Ryan Christopher Lizza
(born July 12, 1974) is an American journalist. His 2017 interview with White House Communications Director
Anthony Scaramucci
Anthony Scaramucci ( ; born January 6, 1964) is an American financier who briefly served as the White House Director of Communications from July 21 to July 31, 2017.
Scaramucci worked at Goldman Sachs's investment banking, equities, and priv ...
allegedly resulted in Scaramucci's dismissal.
Later that year, Lizza was accused of sexual misconduct in the context of the
Me Too movement
#MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...
. After a decade-long run as ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''s Washington correspondent, the magazine's internal review of the
allegation
In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions. against Lizza led to his dismissal.
Several other media organizations declined to terminate or bar Lizza from employment in light of their own investigations.
He is currently the chief Washington correspondent for ''
Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' and a senior political analyst for
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
.
Education
Lizza attended the
Berkshire School
Berkshire School is a private, co-ed boarding school for grades 9 through 12 located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA.
History
1907–1943: Founding and early years
Berkshire School (for boys) was established in 1907 at the foot of Mount Ever ...
, a private co-educational boarding school in the town of
Sheffield, Massachusetts, and received his bachelor's degree from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
.
Journalism career
Lizza started his career at the
Center for Investigative Reporting
The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a nonprofit news organization based in Emeryville, California. It was founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization, and has since grown into a multi-plat ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, where he worked on the
Emmy Award-winning ''
Frontline
Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield.
Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to:
Books and publications
* ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant
* ''Frontlines ...
''
documentary ''Hot Guns''. In 1998, he joined ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'', where he became senior editor. From 1998 to 2007, Lizza covered
Bill Clinton's impeachment, the
Florida recount
The 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida was a period of vote recounting in Florida that occurred during the weeks after Election Day in the 2000 United States presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Go ...
, the George W. Bush administration, and the
2004 presidential election. In 2004, he also wrote about politics for ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', including one of the first national magazine profiles of
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
. From 2004 to 2006, Lizza was a contributing editor for ''
New York'' magazine,
where he wrote about national politics. In 2006 and 2007, Lizza was also a correspondent for ''
GQ''. From 2002 to 2007, Lizza regularly contributed to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''.
In 2004, ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' described Lizza as part of the latest "crop of younger journalists who grab the attention of the media establishment through dogged reporting, sparkling writing or provocative analysis."
In 2007, Lizza became the Washington correspondent for ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' magazine, where he covered the White House, three presidential elections (2008, 2012, and 2016), the administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, and wrote the magazine's "Letter From Washington" column. Lizza covered the
2008 U.S. presidential election
The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...
for ''The New Yorker'', and wrote an extended profile of
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
's career in Illinois politics. During the campaign, a cartoon in the ''New Yorker'' allegedly caused the Obama campaign to exclude Lizza from Obama's campaign plane, with a lack of space cited as the reason. In 2017, Lizza was fired from ''The New Yorker'' in relation to an
allegation of sexual harassment.
On December 17, 2018, ''Publishers Marketplace'' reported that Lizza and
Olivia Nuzzi
Olivia Nuzzi (born January 6, 1993) is a political reporter who serves as the Washington correspondent for ''New York'' magazine.
Early and personal life
Nuzzi was born in New York City. She is the daughter of Kelly and John Nuzzi, who was born ...
, the Washington correspondent for ''New York'' magazine, were writing a "coauthored account of the 2020 presidential campaign" for Avid Reader Press, an imprint of
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...
.
On August 30, 2019, in a note to staff, Carrie Budoff Brown, ''
Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
''’s editor, and Matthew Kaminski, ''Politico''’s Editor-in-Chief, announced that Lizza was joining ''Politico'' as Chief Washington Correspondent.
Sexual misconduct allegation
![Ryan Lizza, Miller Center 2015 (21442413725)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Ryan_Lizza%2C_Miller_Center_2015_%2821442413725%29.jpg)
On December 11, 2017, ''The New Yorker'' fired Lizza, saying that he engaged in "improper sexual conduct."
Lizza called ''The New Yorkers characterization a "terrible mistake" that had been "made hastily and without a full investigation of the relevant facts."
His alleged victim supported the magazine's version of the events; in a statement, her attorney,
Douglas Wigdor
Douglas Holden Wigdor (born September 26, 1968) is a founding partner of the law firm Wigdor LLP, and works as a litigator in New York City, specializing in anti-discrimination law. Wigdor is best known for representing seven victims of alleged ...
, said, "
no way did Mr. Lizza’s misconduct constitute a 'respectful relationship' as he has now tried to characterize it."
Lizza was temporarily suspended by CNN pending an investigation; six weeks later, the network announced that its "extensive investigation" had yielded "no reason to continue to keep Mr. Lizza off the air." ''Politico'', ''
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. It was first known for its ...
'' and other media organizations were later said to have reached similar conclusions in determining whether to bar Lizza from employment.
Personal life
Lizza is a resident of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
He has two children and was previously married to Christina Gillespie, a doctor.
Awards
In 2008, Lizza was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for Reporting, which "honors the enterprise, exclusive reporting, and intelligent analysis that a magazine exhibits in covering an event, a situation, or a problem of contemporary interest and significance."
In June 2009, ''
The Washingtonian'' magazine included Lizza on its list of Washington's "50 Top Journalists" and described him as a writer who "change
the way readers see the world." That same year, his profile of President Barack Obama was nominated for a
National Magazine Award.
In 2011, he received an Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting on Congress Honorable Mention and Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting Honorable Mention for his reporting on Congress's failed attempt to pass climate legislation.
In 2012, he won the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence "for his coverage of the U.S. foreign policy battles during the 'Arab Spring.'"
On April 27, 2013, the
White House Correspondents' Association
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
presented Lizza with the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award for journalistic excellence "for his remarkable efforts to provide an independent perspective on President Barack Obama's presidency and re-election."
In 2015, he was a finalist for the Newhouse School Mirror Award competition honoring excellence in media industry reporting (Best Single Article, Digital Media).
Lizza's writing was included in the 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 editions of ''The Best American Political Writing''.
References
External links
Archive of stories by Lizza in ''POLITICO''Archive of stories by Lizza in ''Esquire''Archive of stories by Lizza in ''GQ''Archive of stories by Lizza in ''The Atlantic''Archive of stories by Lizza in ''The New Yorker''Archive of stories by Lizza in ''New York''Archive of stories by Lizza in ''The New York Times''Archive of stories by Lizza in ''The New Republic''*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lizza, Ryan
Living people
1974 births
American columnists
American people of Italian descent
Berkshire School alumni
CNN people
The New Yorker people
University of California, Berkeley alumni