April Ryan

On July 11, 2019, she was inducted as an honorary member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

Ryan gave the keynote speech at the NJ Parent Summit, held on August 3, 2019 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Before she began her speech, she ordered a local journalist, Charlie Kratovil of New Brunswick Today, to remove his camera, despite the presence of other press cameras recording the event. Kratovil refused, so Ryan, while at the lectern, talked to her bodyguard, then told the crowd, "When I speak, I do not have news covering my speeches." Her bodyguard, Joel Morris, violently ejected Kratovil; he was subsequently charged with harassment, assault and theft in connection with the incident. In an August 25 interview, Ryan stated that she was unaware of the incident as it was happening, and that she "did not order anyone to do anything". She also said that Morris no longer worked for her. Media critic Erik Wemple of The Washington Post criticized Ryan's explanation of the incident as "lame excuses".

At an April 2018 White House press conference, Ryan asked whether or not Trump has considered resigning, which drew the ire of White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who called Ryan's question "absolutely ridiculous." Ryan said she subsequently received death threats and hired a bodyguard.

Ryan is a graduate of Morgan State University with a B.S. in broadcast journalism, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from her alma mater in 2017. Ryan also holds an honorary doctorate from Claflin University. She began her media career as a jazz disc jockey before turning to reporting.

Following the election of President Donald Trump, Ryan participated in exchanges with him and his press secretary Sean Spicer. At a February press conference, when Trump began talking about "inner city places" and urban crime, she asked him if he planned to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). He responded by telling her to set up the meeting with them before asking, "Are they friends of yours?" Ryan responded that she was only a reporter and not a member of the CBC. In March 2017, Spicer accused her of having an agenda when she asked about Trump's ties with Russia and then berated her for shaking her head.

As one of the few African Americans in the White House press corps, Ryan frequently asks questions on issues concerning minorities and has made statements suggesting that she resents that other journalists do not ask such questions as often. She said in an interview in May 2017: "Why can't the dynamic of all people be in that room? Why can't it be? All people are covered under the White House. Am I correct? So I really dislike that, but I have no qualms with it. If you want to call me a black reporter, I am the black reporter who also asks other issues and questions on China, Russia, Syria, North Korea. So if you want to label me a black reporter, I take it with a badge of honor." Explaining the utility of diversity in the White House press corps, Ryan says "I remember many years ago, George W. Bush said we need more minorities in there because you don’t hear a lot of the issues unless it’s coming from a person of a certain background. When you’re not at the table, you often don’t hear stories that are in your community."

In May 2017, the National Association of Black Journalists named Ryan as the "Journalist of the Year".

Her first book, The Presidency in Black and White: My Up-Close View of Three Presidents and Race in America, was published in 2015 and won an NAACP Image Award. Her second book, At Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White, was published in 2016. Her work has also appeared in Politico. Her blog, Fabric of America, is devoted to minority issues and stories in the United States.

Ryan has been a member of the White House press corps for American Urban Radio Networks since January 1997. She is a member of the National Press Club and is one of only three African Americans to have served on the board of the White House Correspondent's Association.

April Danielle Ryan (born September 5, 1967) is an American Correspondent and author. Since 1997, she has served as a White House correspondent and is the Washington, D.C., bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks. In 2017, she joined CNN as a political analyst. In May 2017, the National Association of Black Journalists named Ryan as the "Journalist of the Year".