Former Associated Press Sports Editor Terry Taylor dead at 71

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Terry Taylor, trailblazing Associated Press sports editor, dies at age 71

Terry R. Taylor, who in two trailblazing decades as the first female sports editor of The Associated Press transformed the news agency’s emphasis into multilayered coverage of rigorous reporting, entertaining enterprise and edgy analysis, has died.

apnews.com

RIP to a legend at the Associated Press.

“Terry was truly a trailblazer in journalism, paving the way for so many women to ascend into leadership, both in sports departments and throughout the industry,” said Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of the AP. “Her legacy at AP has been an enduring one, and that will no doubt continue.”

Taylor ran the AP sports department from 1992 until 2013 and believed she was on duty close to 24 hours a day. She arrived in the office around 10 a.m. most weekdays, usually staying until 7 or 8 p.m. and then remained constantly on the phone until West Coast night games ended — or even all night when the America’s Cup sailing took place in Australia. She led the AP’s coverage of 14 Olympics.