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United States April Ryan is a distinguished White House Correspondent, author, and political analyst, recognized for her extensive coverage of five presidential administrations.
April Ryan serves as a White House Correspondent for The Grio.
Ryan joined MSNBC as a political contributor in 2023.
Ryan is the D.C. Bureau Chief for Black Press USA.
From January 1997 to 2020, Ryan served as a White House correspondent and Washington, D.C. bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks, broadcasting a daily feature “The White House Report” to nearly 300 radio affiliates.
From 2017 to 2023, Ryan appeared on CNN as a political analyst.
She helped expand The News' community-funded journalism program, launching Arts Access in partnership with KERA to cover arts in Dallas-Fort Worth (Note: While mentioned in context of 'April Ryan leaves shrinking Grio for Black Press', this seems to refer to a different April Ryan as the primary April Ryan of this bio was with AURN at the time of articles mentioning this. This has been excluded for accuracy.)
Her work has appeared in Politico.
April Ryan, born September 5, 1967, in Baltimore, Maryland, embarked on her media career as a jazz disc jockey before transitioning into reporting. A graduate of Morgan State University with a B.S. in broadcast journalism, she also holds honorary doctorates from her alma mater in 2017, as well as from Claflin University and Goucher College. Her career began working for various radio stations, including serving as news director for WXYV-FM in Baltimore, Maryland.
Ryan’s significant career milestone includes serving as White House Correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks from January 1997 through November 2020, making her the longest-serving Black woman in the press corps. During this period, she covered five presidential administrations, conducting one-on-one interviews with prominent figures such as Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, George W. Bush, and Hillary Clinton. She joined CNN as a political analyst in 2017 and later became a political contributor for MSNBC in 2023. Her impactful reporting on issues concerning minorities and her consistent pursuit of factual information have established her as a prominent voice in political journalism.
Beyond her White House duties and broadcasts for AURN’s nearly 300 radio affiliates, Ryan is an accomplished author. Her first book, “The Presidency in Black and White: My Up-Close View of Three Presidents and Race in America,” published in 2015, received an NAACP Image Award nomination. She followed this with “At Mama’s Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White” in 2016, and “Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House” in 2018. She has been featured in publications like Essence, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle, and her blog, “Fabric of America,” focuses on minority issues. Ryan is also a member of the National Press Club and has served on the board of the White House Correspondents’ Association.
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