular Eras Tour and the latest rumors about her romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Michael Anastasi, vice president of local news at Gannett, told Variety that hundreds of applications were received for the position, including from seasoned news reporters and a White House beat reporter.
Anastasi added that the applicants "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…"
"But what we ended up with was someone who I think has the great balance between being a veteran journalist who has serious news chops and someone who understands everything about Taylor’s world and the universe that he’s stepping into," he continued.
West will be based in the Tennessean's newsroom and contribute to both USA Today and the chain's regional daily newspapers besides writing for Swift.
Ben Goad, the news director for The Tennessean and West's manager, told Variety that West will 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."
