Mary Ann Ahern
Political Reporter
Updated 11:35 PM CST, Tue, Jul 28, 2009
Mary Ann Bergerson Ahern joined NBC5 News in March 1989 and was named Political Reporter in 2006.
Over the years she first gained recognition for covering the religion beat. From her many trips with Pope John Paul II, to following Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s final years, to the selection of Cardinal Francis George, Ahern is recognized for breaking many stories related to the Roman Catholic church. In 1991, she was the first reporter to disclose the priest sex abuse crisis that led to the Archdiocese eventually opening its files and creating a lay review board, a model other cities followed.
In April 2005 she was the first Chicago television reporter to file reports from Rome on the death of Pope John Paul II. She returned to cover the conclave electing Pope Benedict XVI, live from St. Peter’s Square.
She has traveled to Rome numerous times -- for Cardinal George’s elevation, the beatification of Mother Teresa, and the Pope’s emergency meeting with the American Cardinals on the priest sex abuse crisis.
In addition, she covered Pope John Paul II on six of his Papal trips over the years, including Cuba, Toronto, New York, Denver, South Carolina and St. Louis.
In Cuba, Ahern was one of the few American journalists allowed to report from Havana over a 10-day period. She also traveled with Cardinal George to Mexico City to report on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Ahern not only reports for NBC5, but is often selected to file stories for the NBC affiliates nationwide. Likewise, she is often called on as a panelist for religion media issues.
During her reporting career in Chicago, Ahern conducted the last television interview with actor and disability activist Christopher Reeve in October 2004, just days before he died.
She also traveled to Texas in 2000 to cover the presidential election and filed reports from Boston on Election Night 2004.
Ahern has covered everyday events from elections to snowstorms, from City Hall to Wrigley Field, from Princess Diana’s visit to Chicago to the White House. She’s known for enterprising stories about everyday people placed in extraordinary circumstances, like the Marine who had his purple heart revoked. She's presented a number of feature stories on parenting.
Before coming to NBC5, Ahern was the political reporter for WXIA-TV in Atlanta, Ga., from 1985-1989. She served as reporter/weekend anchor at WEEK-TV in Peoria, Ill. from 1982-1985.
A native of Michigan City, Ind., Ahern graduated with a B.A. degree from John Carroll University in 1976.
While working as an English teacher at two Chicago-area high schools. she received her Masters degree in Education from Northeastern Illinois University in 1979, and another Master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University in 1982.
As a volunteer, Ahern is currently serving on the Board of Regents at John Carroll University and was the President of the Parent School Organization at her children’s school. Mary Ann and her husband Tom have three children.
Drop Mary Ann a line: maryann.ahern@nbc.com.
First Published: Oct 1, 2008 9:06 AM CST
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