April Ryan goes back-and-forth with Trump, named Journalist of the Year by NABJ

National Press Club member April Ryan is achieving viral fame during the Trump administration for ranking among the most aggressive White House press questioners -- and she will soon receive a national recognition for her efforts.

The White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks since 1997, Ryan was named the 2017 Journalist of the Year award by the National Association of Black Journalists. She will receive the award at the NABJ convention in New Orleans in August.

"I got the call from NABJ over Easter weekend and was shocked. I was like, 'Whaaaaat?'" Ryan said in an interview. "I couldn't believe it. It was amazing."

Ryan's barbed exchanges in press briefings with President Donald Trump and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer have led to a sharp increase in her name recognition this year beyond her existing fan base on AURN's 300 nationwide affiliates.

Most notable was a February back-and-forth with Trump, when Ryan asked whether he planned to meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Trump initially appeared unsure of what the acronym CBC referred to, so Ryan followed up by using the group's full name. Trump replied, "Tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours? Set up a meeting.”

Many interpreted Trump's response as a racial stereotype of an African-American, not to mention confusing Ryan's role as a journalist with someone who would facilitate such meetings. (The CBC subsequently publicly released a previously private letter they'd sent to Trump requesting a meeting, for which they have received no reply.)

"The last couple of months, when I go to the grocery store, people say, 'Have you set up that meeting with the CBC?'" Ryan laughs. "I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?'"

Ryan said she won't let her surge in popularity go to her head.

"Celebrity is a double-edged sword,” she said. “It's about the information and answers, not about me. It's not entertainment, it's about real life and what affects people. Yeah, you might get a meme or have gone viral, but I don't pay much attention or obsess on it. That's a distraction to the real issues."

A viral moment occurred when Ryan was seen visibly shaking her head in response to a Spicer statement that there was no issue between the Trump campaign and Russia.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a poker face," Ryan said.

She said she's not out to get Trump; she's just doing her job.

"I ask Trump the same questions I'd ask every president," Ryan said. "The only difference is this White House has openly talked about their disdain of the press, causing them to openly [go to] war on us. They called us the enemy of the people and the opposition party."

Her contentious relationship with Trump was foreshadowed in the 1990s.

"I was at an event at Trump Tower during the Clinton years because my cousin is a former congressman,” Ryan said. “I do not endorse, because of what I do, but I was there as a family member. Trump came by and met us there. I met him briefly, but he brushed me off. For him, it was all about the politicians in the room."

Among the issues she highlights for her largely urban audiences: Department of Justice attempts to revoke consent decrees for police departments under investigation for racial bias and potential reduced education funding for historical black colleges and universities.

But she adds that her audience also follows health care, the budget and Russia, which she calls "everybody issues."