April Ryan Named 2017 NABJ Journalist of the Year

It’s been an interesting year to be veteran White House reporter April Ryan. Between back-and-forths with President Donald Trump and his press secretary, Sean Spicer, and her generally excellent work, Ryan’s name has been in the spotlight pretty much since this administration made itself comfy in the White House.

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And now, in what is sure to be a breath of fresh air after all the tension brought on by the administration, the esteemed journalist, who works with American Urban Radio Networks, has been dubbed the National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year for 2017.

As the NABJ site notes, the annual award “recognizes a black journalist who has a distinguished body of work that has extraordinary depth, scope and significance to people of the African Diaspora.”

“April Ryan is a true trailblazer and truth seeker. She’s dogged and unapologetic about her pursuit of the story,” NABJ President Sarah Glover said in a press release. “In the White House press corps circle, where too few black women have been given an opportunity to report, April has excelled and persevered in spite of the many obstacles she has confronted. Her work has risen to the top.”

A 30-year veteran in the business, Ryan covers urban issues from the White House, offering her unique insight into racial issues and the political struggles of the nation’s last three presidents.

Ryan has also served on the board of the White House Correspondent’s Association and is one of only three African Americans in the association’s 103-year history to sit on its board. She is also a member of the National Press Club.

In 2016 she was presented with the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Trailblazer Award from the National Council of Negro Women.

This year’s NABJ award is just her latest accomplishment.

“It is wonderful to be honored by such an esteemed organization,” Ryan said in the press release. “I am humbled and honored. So many of these [NABJ] journalists do important work and I am so thankful they would think of me for this honor. It has been an amazing couple of months and you guys give me some wind to say ‘keep going.’”