Senior correspondent at Business Insider specializing in corporate accountability across retail, food, and entertainment sectors. Currently pursuing an MBA at Columbia University to enhance her financial analysis capabilities.
Prefers stories with:
- Documented financial trails (FDD filings, subsidy records)
- Multi-source whistleblower accounts
- Cross-industry implications
Avoid celebrity-focused pitches without structural analysis.
Kate Taylor has established herself as one of America's most tenacious investigative journalists through her work at Business Insider, where she serves as a senior correspondent. Over her decade-long career, she has developed a signature approach combining financial analysis with human-centered narratives about systemic corporate failures. Her reporting spans three distinct phases:
This 2024 profile dissects how the power couple navigates political divides while maintaining influence in tech and fashion circles. Taylor traces Kushner's Thiel Fellowship origins and Kloss' coding education initiative, contrasting their progressive public personas with family ties to Trump-era politics. Through 47 interviews with associates, she reveals how they've strategically distanced themselves from Jared Kushner's White House role while maintaining access to Democratic fundraising networks.
The article's significance lies in its blueprint for analyzing modern power dynamics where personal relationships intersect with venture capital and celebrity activism. Taylor employed financial disclosure analysis and spatial mapping of their social connections to create a 360-degree view of influence peddling in the digital age.
Taylor's 2022 exposé on Schneider's alleged abusive behavior toward child actors sparked industry-wide reforms. By combining HR documents with actor testimonies, she revealed how Schneider's hit-making ability shielded him from accountability. The piece led to Warner Bros. revising minor protection policies and inspired HBO's documentary series "Quiet on Set," where Taylor served as executive producer.
This work demonstrates her ability to reframe nostalgia-driven entertainment coverage into hard-hitting accountability journalism. She developed new sourcing techniques by contacting former crew members through LinkedIn and verifying their employment records against studio archives.
Taylor's 2021 deep dive into the sandwich chain's decline became a case study in franchise model failures. She analyzed 10 years of FDD filings to show how corporate profit strategies eroded franchisee margins. The article's "Chipotleization" thesis - arguing Subway prioritized rapid expansion over ingredient quality - has been cited in QSR industry analyses and MBA curricula.
Her methodology blended financial forensics with ethnographic research, including working undercover at a New Jersey franchise location. This hybrid approach has become a hallmark of her business reporting.
Taylor prioritizes stories exposing systemic exploitation in consumer-facing industries. Successful pitches should highlight:
- Whistleblower testimony + financial documentation
- Patterns across multiple locations/regions
Example: Her Brandy Melville investigation connected HR complaints from 3 continents to the CEO's unapproved architectural designs.
She seeks to demystify the "genius creator" narrative by examining institutional enablement. Effective angles:
- Follow-the-money trails between creative success and HR complaints
- Generational analysis of child star management
Her Schneider reporting used Nickelodeon's 1990s stock price fluctuations to contextualize executive inaction.
Taylor looks for stories that connect corporate strategy to frontline worker/franchisee experiences. Pitch components:
- Menu engineering's impact on labor conditions
- Real estate strategy analysis (e.g., Subway's proximity strategy)
Her McDonald's coverage revealed how dollar menu promotions increased drive-thru worker injuries.
"Fear isn't a stop sign. It's just a sign that you're stepping into something meaningful." - Taylor's Medium essay on investigative journalism
For "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," which adapted her Schneider investigation into a five-part docuseries. The nomination marked the first time a Business Insider journalist transitioned investigative reporting into Emmy-contending visual storytelling. Competed against Netflix/HBO productions with budgets 20x larger.
Won 2nd Place in Entertainment Investigative Reporting for exposing abuse allegations on "America's Next Top Model." Judges noted her innovative use of social media geotagging to verify contestant locations during alleged incidents.
National Association of Real Estate Editors recognized her investigation into Stefan Soloviev's inheritance-driven land acquisitions. Taylor traced how the real estate heir used agricultural subsidies to offset Manhattan development losses - a pattern overlooked by traditional real estate reporters.
Inside the relationship of billionaire venture capitalist Josh Kushner and model Karlie Kloss, the power couple with unconventional ties to Trump
Investigation into Dan Schneider's Nickelodeon empire inspires Emmy-nominated docuseries
Subway's downward spiral: How the sandwich chain lost its way
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Business, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
