The Reno Gazette Journal took six first-place wins in the annual Nevada Press Association journalism contest, announced at the annual ceremony Saturday night in Las Vegas.
In the category of politics/government enterprise reporting, James DeHaven, Jason Hidalgo and Ed Komenda won for a series of stories on Blockchains cryptocurrency tycoon Jeff Berns and his attempts to set up an autonomous city in the desert east of Reno. The “Innovation Zone” would have had the power to collect taxes, set up justice courts, form school districts and perform other government services free from Storey County’s jurisdiction — a proposal supported by Gov. Steve Sisolak but ultimately was scuttled.
Read it here: How a cryptocurrency tycoon is working Nevada’s elite to get his own government
Sports reporter Jim Krajewski took home a win in sports feature writing for his story on Reno sailor Owen Gray, whose 3,000-mile solo rowing journey across the Atlantic Ocean could have ended in disaster — but through near-superhuman tenacity didn’t.
Read it here: 70 days, 19 hours, 29 minutes — how a Reno rower nearly didn’t complete cross-Atlantic voyage
Blockchains was in the news again when RGJ environmental reporter Amy Alonzo dug into the company’s refusal to let the Nevada Department of Wildlife onto its 67,000 acres to manage the desert bighorn sheep that roam the Virginia Range. Alonzo took first place in the business spot news category for her reporting.
Read it here: Cryptocurrency company blocks Nevada Department of Wildlife from monitoring wild sheep
Reporter Jason Hidalgo took a look at TerraOne, a business that claimed it could repurpose shipping containers into transitional housing. It seemed like a godsend for Reno nonprofits working to get people back on their feet. Instead, the project left a trail of clients claiming they had been duped, and not a single housing unit materialized. Hidalgo took first in business feature story for his efforts.
Read it here: How one man’s shipping container housing pitch turned into a nightmare for Reno nonprofits
Other first place wins were for a selection of Marcella Corona‘s work reporting on underserved communities in a category that debuted last year, and The Reno Memo, written by Brett McGinness, whose cheeky look at the week’s news earned him first place in newsletters. Find out what’s so great about the Memo by subscribing here.
Read More:RGJ takes 1st place wins in Nevada Press Association journalism contest
2022-09-25 17:58:52
