Taylor Mirfendereski is an investigative reporter at KING 5. She specializes in longform reporting and multimedia digital projects that combine text, photos, video and graphics.
Taylor's stories have uncovered many wrongs, including the mistreatment of Washington state foster youth, the violation of special education laws, the punishment of soldiers dealing with the mental stress of combat, and needless separations of children from their parents. Her investigations have prompted public policy changes and created new state laws. In 2023, the Washington state legislature passed "Kimberly Bender's Law" in response to Taylor's 2022 series, "Predator on Guard." The law raised the penalties for sexually abusive corrections officers.
Taylor's multimedia digital projects about subjects like racial identity, recidivism and sex trafficking showcase her commitment to building deep relationships with people in the community and capturing powerful details about their experiences. In 2020, Taylor helped to launch and execute Facing Race, a 13-week series about race, social injustice and racial inequality in the Pacific Northwest. She worked on the Peabody Award-winning series as a reporter, producer, photojournalist and content editor.
Taylor's work has garnered some of the country's most prestigious journalism awards, including two Peabody Awards, a Scripps Howard Award, two National Edward R. Murrow Awards and 11 regional Emmy Awards. In 2022, Taylor was named a duPont Columbia Awards finalist and an Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) finalist for her series, "After Hours: Fostering Chaos." In 2023, she was nominated for a national Emmy award for her series, "COVID Exemptions for a Price." The National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA) has twice recognized Taylor's work in its Best of Photojournalism contest, including a first place award in 2021 for investigative video photojournalism. Taylor's reporting was also recognized in the the 2019 Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) awards competition. Taylor has been listed among America's best young journalists as a Livingston Award finalist two times.
Prior to joining the KING 5 team in July 2016, Taylor worked as a digital reporter at WCPO in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she exclusively produced in-depth, enterprise news stories for WCPO.com and WCPO-TV. In 2014, she embedded with U.S. military troops in Afghanistan to cover the local impact of America's longest war.
Taylor is an Iranian-American from the Midwest. She graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, but she had her eyes set on a journalism career long before college. At age 11, she recorded this video professing her dream to become a reporter. Ever since she became one, she's been dedicated to helping other journalists succeed in this craft. As a long-time member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Taylor served three terms on SPJ's national board of directors. She currently serves as a board member for SPJ's Western Washington Pro chapter.
In her spare time, she enjoys hiking Washington trails, indoor cycling and spending time with her dog, Charlie.
Got a confidential tip? Email Taylor at tmirfendereski@king5.com, reach her on Signal at 206-348-4106 or fill out this form to reach all of the KING 5 Investigators. You can keep up with Taylor's reporting by following her on Twitter @taylormirf and connecting with her on Facebook.
