Drew Taylor

Journalist

Birmingham, Ala.

I currently work as an off-camera reporter and digital content producer for CBS 42, where I work on the website and assist reporters in editing and adding to their stories. I am interested in telling stories about people's lives and the communities they live in. I can be reached at drewtaylor3187@gmail.com or 205-478-2448.

Drew Taylor

Journalist

Birmingham, Ala.

Jessie Holmes left Alabama to search for his purpose. Over 4,000 miles away, he found it in the Iditarod
Profile of dog musher Jessie Holmes and the Iditarod.
CBS 42
Was an FBI informant involved in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing?
Story examining the life of Gary Thomas Rowe, his role as an FBI informant in white supremacist organizations, and questions regarding what he did or didn't know about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.
Joran van der Sloot admits to killing Natalee Holloway in wire fraud, extortion plea
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — After years of questions, Joran van der Sloot finally gave some answers. Van der Sloot, the 36-year-old Dutch man the world came to know as the main suspect in the death and disappearance of Natalee Holloway, pleaded guilty to wi
CBS 42
Sun Ra took his music from Birmingham to outer space. For the first time, his band is nominated for a Grammy
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — It was music for the 21st century. That’s the way Marshall Allen remembers pianist Sun Ra describing the music he wanted to make. It could seamlessly swing between jazz, the avant-garde, and a deafening caterwaul. That was in 195
CBS 42
COLUMN: My grandfather helped those injured in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. For years, I never knew.
This is an opinion column. “You’ve got McDowell legs.” I’ve heard that joke countless times from the family about my short legs, the same legs my “Grandaddy” had. I wish I had gotten more from him, though. Dr. Holt A. McDowell Jr. was as respected a man a
CBS 42
Autherine Lucy, UA's first Black student, discusses name added to hall alongside former KKK leader
This was the last longform interview that Autherine Lucy gave regarding her time as the first Black student at the University of Alabama, as well as controversy at the time of her name being shared with that of a KKK member at a school hall
CBS 42
Years before ‘Bad Santa’ launched him into stardom, Tony Cox was a boy from Alabama who kept the faith
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Tony Cox prayed. He had done quite a bit of it in his life. Growing up in the Black Belt, where there were many challenges for him as a little person standing at 3’6″, Cox had prayed he’d find his purpose. As an actor, he prayed
CBS 42
Jon Batiste and wife, Suleika Jaouad, discuss ‘unvarnished vulnerability’ at center of ‘American Symphony’
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — In one sense, 2022 should have been one of the best years of Jon Batiste’s life. Batiste, a New Orleans-born pianist and Oscar winner who came to national renown as the original musical director of “The Late Show with Stephen Col
CBS 42
‘He showed people the way they should live’: Alabama doctor from Florida condo collapse remembered for friendship, faith
UPDATE (7/8) — On July 7, Rabbi Yossi Friedman of Chabad of Alabama confirmed that the body of Gary Cohen had been recovered from a collapsed condo building in Surfside, Florida. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — “We’re still looking for a miracle.” Eyal Ron pref
CBS 42
Deontay Wilder: A man of many masks
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Everything is a deliberate choice for Deontay Wilder. That’s the way longtime bodyguard and personal assistant to the WBC heavyweight champion Chris Bates describes Wilder (42-0-1) and how he approaches every aspect of his career, from his training to what he wears to what he says to the press.
CBS 42
Olympic medalist hopes a win during World Games in Birmingham can bring ‘smile’ to Ukraine
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Stanislav Horuna shuffles down the hall outside the hotel bar, his sandals clacking against the tile. On this particular day, he’s carrying a copy of Daniel Kahnemann’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow” and wearing shorts and a tank top,
CBS 42
Philip D. Beidler, longtime Alabama professor whose experience in Vietnam influenced his writing, dies at 77
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Philip D. Beidler, a longtime English professor at the University of Alabama whose own experience in the Vietnam War served as the focus of several books about literature and art from the time, died Wednesday. He was 77. Beidler,
CBS 42
Timothy Leary at 100: How the counterculture icon got kicked out of the University of Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – Years before Richard Nixon called him “the most dangerous man in America,” Timothy Leary was already making trouble in Alabama. During the 1960s, Leary became an icon of the growing counterculture through his study and near-evang
CBS 42
John Prine’s love of Vulcan and the song he wrote about the Birmingham landmark before he died
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. For over 50 years, John Prine sang about everything from men returning home from war to what Heaven would be like to an angel that “flies from Montgomery.”. In Prine’s “The Lonesome Friends of Science” from his final album, “The Tree of Forgiveness,” Vulcan, the god of fire in Roman mythology, was a part of a celestial love triangle as a lover spurned.
CBS 42
What did Alabama not like on TV in 2021? The FCC has the answer
CONTENT WARNING: This is a sample of complaints people across Alabama made to the FCC in 2021 regarding what they saw on TV. Some of these comments may be insensitive or hurtful to readers. Reader discretion is advised. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — On Septem
CBS 42
The night many in Alabama believed the world was ending
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — It was after 7 p.m. on October 30, 1938 when phone operators began receiving calls about smoky fog that was creeping across Birmingham. In reality, the cloud was the result of several forest fires in the area, according to news r
CBS 42

About

Drew Taylor

Writing

Editing

Photography

Interviewing

Video

Social Media

Public Records Requests

FOIA

Podcast

I currently work as a reporter at The Tuscaloosa News, where I cover education and other beats in the West Alabama area.

Previously, I held reporting positions at the Montgomery Advertiser, the Opelika-Auburn News, and Geneva Newspapers, where I was managing editor of three weekly newspapers in Geneva County, Alabama. Throughout my career, I have covered public safety, courts, city government, public universities, sports and K-12 education. I have also covered lifestyle subjects like music, art and entertainment.

In college, I served as the administrative affairs editor at The Crimson White, the University of Alabama newspaper. My first job with The Crimson White was as an entertainment reporter, where I wrote music and theatrical reviews, as well as wrote about culture on campus and in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

As a writer, I am interested in expanding my horizons by writing on the human condition, both its highs and lows. As a journalist, I want to cover the ever-changing world that our society is involved in. As a professional, I am looking for like-minded people to share my vision.