Taylor Rooks: Emcee, Interviewer, and Host for Your Next Event
Emmy Award-nominated sports journalist TAYLOR ROOKS is an acclaimed interviewer whose probing questions give rise to some of today’s most pressing discussions beyond the game. Praised in a profile by the New York Times: “Taylor Rooks gets the interviews that go viral,” Rooks leverages her expertise in asking candid questions that lead to revelatory conversations as an emcee, interviewer, or host for your next event.
Sports Journalism: Getting to the Heart of It
Emmy Award-nominated sports journalist TAYLOR ROOKS is the Host and Executive Producer of Take It There With Taylor Rooks, her interview show for Bleacher Report, and a rising star in sports media. Known for probing questions give rise to some of today’s most pressing discussions beyond the game, Rooks shares anecdotes from broadcasting through historic NBA seasons and her perspective about how to ask the necessary questions that makes her one of the best interviewers in sports media, offering powerful takeaways for every audience.
Taylor Rooks is featured in the Sports Illustrated “100 Influential Black Women in Sports” series
Acclaimed sports journalist TAYLOR ROOKS has made a major impact on sports media, and this is only the beginning. Having conducted nearly 15,000 interviews since she started her career in 2012, many of which were with big name athletes such as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Candice Parker, Rooks has received glowing praise from The New York Times, which wrote: “Taylor Rooks gets the interviews that go viral.” For the success of her work, the Host and Executive Producer of Take It There with Taylor Rooks has been featured in the Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx series “Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.” An inspiring profile explored her career journey, her motivations, and what makes her reporting so special: “In an industry where success is measured by access and exclusives, Rooks is applying pressure, without even trying.” Sharing a spot alongside icons such as Venus Williams and Cari Champion, Rooks has demonstrated that she is not only dominating sports media in the present, but will continue to do so for a long time to come. As Rooks says herself: “I’m just getting started.”
Taylor Rooks to emcee her alma mater’s summit for the 50th Anniversary of Title XI
As one of the foremost journalists and broadcasters in sports media today, TAYLOR ROOKS is the perfect choice to emcee her alma mater’s summit for the 50th Anniversary of Title XI. The event, which celebrates the progress women have made in sports since the passage of the landmark bill, is themed “How it Started… How it’s Going.” The Emmy-nominated Host and Executive Producer of Take It There with Taylor Rooks represents the peak of sports journalism, and serves as an inspiration to many. In a powerful interview with Business Insider, which heralded her as “one of the best in the business,” Rooks shared what it means to have found success as a young Black woman in a space overwhelmingly dominated by white men: “Those things are what makes me good at the job… It means a lot to me to tell the stories that are meaningful and to also offer a perspective that is just as important as everyone else in the room.” Rooks, who has been praised in a profile by the New York Times: “Taylor Rooks gets the interviews that go viral,” has broken barriers and established herself at the top of sports media for her daring questions and revelatory conversations with some of sports’ biggest stars. A gifted emcee and host, the University of Illinois alumna will return for their event later this fall.
Taylor Rooks is an acclaimed sports journalist and interviewer whose probing questions give rise to some of today's most pressing discussions beyond the game. She hosts the Take It There With Taylor Rooks interview show for Bleacher Report, among other duties for Turner Sports. A New York Times profile of Taylor praised her for conducting some of the NBA's most impactful interviews during her two months living inside the NBA bubble during the COVID season. She is able to read the moment and the player to get at the emotions behind the game. Previously, she worked as a host, reporter, and correspondent for the Big Ten Network and as a sideline reporter for CBS Sports Network. A native of Georgia, Taylor attended the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, where she majored in broadcast journalism and reported on football and basketball recruiting for scout.com. She made national news with her stories and knowledge of basketball—specifically in recruiting. Rooks broke multiple stories regarding Cliff Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Quentin Snider, Aaron Jordan, Charles Matthews, and Jayson Tatum. Rooks comes from a family of athletes. Her father is former football player Thomas Rooks, while her uncle is legendary MLB Hall of Famer, Lou Brock. Taylor is also the niece of former Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints NFL player, Marv Woodson.
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