Ann Tanner Taylor graduated from Chatham Hall (1954) and then attended Sweet Briar College for three years before transferring to UT and earning the bachelor’s degree with a major in English and minor in history in 1958. She was a member of Phi Mu Sorority. Following graduation, she began her newscasting career in Knoxville at WATE Radio and Television, first writing commercials, then moving to the station’s newsroom, and then doing on-air broadcasting. From 1969 to 1974, she served as a news anchor at WTOP Radio, an all-news radio station in Washington, DC, and then as a news coanchor for WTOP-TV, Channel 9. She then joined NBC News as a radio correspondent and delivered daily newscasts and features.
While at NBC, she covered such events as the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, the 1979 release of American hostages from Iran, Richard Nixon’s resignation, and the activities leading up to the Watergate trial. She also coanchored NBC’s News and Information Service. She joined National Public Radio in 1989, providing news updates on NPR’s award-winning newsmagazine All Things Considered. She was part of the team during NPR News’s coverage of September 11, 2001, and its aftermath—coverage that earned the network the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award Silver Baton, the Overseas Press Club 2001 Lowell Thomas Award, and the George Foster Peabody Award.
She was awarded a Gabriel Certificate of Merit by the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals for her NBC series highlighting positive stories in the news. She also received an American Women in Radio and Television Commendation for The Woman’s Program, a biweekly public affairs show. She received UT’s inaugural Notable Woman Award at the 1996 Charter Day banquet for her contributions to broadcasting and served as commencement speaker in May 2002.