TAYLOR'S HOLE IN THE WEB
MY CREDENTIALS
AT A GLANCE.......
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Born: March 4, 1947
Educated: University of Missouri School of Journalism (BJ 1969)
First Job: Lawnmower mechanic (age 12-18)
First News Job: Reporter for The Flint (Michigan) Journal (1969-1971)
Second News Job: Reporter for The Houston Post (1971-1980)
Third News Job: Self-employed freelance journalist (1980-1997)
Fourth News Job: Deputy Editor at Reed-Elsevier's Chemical News & Intelligence (1997-2004)
Fifth News Job: Senior Writer for McGraw-Hill's Platts Oilgram News (2004-2012)
Retirement: June 2012-????
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HONORS and AWARDS
1969: University of Missouri Walter Williams Award--given annually to the "outstanding writer" in the class
1976: Pulitzer Prize nominee for stories that freed an aged inmate from prison
1978: UPI Texas Enterprise Reporting Award for expose of police abuse in Jacinto City, Texas
2000: Press Club of Houston first and second place awards for internet-based, industry-specific hard news reporting
2010: McGraw-Hill Corporate Achievement Award for coverage of the BP Macondo oil spill
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I spent the last 15 years of my career covering business stories in the chemical and oil industries. In 2010, while employed as a senior writer for McGraw-Hill's Platts Oilgram News, I served as the lead reporter for coverage of the disastrous BP-Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Other duties for both Platts and earlier at Chemical News & Intelligence included analysis of business strategies by companies in those industries, coverage of financial results, profiles on corporate leadership and announcements on technological breakthroughs as well as oilfield discoveries.
During the freelance years (1980-1997) I worked exclusively under contract for a variety of publications while also crafting stories for other publications on special assignments. The regulars included:
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​The National Law Journal (1986-1997): Texas correspondent with responsibility for coverage of Texas legal events for this weekly newspaper, the largest for lawyers in the United States.
The Journal of Commerce (1985-1997): Houston stringer with responsibilities for coverage of port, maritime, international trade, chemical and energy businesses for this daily international newspaper.
Money Magazine (1983-1997): Houston correspondent with responsibility for coverage of financial and consumer affairs for this monthly Time-Life publication.
AAPG Explorer (1981-1997): Texas correspondent with responsibility for coverage of energy exploration at this official monthly publication of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Time-Life News Service (1981-1986): Houston stringer with regular weekly assignments for Time Magazine.
Southwest Spirit (1984-1988): Business columnist for this monthly in-flight publication for Southwest Airlines.
Austin American-Statesman (1989-1992): Weekly Houston business columnist for this Austin daily newspaper.
Houston Metropolitan Magazine (1989-1992): Business columnist for this monthly Houston city magazine.
Southwest Racquetball and Houston Home Improvement Guide (1980-1983): Managing editor for these two local, monthly publications, writing all stories and supervising production.
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​Also during the freelance years, my byline appeared often on features in these publications
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The New York Times Texas Sports Healthweek Southwest Spirit Time Houston City Muse Air Monthly Business Month USA Today Salt Texas Business Institutional Investor Newsday Guest Informant International Business Plants, Sites & Parks Fortune Discover Cuisine Houston Metropolitan Magazine The Dallas Times Herald Vacations Genetic Engineering News Southern Living Compute PC Today ComputerLand Westward Wireless Week NG Magazine On Patrol The Houston Press
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NEWSPAPER STAFF REPORTING DETAILS
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As a reporter for The Houston Post, duties included covering nearly every facet of news in Houston at one time or another. Beats included police (1971-1973), county government and civil courts (1973-1975), Texas Department of Corrections (1972-1976), general assignment (1975-1977) and state criminal courts (1977-1980). Investigative work included stories that:
• prompted the release from prison of an aged convict in 1976 and generated a Pulitzer Prize nomination.
• exposed problems in the system for court-appointed attorneys before computerized records made oversight a routine task (1978 and 1979).
• exposed brutality in the Jacinto City police force (1979) and earned the UPI Enterprise Reporting Award for that year.
Major breaking news events coverage included:
• The murder of Dr. John "Blood and Money" Hill (1972).
• Siege of the Huntsville prison (1974).
• Vice presidential debates (1976).
• Trial of officers in the Joe Torres death (1977).
• Capital murder conspiracy trial of millionaire T. Cullen Davis (1978).
• Second trial of mass murderer Elmer Wayne Henley (1979).
• Explosion of the Goodpasture Grain Elevator (1976).
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As a reporter for The Flint Journal in Flint, Michigan, from 1969-1971, duties included coverage of all state and federal court activities plus a variety of feature writing assignments.
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