Merced County Times Newspaper - The Power of Positive Press
Native Mercedian Taylor Riggs is celebrating a personal milestone after a year of incredibly hard work, and a number of surprises, as one of the hosts of the popular FOX Business program “The Big Money Show.” Fortunately, Taylor was able to find some time out of her dense schedule to speak with the Times and reflect on 2023.
For those who need a refresher, or have yet to hear about it, the Big Money Show is an informative business focused series that covers important topics that range from daily life to high-stake investments. The show debuted on the FOX Business Network on Jan. 23, 2023, and is going strong. It features three lead hosts; Brian Brenberg, Jackie DeAngelis and Riggs. If you would like to keep up with The Big Money Show yourself, you can watch it Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. (1 p.m. EST) or visit their website for past episodes and other information: The Big Money Show.
“The first year was a lot of growth, discovery, and learning about each other,” Riggs says. “It’s a three person show and we had never met before. I think the first year was about building up a real friendship — a real relationship. Making sure that the three of us have fun together on air and develop chemistry. I think that the people at home want to watch a show and walk away learning something, but they also want to see people enjoying each other’s company and having fun. So, I think the first year really was making sure the three of us connected, bonded, had fun, shared in each other’s interests, learn about each other. And I think that the next year going forward will be just building on that, and honing our skills; what we really want to talk to the audience about, what interests us, and I think that we have done a great job. … It has been a really fun discovery year, fun journey with the three of us, and I feel the best has yet to come.”
Riggs went on to explain how grateful she is that she has been grouped together with people who are so hardworking, determined, and full of their own expertise. And, while on the subject, Riggs reflected on her appreciation for her quality leadership.
“I credit it to really good leaders here. They sought out a lot of different skill sets in each of of us, and really good leaders here somehow knew that if they put us together that something magical would happen. And, I think that we were tasked with trusting the process — trusting people who’s job it is to put people together, strangers together, and hope that magic happens. I am grateful that we have a good team here.”
In the past year, she has worked with and/or interviewed countless people in order to create and facilitate the best possible content for the air. Out of that time, when asked about her favorite moment, she discussed how exciting it was to be able to interview the Walmart CEO, Doug McMillon, and discuss their recent efforts to improve their company and employee quality of life.
Outside of work, life appears to be equally exciting and full of hard work. Somehow, on top of being the host of a brand-new show, Tayor was able to get married, complete two more marathons (bringing her grand total to 16) and giving birth to a healthy baby girl — which she carried at 19 weeks pregnant during her latest marathon in London.
When asked about how she feels about the public’s reception of the show thus far she has nothing but positive things to say.
“It’s been wonderful. You know, I came from Bloomberg, which I really cherish my time there, but it is a really niche platform with an audience of people in the financial industry. One big thing that I have loved about my time here at FOX in the last year has been broadening out that reach, the audience, and the types of conversations that we get to have. FOX News and FOX Business have an incredible platform and an incredible dedicated audience that watches. So, getting to hear feedback from them has been one of, I think, the biggest blessings that I have experienced before.”
She continued to offer her best advice for youth who are looking to succeed in their field. “If there is a message that I could give young Mercedians growing up is that I just worked harder than the people next to me. I read the Wall Street Journal every day. I applied for scholarships so that I could go back to school. People ask me what I do to prepare for the show, and I just read constantly — I’m reading every newspaper that I can get my hands on. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s doable — just outwork the person next to you. Another big message is just to say ‘yes’ and figure it out later. People always say, ‘Well, are you ready? Did you feel ready?’ and I said, ‘Probably not, but I just said yes, and I knew that I would figure it out.’ … If you have a good attitude, raise your hand, and show up, really good things can happen.
“I have such a deep love and appreciation for being raised in Merced. I love that it was a small town that kept me accountable, that had a community and church community that held me up and reminded me I was loved. I think that when I left to go pursue journalism in New York, I always had a little piece of that community at home, and I attribute a lot of my success to the foundation that was established there. When people say that they tuned in or they watched me, I feel that support from 3,000 miles away. So, I just want to thank my community for supporting me and giving me a wonderful foundation of which to grow, and I’m going to try to do you proud.”
Andrew Hardy works alongside of Mid Valley Publications as a contributor, covering events in both Merced and Stanislaus County.
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Established in 1964, Mid-Valley Publications (MVP) is an employee-owned group of five weekly community newspapers in Merced and Stanislaus counties. With the Merced County Times, Atwater-Winton Times, Hilmar Times, Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch, and Waterford News, we are one of the longest-standing publishers of local newspapers within these two counties.

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