{"id":3918,"date":"2021-05-17T06:30:48","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T10:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/?p=3918"},"modified":"2021-05-16T23:28:20","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T03:28:20","slug":"shannon-ryan-from-creston-to-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportsreporting\/2021\/05\/17\/shannon-ryan-from-creston-to-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Shannon Ryan: From Creston to Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

While rural Creston, Ohio did not have much to offer growing up, Shannon Ryan said she always had two passions: writing and sports. It was only a matter of time before those two interests cultivated into a successful career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t have a stoplight and my graduating class had 80 people in it,\u201d Ryan said regarding her hometown. \u201cMy next-door neighbors were cows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan, who currently works as a sports reporter for the Chicago Tribune, said despite growing up in Ohio, rooted for Notre Dame rather than her home state Ohio Buckeyes every Saturday.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy family was an Irish Catholic family, and we were really into watching sports\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n

Ryan\u2019s love for the Fighting Irish eventually led to her attending Saint Mary\u2019s College after high school\u00ad\u00ad\u2014a small, women\u2019s liberal arts college in Notre Dame, Indiana.<\/p>\n

Ryan said many of Saint Mary\u2019s organizations were affiliated with the University of Notre Dame, including their student-run newspaper: The Observer. And since Saint Mary\u2019s did not offer journalism as a major, Ryan said she got most of her journalistic experience in college reporting for The Observer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took a journalism class at Saint Mary\u2019s, I think it was the only one. And I took a couple at Notre Dame too\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n

Ryan also said it was around this time, when she was covering Notre Dame\u2019s football program for The Observer, when she realized she wanted to pursue a career in sports journalism.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see all these big-time reporters covering the team and watch them and say, \u2018wow, this is interesting.\u2019 It was a good way to break into the industry\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n

Ryan became the managing editor of The Observer her senior year and with the help of one of her professors, got an internship at The South-Bend Tribune, the daily newspaper in South Bend, Indiana.<\/p>\n

After college, Ryan got a two-year residency and an internship at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Upon her arrival, she was shell-shocked to say the least.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI had never lived in a big city; I was surprised I even knew how to get around\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n

The internship largely consisted of covering high school sports, and Ryan said she knew nearly every high school mascot in the greater Philadelphia area by the end of the two years.<\/p>\n

Ryan also said interning at The Inquirer was a great experience because of their hardnose reputation, which helped her understand the industry quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhiladelphia has this reputation that they don\u2019t take it easy on you,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cYou got to earn your stripes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan was hired by The Inquirer following her internship and worked as a beat writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and the Villanova Wildcats\u2019 basketball programs for seven years.<\/p>\n

As of today, Ryan works for The Chicago Tribune mainly covering college athletics, something she said is her favorite part of the job.<\/p>\n

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#TeamTribune<\/a> the only people at Bankers Life not wearing maroon and gold scarves or orange and blue gear. #Illini<\/a> #Loyola<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/hdvhVEao4U<\/a><\/p>\n

— Shannon Ryan (@sryantribune) March 21, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n