Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.
I’m pleased to announce I’ve accepted the position of editor of the RN&R. (I’ve been associate editor since December.) I probably don’t need to reintroduce myself, but here’s the short version: I’m a native, and a graduate of Reno schools—Brown Elementary, Pine Middle, Galena High, and the University of Nevada, Reno. I majored in English and minored in art, and I’m now a grad student and an instructor in the school of the arts.
My first contribution to the RN&R was a restaurant review in 2002. I became the arts editor in 2008. Although my background is in arts writing, I understand the gravity of hard news. Sheldon Adelson secretly bought the Las Vegas Review-Journal last year. In a time when a secretive billionaire can buy the state’s largest newspaper, independent journalism is more important than ever.
News editor Dennis Myers remains our ace on the mound. Special projects editor Jeri Chadwell-Singley is a hard-hitting slugger. Calender editor Kelley Lang is our leadoff hitter. And our bullpen of contributors is strong—photographers Eric Marks and Allison Young, columnists Sheila Leslie, Brendan Trainor and Bruce Van Dyke, critics Bob Grimm and Todd South, and arts writers like Kris Vagner and Jessica Santina.
Our editorial team is aided by an amazing design staff, including Brian Breneman, Lindsay Trop and Meg Larkin, an outstanding sales team, Bev Savage, Gina Odegard and Emily Litt, and bringing it all together, Kelly Miller, who manages the office and distribution.
There will be some minor, mostly cosmetic, changes to the paper in the near future, but I don’t want to change the things that work: fierce independence, unbridled creativity, and unwavering devotion to Northern Nevada.
Huge thanks to Deborah Redmond and Jeff VonKaenel for the opportunity to lead the team, and special thanks to Brian Burghart for years of mentorship. And most of all, thanks to all our readers. It’s an honor to serve.