Alden Taylor became known in the 1970s and ‘80s for his steady news presence in Indiana. He attended Wabash College and transferred to Indiana State University where he worked at WISU, the student station.
In Terre Haute, he began as a young DJ and newscaster at WAAC-AM before moving to WBAK, WTHI Radio and ultimately to WTHI-TV.
He met his future wife, Anita Wells, a reporter and anchor for WBOW, at the press club. They continued to cross paths at news conferences until they caused a fairly big to-do in the Terre Haute news scene by getting married in 1981.
The night their daughter was born, he covered the trial of a murdered police officer with an 11 p.m. in-studio report and then raced over to the hospital in time for Anita to deliver baby Abigail at 4 a.m.
Taylor became public information officer at the Indiana State Emergency Management Association in 1990 and worked the sites of tornadoes, floods and aviation accidents. He connected county workers and volunteers to the media for successful communications and was integral in the “Call 6 for Help” and IRIS initiatives. He handled the major story Halloween night of 1994 when an American Eagle plane crash killed 68 people.
After working under three governors, Taylor returned to his broadcasting roots as an assignment editor for WTHR-TV in Indianapolis. With stints at Network Indiana and at WFYI, Taylor was the consummate family man, figuring out how to shuttle daughter Abby to ballet every weekday for seven years.
Known for his gourmet meals, dinner at the Taylor house was a sought-after invitation, especially if Alden’s specialty Chinese dumplings were on the menu.
Alden’s other awards have included a 1984 Associated Press award for news coverage of a Sullivan, Indiana train wreck and a 2002 Award of Excellence for emergency communications.
Alden Taylor passed away in 2020.
