Maureen "Mo" Ryan (born 1966) is an American film and television critic, writer and reporter. From 2000 to 2018, she was a TV critic at the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'' and the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. From 2015 to 2018, Ryan was the chief TV critic for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''. Ryan is currently a contributing editor at '' Vanity Fair''. Her book ''Burn It Down: Power, Complicity and a Call For Change in Hollywood'' was released on June 6, 2023.

Early life and education

Ryan grew up in both Chicago's South Side and

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Ryan graduated from Chicago Heights Marian Catholic High School. In 1988, she graduated from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

with a double major in psychology and English. In 1993, Ryan received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism (branded as Northwestern Medill; formally the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications) is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

Career

From 1994 to 1998, Ryan edited and was chief contributor of the Chicago indie music zine, ''Steve Albini Thinks We Suck''. In 1992, Ryan began working at the ''

''. From 1997 to 2000, Ryan was an arts and entertainment editor, writer, and reporter. From 2000 to 2010, Ryan became the TV critic at the ''Trib''. During her time there, Ryan created the ''Tribune's'' popular blog "The Watcher," which was nominated for an

Espy Award The ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-r ...

. From 2010 to 2015, Ryan worked at the ''

'' as a TV critic. In 2015, Ryan became the chief TV critic for ''

'', a position she held until 2018. In 2020, Ryan became a contributing editor at '' Vanity Fair''. Ryan has written for many publications including ''

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (''B&C'', or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') was a telecommunications industry monthly trade magazine and, later, news website published by Future US. Founded in 1931 as ''Broadcasting'', subsequent mergers, acquisitions and ...

'', ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'',

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', among others.

#MeToo

In 2017, in the wake of #MeToo and the

Harvey Weinstein scandal In October 2017, ''The New York Times'' and ''The New Yorker'' reported that dozens of women had accused the American film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years. Over 80 women in ...

, Ryan revealed that she had been sexually assaulted in 2014 by a television executive, though for legal reasons she did not name him. Ryan said he was investigated after it happened, but continued to harass other women before he was hired by a different network. Ryan states this incident is what caused her two-month hiatus in 2015.

Membership

* 2009-2015:

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

s, Board of Jurors *

Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 American and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts appli ...

, Board Member

Selected works and publications

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Maureen 1966 births Living people American television critics American women television journalists Washington University in St. Louis alumni Medill School of Journalism alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Vanity Fair (magazine) people Variety (magazine) people Writers from Chicago Journalists from Illinois 20th-century American women journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women writers American women critics Women television critics