We are thrilled to announce that Derrick Bryson Taylor, who has a sharp eye for breaking news ideas and popular culture, will be joining the Culture desk as a reporter.
Derrick will cover breaking news in pop culture and other arts, and will eventually take on weekends. His pieces will take the form of traditional articles as well as explainers, visual stories and other new formats.
Derrick comes from the Express desk in London, where he has been a news reporter for the past four years and has handled a vast array of hard news subjects. He has worked with Culture on covering Eurovision and the opening of a Tammy Faye Bakker musical. With the Special Projects team, he wrote about the Harlem Renaissance’s L.G.B.T.Q. history. As Patrick LaForge, the former Express editor, said, he also “has an eye for quirky features that readers love.” To that end, Derrick has interviewed couples who found romance during the pandemic, explained to readers the significance of a 700-year-old chair used for the coronation of King Charles III, shined a light on the intense and symbolic history of spring cleaning and attended a movie screening where dogs were more welcome than children.
“Derrick is brimming with ideas for our weekend coverage and is a pop culture omnivore,” said Sia Michel, Culture’s editor. “His curiosity and ability to write on seemingly any topic will be huge assets to our department.”
Michael Cooper, deputy Culture editor, adds: “With breaking news an ever-bigger part of our mandate, we couldn’t be more excited to welcome Derrick to the team. He’s coming off a great run in London, where he excelled at both breaking news and arts news — and sometimes breaking art news, as when he reported on a vandal who smashed a large Ai Weiwei sculpture in Bologna, Italy.”
Patrick hired Derrick, who worked as a reporter and news editor at Page Six from 2014 to 2019. “Derrick has been our overnight eyes and ears in London, waking up early to scour the competition and online sources for stories that have slipped through the cracks or broke as the U.S. went to sleep,” Patrick said. “He is incredibly fast and thorough. Express will miss his sly sense of humor, his collegiality and good sense.”
The former Express deputy Erin McCann, who worked closely with Derrick in London, agreed, calling him “Express’s secret weapon” since the desk expanded to London. “He has carried the lion’s share of breaking news day after day, setting New York up for success on hundreds of stories since then, often from a standing start, not that anyone could tell that from the outside. He’s one of the strongest breaking news reporters this newsroom has.”
A native of Richmond, Va., Derrick holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
We can’t wait to read more of Derrick’s work on the culture beat after he begins today. Please join us in welcoming him to the team.