By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Jan 05, 2023 at 7:17 PM

OnMilwaukee's The Future Is Female series is brought to you by Alverno College and features some of the most interesting, innovative and intelligent women in the city.

These days, Amy Taylor regularly appears on "The Morning Blend" and fills in as an anchor and reporter for AM620 WTMJ. But her career began as an anchor of an afternoon news radio station in Waukegan, Ill. Taylor later moved to television in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at KCRG-TV and covered "everything from turkey production to Mississippi River flooding."

Taylor attended Loyola University Law School in Chicago while anchoring and reporting for CLTV-News and working at CNN-TV as a news producer. She then accepted a job at WTMJ-TV where she anchored the morning news and joined a radio show which became "Reitman, Mueller and Amy Taylor, too."

In 2004, Taylor and her husband welcomed triplets: Tess, Jillian, and Chloe, who sometimes come up in her lighter on-air commentary.

"Throughout my experience as a mother, I've continued to work as a freelancer, appearing on radio and television in Milwaukee, writing and producing videos, working in public relations and marketing, and fundraising for the arts," says Taylor.

OnMilwaukee: What do you do professionally and how does this connect with who you are personally?

I am a fill-in anchor and reporter on AM620 WTMJ. I write, report, and edit the news on Wisconsin’s Morning and Afternoon News when they need me. This relates to who I am personally because I have spent many years in this market as a news anchor, primarily at WTMJ-TV. I have a great passion for the truth, justice and critical thinking, and still view bringing impartial news to people as an important mission in life.

I also love to laugh and mix it up during the light and funny stories and share my life experiences with my co-workers, John Mercure and Greg Matzek, two of the nicest, funniest people ever, and the audience, that I treasure and respect for giving us their time and attention. That makes the job fun!

Plus, being on the radio is a lot less hassle for a woman. I don’t have to worry about hair, makeup and clothes. I also occasionally fill in on “The Morning Blend” on WTMJ-TV with my great colleagues Molly Fay and Tiffany Ogle. I treasure my enduring relationships in media.

If you had a magic wand, what is one thing you would instantly change about Milwaukee?

If I could change one thing about Milwaukee it would be to make it less racially segregated. The physical separation of the races that occurred after World World 1 still negatively impacts Milwaukee today.

How do you fight the patriarchy in your own way?

I work with my colleagues on salary transparency, and I try politely to discover pay ranges by discussing pay with them. Not everyone likes this approach certainly, so I reserve it for my closest and most trusted friends in the business. I’m aware that some men in this media market make more money than women, and if we are transparent about it with each other, we can be compensated on a more equal basis. I also am very supportive of men who support women! We women know right away who those men are.

If you made a soundtrack for your life, what would a few of the songs be?

"It Had to Be You” performed by Frank Sinatra. My husband Jason is the one it had to be! He changed everything for me, and we have made a great life together.

“Little Wonders” Rob Thomas. I love the message of this song and it’s about seizing the moments of life while you can. Our three girls, Tess, Jillian and Chloe, my triplets, are my little wonders, now grown, this song means more now than ever. “Our lives are made in these small hours, these little wonders, these twists and turns of fate/Time falls away, but these small hours, these small hours still remain. It’s the heart that really matters in the end.” Triplets were a major twist and turn of fate.

What is your secret (or not-so-secret) superpower?

My secret superpower is being velvet on the outside and steel on the inside. My dad used to always say he thought people got the wrong impression of me, that I was a person who they could walk over, or take advantage of, but the truth is I’m made of tough stuff, and I know that inside I have a great sense of who I am and my own ethics and strength.


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.