Week of July 18, 2024

From the editor’s desk

At the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake spoke first: “Welcome everybody who’s watching at home, and welcome everybody in this great arena tonight. We love you all.”

“Actually, actually, wait a minute,” she added. “I don’t mean that. I don’t welcome everybody in this room.” She rescinded her welcome from journalists, whom she called the “fake news.” We lie about everything, she said. 

Speakers made many other false claims during the convention that night, including Lake’s own false assertion about her opponent, Ruben Gallego.

Meanwhile, I was doing what I’m always doing as an RN&R print deadline approaches—checking every single fact in every single story for clarity and accuracy. I won’t claim the RN&R is perfect, but we are one of hundreds of local news outlets in Nevada and around the country whose workers care deeply about finding, verifying and disseminating truth. We roll up our sleeves and put in the work to get you the facts you need in order to participate well in local civics and culture—every single day. And when we do make a mistake, we own up to it and correct it.

It’s bad enough that outlets like Fox News have built their wealth—$16 billion as of this month—not by obsessing over truth and accuracy, but by monetizing outrage. It’s even worse that Lake praised the members of the RNC audience who’ve tuned out from the media.

What happens if people don’t get accurate news? Any journalist with integrity will tell you, any media scholar will tell you, and the UN Secretary-General will tell you: Where there’s no free press, democracies collapse. It’s just one of many reasons we need to keep the local industry alive.

OK, it’s back to fact checking for me for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, scroll down for the latest from RN&R (including our brand-new events newsletter, 11 Days a Week)—and don’t forget to vote in the Best on Northern Nevada competition. The poll closes this Sunday, July 21, at midnight. 

Take care,

—Kris Vagner, managing editor