Under Fire

April Ryan has been a White House correspondent for the American Urban Radio Networks since the Clinton administration. In addition she can be seen almost daily as a political analyst for CNN. She has been featured in Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle magazines as well as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Politico, to name a few, and has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Anderson Cooper 360, Hardball, Meet the Press, and many other television news programs. She is the 2017 National Association of Black Journalists Journalist of the Year. She is also a 2019 Freedom of the Press Award Winner for 2019 by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Ryan resides in Baltimore, Maryland.

• ForewordAcknowledgments IntroductionChapter 1: The RebukeChapter 2: Healthcare DespairChapter 3: Becoming the StoryChapter 4: Twitter TroubleChapter 5: Enemy of the PeopleChapter 6: Examining the Black AgendaChapter 7: Education for All?Chapter 8: Divided NationsChapter 9: Women at WorkIndexAbout the Author

There are times in history when having a government backstage pass might’ve been boring, or academically interesting, or perhaps just pretty cool. But April Ryan, a 21-year veteran White House reporter, is there now, at an absolutely atypical and ever-changing time, with a front row seat to this mess. Well, technically, she sits in the third row, “smack in the middle.” Ryan’s writing is conversational and accessible while also displaying impressive depth of knowledge and access. She provides, for instance, some context behind blundering generalizations made by the 45th president about healthcare, quoting not only from conversations she’s had with a senator the prez said refused to meet with him, but also from scholarly texts about health disparities for different races and socio-economic groups in the United States. Sometimes pointing the spotlight, occasionally in it, Ryan very apparently values truth—seeking it and telling it. This book gives perspective on our most recent presidential election and, though timely, will still be providing valuable insights for years to come.