April Ryan, the veteran White House reporter, has been hired to be White House correspondent and D.C. bureau chief for TheGrio.TV, the new network owned by Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group.
Ryan has been Washington, D.C., bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks since 1997. She also is a political analyst for CNN.
"Award-winning White House correspondent April Ryan is a phenomenal talent and brilliant political analyst,” said Allen. “We are very proud to have April join our rapidly-growing news organization with her vast relationships and experience.”
TheGrio.TV officially launches on Jan. 15, the start of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. It is being built on the digital over the air network Light TV, which Allen acquired from MGM in October and the TheGrio.com web property he acquired from NBCUniversal in 2016.
The new network will launch on the secondary signal of Fox-owned stations in 11 markets, representing 29.6% of the U.S. and 36.3% of African American households.
Rebranded as TheGrio.TV, the network will feature African-American focused content via over the air, cable, and streaming.
"It is a new era in our nation! Not only do we have new leaders, but it is a new season for me professionally, as well. After nearly 24 years, I am beginning a new chapter and bringing my political expertise to Byron Allen’s media company as well as continuing my work as a political analyst for CNN,” said Ryan. “I look forward to being the first-ever White House Correspondent and D.C. Bureau Chief for Allen Media and The Grio. It is also my welcomed pleasure to work alongside Mr. Byron Allen, one of the most-enterprising moguls in media today.”
