Ryan Loyd
Ryan Loyd was Texas Public Radio's city beat and political reporter. He left the organization in December, 2014.
Ryan began reporting at KGNB radio in New Braunfels, followed by KTSA. He worked in television news in Joplin, MO, San Antonio, Sherman, Texas, and Austin.
Since joining TPR in October 2011, Ryan has covered stories of local, state and national interest including the 2012 Democratic National Convention, where San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro delivered the keynote address.
Ryan especially enjoys reporting on in-depth issues like the Eagle Ford Shale oil and natural gas boom, the ongoing conversation into redeveloping Alamo Plaza, the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland sex scandal, and numerous city issues. Ryan is a regular contributor to NPR News.
Two stories Ryan reported in 2013 received recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists-Ft. Worth Chapter. In the Green News category, the organization honored Ryan with an award for his coverage of the Bracken Bat Cave and a proposed development that threatened the maternal colony's existence. The story was also featured on NPR's "All Things Considered." In the Opening the Books category, Ryan's story, Brooks City-Base is in Business, received recognition for exploring how far the old Air Force base has come in revitalizing the area after the base was closed.
For his coverage in 2012, Ryan won a Michael E. DeBakey Journalism award for his feature on a story about Canine PTSD, which ran locally and on NPR's "All Things Considered." The story explored the possibilities that combat dogs exhibit symptoms of a post-traumatic stress disorder, similar to the same disorder human soldiers experience.The Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award honors professional journalists whose reporting has enhanced public understanding of how the humane and responsible use of animal models leads to medical and scientific discoveries. Loyd accepted the award May 14 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
He also won the Reporting on Open Government award from the Society of Professional Journalists, Ft. Worth Chapter, for his stories relating to the sex scandal at Joint Base SanAntonio-Lackland. The stories contributed to the Air Force's increased transparency to the media and to the public.
In 2011 he won first place in the Ft. Worth Society of Professional Journalist's First Amendment Awards in the Green News category for his work on an environmental story while in Austin. He won a second place Associated Press Broadcasters award for beat reporting for his coverage of San Antonio city government atTPR.
Ryan is trying to become a more avid cyclist, but in the meantime he chases around a vibrant pre-schooler and a red-nosed dog with his wife, Sarah.
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In Texas, there are have been a couple of recent high-profile run-ins between police and people carrying rifles in public, leading gun-rights advocates to hold a big rally at the Alamo. The event is scheduled for Saturday, and is expected to draw at least a thousand people.
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Every night for thousands of years, bats have poured out of the Bracken Cave Reserve, near San Antonio, by the millions. But conservationists are worried that plans for a housing development nearby will disrupt the bats' rural habitat. -
Post-traumatic stress disorder has been a problem for many military members returning from combat zones. Now the military is looking more closely at whether its canine members suffer from PTSD in the same ways.
