UWIRE 100 Profile
William McQuillen, reporter for Bloomberg News and adviser to the Tower.
There are several stories I could tell about Mr. Reilly and the successes he has had at the paper. But I am more taken by one that he turned out to be disappointed in; one that causes him to cringe when it is mentioned. About a year ago, he wrote a story — citing good sources — that the president of the University was under consideration to be elevated to bishop for the diocese that includes South Bend, Indiana.
The story was strong and with good sources. However, despite being under consideration, the appointment never happened. Some in the administration and some students were critical of the paper for writing the story that projected the president might leave prior to any official announcement.
Mr. Reilly, who is often hard on himself and his writing, would not consider that story to be a high point of his tenure at Catholic University. I disagree. His story broke news on internal questions that nobody has tried to deny. It just also happened that the president was not elevated.
He is still looking for ways he could have made the story better and what he could have done wrong. It is a good attitude to have, even when there was nothing wrong with the story. However, it did serve to teach him a lesson he uses with every story he writes going forward — a story can be solid, 100 percent correct, but nothing is ever final. It taught him to be skeptical and suspicious about who is talking and why, as well as to realize that facts change and stories are always evolving.
Justine Garbarino, editor-In-chief of The Tower
He has led the staff as Editor-in-Chief for two terms. In his terms, he has brought the Tower into new territory, including an entire redesign of the print edition, as well as into the online world, with a blog, new Web site, and Twitter feed. Ryan, in addition to his proficient writing and editing skills, is an excellent photographer and video producer. He has created numerous online videos and slideshows for our YouTube site. Ryan is also a great leader. He is always willing to help anyone, and really wants to help new writers develop their skills. Ryan has been a great asset to the team.
Benjamin Newell, editor at large for The Tower and contributor to The Washington Times
He helped win “best in show” for a special edition of The Tower after Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to our campus. He also created a blog to cover the event live, which was featured in the Washington Post and Innovation in College Media.
In addition to his reporting, writing and editing skills, I consider Ryan a strong photographer and video producer.
