Maureen "Mo" Ryan (born in 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'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' and the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. 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''.

Early life

Ryan grew up in both Chicago's South Side and

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Ryan graduated from

Chicago Heights Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed "The Heights". Geograp ...

Marian Catholic High School. In 1988, she graduated from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

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

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an 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 practice.

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. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...

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 An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...

. 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'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcast ...

'', ''

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

'',

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, ''

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

'', ''

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 rock. ...

'', 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 film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years. Over 80 women in the film 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.

Personal life

Ryan lives with her husband and son in Chicago.

Membership

* 2009-2015:

Peabody Awards The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

, Board of Jurors *

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

, Board Member

Selected works and publications

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

References

External links

* *
Maureen Ryan
''The Watcher'' at ''

''
Maureen Ryan
at ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Maureen 1966 births Living people American television journalists 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