Six former Las Vegas Review-Journal editors and reporters were honored on October 28 by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism for their coverage of the newspaper’s sale last year.
The group was presented with the James Foley Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism.
Following the Medal presentation, the journalists took part in a 90-minute panel discussion at the school’s McCormick Foundation Center in which they discussed their efforts in uncovering the secret ownership of the Nevada’s largest newspaper. The Review-Journal was sold on Dec. 10, 2015 to a company described as being backed by “hidden investors” for $140 million.
From left, Eric Hartley, John L. Smith, James Wright, Howard Stutz, Jennifer Robison, and James DeHaven participate in a panel discussion at the McCormick Foundation Center at Northwestern University to discuss their coverage of the hidden purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal by the family of Sheldon Adelson. Photo courtesy of Facebook
The journalists uncovered that the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson was behind the sale.
While presenting the award winners with their medals, Medill School of Journalism Professor Donna Leff said that Ellen Soeteber, one of the three judges on the selection committee “was adamant” the former Review-Journal staff members be honored. Soeteber passed away earlier this year.
“The staff of this newspaper displayed great courage in its coverage of a dramatic change in management in order to keep the public informed of news critical to their community,” said award judge Dick Stolley. “They risked their livelihood, careers and reputations in insisting on the kind of courageous journalism our medal was invented to celebrate. We are proud of them and of our choice.”
All six journalists have since left the newspaper. Honored were former deputy editor James G. Wright, columnist John L. Smith (now a contributor to CDC Gaming), and reporters Howard Stutz (a member of the CDC Gaming Advisory Board), Jennifer Robison, James DeHaven and Eric Hartley.
Following a discussion of the efforts covering the sale, that journalists took questions from the audience and had lunch with the Northwester journalism students who attended the event.
The Foley Medill Award is named for James Foley, a Medill alumnus who was captured in Syria in 2012 while working as a freelance journalist and murdered two years later by militants. Joseph P. Medill was a leading newspaper editor, publisher and politician.
