Ryan Christopher Lizza[1] (/ˈlɪzə/LIZ-zə; born July 12, 1974) is an American journalist. His 2017 interview with White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci resulted in Scaramucci's dismissal.[2]
Later that year, Lizza was accused of sexual misconduct in the context of the Me Too movement.[3] After a decade-long run as The New Yorker's Washington correspondent,[4] the magazine's internal review of the allegation against Lizza led to his dismissal.[5]
Several other media organizations declined to terminate or bar Lizza from employment in light of their own investigations.[6][7] He was a senior political analyst for CNN[8] and is currently the chief Washington correspondent for Politico.
In 2004, The Washington Post 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."[17]
In 2007, Lizza became the Washington correspondent for The New Yorker 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.[18] Lizza covered the 2008 U.S. presidential election for The New Yorker, and wrote an extended profile of Barack Obama's career in Illinois politics.[19] 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.[20] In 2017, Lizza was fired from The New Yorker in relation to an allegation of sexual harassment.[5]
On December 17, 2018, Publishers Marketplace reported that Lizza and Olivia Nuzzi, 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.[21][22]
On August 30, 2019, in a note to staff, Carrie Budoff Brown, Politico’s editor, and Matthew Kaminski, Politico’s Editor-in-Chief, announced that Lizza was joining Politico as Chief Washington Correspondent.[23]
On December 11, 2017, The New Yorker fired Lizza, saying that he engaged in "improper sexual conduct."[5] Lizza called The New Yorker's characterization a "terrible mistake" that had been "made hastily and without a full investigation of the relevant facts."[5] His alleged victim supported the magazine's version of the events; in a statement, her attorney, Douglas Wigdor, said, "[I]n no way did Mr. Lizza’s misconduct constitute a 'respectful relationship' as he has now tried to characterize it."[24][5]
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."[25]Politico, Rolling Stone and other media organizations were later said to have reached similar conclusions in determining whether to bar Lizza from employment.[6][7][24]
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."[26]
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[s] the way readers see the world."[27] That same year, his profile of President Barack Obama was nominated for a National Magazine Award.[28]
In 2011, he received an Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting on Congress Honorable Mention[29] and Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting Honorable Mention[30] for his reporting on Congress's failed attempt to pass climate legislation.[31]
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.'"[32]
In 2015, he was a finalist for the Newhouse School Mirror Award competition honoring excellence in media industry reporting (Best Single Article, Digital Media).[34]
Lizza's writing was included in the 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 editions of The Best American Political Writing.[35]
Personal life
Lizza is a resident of Washington, D.C. He has two children and was previously married to Christina Gillespie, a doctor.[36]
In September 2022, Lizza became engaged to New York magazine correspondent Olivia Nuzzi.[37] On September 20, 2024, he confirmed that they were no longer engaged. The reason for cancelling the engagement was reportedly Nuzzi's alleged online affair on the campaign trail with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.[38] Due to these allegations, Lizza removed himself from all future coverage of Kennedy Jr.[39][40]
^Anna North; Constance Grady; Laura McGann; Aja Romano. "Sexual Harassment/Assault Allegations List". Vox. Ryan Lizza is one of 262 celebrities, politicians, CEOs, and others who have been accused of sexual misconduct since April 2017 (tying Lizza to the Me Too movement).
^ abPompeo, Joe (March 6, 2018). "Can Rolling Stone Become Cool Again?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 13, 2019. Last month, Penske called a meeting with Rolling Stone's female editorial staff .... Concerns were raised about how it would be perceived if Lizza were to work at Rolling Stone, and whether Lizza was ultimately a good fit.... But after Lizza was cleared by CNN, and Rolling Stone had conducted its own due diligence, the editors moved forward with freelance assignments, as originally planned.
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