The first alarm goes off at 1:30am for Brandon Taylor, morning news anchor at WKOW TV’s Wake Up Wisconsin. In the studio by 3:00am and on the air by 4:30am. The morning is fast paced and he’s off the air at 9:00am.
But sometimes it’s too faced paced. Like last Monday, as the reports from the Las Vegas shooting kept getting worse and worse through the morning. He didn’t get a chance to process the tragedy until he caught his breath at 11:30am.
“One of the reasons that I love doing the morning show is because it’s usually light news,” he said. “But Monday was different.”
Taylor offered an insider’s perspective on the newsroom to attendees at the Stonecraft Couples Dinner that was held at the Radisson Hotel on Saturday evening. Stonecraft is an 80-year-old national ministry that has three groups in the Madison area that focus on Bible study. “The Bible studies are designed to help you discover, understand, and apply biblical truth to your life,” said Barbara Hoffner, who hosted the evening along with her husband Tom.
Taylor grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. Inspired by his parents, both avid consumers of newspaper and broadcast news, he got involved in broadcasting at the age of ten on the state’s educational television network. (His mom still watches his show every morning over the internet.)
He enjoys television news because “every day is different and I get to meet people and learn their stories.” He worked in two different Carolina newsrooms following graduation from Winthrop University but then stepped away from the news business to be Director of Youth Ministry at First United Methodist Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Youth ministry had been formative in his own life as he grew up, and he enjoyed the four years he spent at Youth Ministry Director. But television called him back, and that’s how he ended up in Madison at WKOW.
Working in a colder climate was an adjustment. And spending the first couple years in Madison without a church home also took a toll. So now he’s continuing his TV news anchor job but also leading a local youth group that he meets with every Tuesday evening. “I get energy from the young people; they inspire me,” he said.