Review-Journal takes top honors in Nevada Press Foundation Awards

The Las Vegas Review-Journal was recognized as the state’s top news website Saturday during the Nevada Press Foundation Awards of Excellence, a distinction the news organization has earned for six consecutive years.

The accolade for General Online Excellence was among 68 contest awards, including 33 first-place awards, for the Review-Journal and rjmagazine in Nevada’s top journalism competition.

The newspaper’s coverage of major events, including Super Bowl 58, the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the opening of the Sphere and the mass shooting on the UNLV campus, was honored with several awards in the urban division. But it was reporting by the Review-Journal’s investigative team that won Story of the Year and the Community Service award.

Eli Segall and Michael Scott Davidson took home those prizes for “Lost Legacy.” Their story examined how Clark County probate court administrators, lawyers, real estate agents and flippers in Southern Nevada profit from selling the homes of the deceased, often at the expense of heirs.

One of the judges called it “a stellar hunk of investigative reporting” that “is good enough to centerpiece any American newspaper” and “blew the top off what truly is a travesty.”

The story’s two victories were among the nine “sweepstakes” awards taken home by the Review-Journal in 14 prestigious categories.

Political reporter Jessica Hill was named Journalist of Merit, which is awarded to the state’s top journalist with less than five years of professional experience.

L.E. Baskow was named the state’s Outstanding Visual Journalist. He also won Photo of the Year and a third-place honor for news photo coverage, for his photographs of the funeral for Tabatha Tozzi, a 26-year-old slaying victim.

“I appreciate how a single photo captures multiple distinct moments of grief unfolding simultaneously,” the judge wrote.

Wes Rand and Tony Morales were crowned Outstanding Graphic Designers. The duo collaborated on multimedia presentations previewing Formula One’s Las Vegas Grand Prix and the Sphere. The Sphere feature also was singled out as part of the RJ’s General Online Excellence honor.

Features reporter Jason Bracelin won Best Entertainment Feature Story for his look at Las Vegas’ evolution into a music festival destination. He also won Best Sports Feature Story for his profile of PrideStyle Pro Wrestling, a “safe space for violence” for competitors regardless of their gender, size, shape or sexual orientation. That feature, which appeared in rjmagazine, also took home first place in the magazine division for Coverage of Underserved Communities.

Also in the magazine division, investigative reporter Mary Hynes won first place in Health Reporting and photographer Rachel Aston won first place in Multiple Photo Essay or Gallery for their coverage of Henderson’s Emma Burkey and her battle to recover from a rare, near-fatal reaction to a COVID vaccine. Mark Antonuccio took home first place for magazine Cover Design.

The Review-Journal staff took top honors for Breaking News Reporting and News Photo Coverage for its work on the Dec. 6 mass shooting at UNLV and overall design. The staff also won first-place awards for Video Program or Series for the “7@7” newscast, Multiple Photo Essay or Gallery for photos of Super Bowl 58, and Best Special Project accolades for Cowboy Central magazine.

Columnist John Katsilometes’ coverage of the opening of U2’s residency at the Sphere was named Best Entertainment Spot News Story. He and Director of Digital Broadcast Carrie Roper shared the award for Podcast of the Year for the third season of “Mobbed Up: The Fight for Las Vegas.”

“I’m very pleased the Review-Journal received so much recognition for another year of tremendous work by its staff,” Executive Editor Glenn Cook said. “Las Vegas is fortunate to have so many talented journalists covering the community’s most important stories.”

In other categories, Ellen Schmidt won for Best Sports Photo, and Madeline Carter won for Best Portrait. John Kerr won Editorial of the Year. April Robinson and John Hornberg took first place for Page One Design.

Other first-place honors went to Richard N. Velotta for Gaming and Tourism Reporting, Katelyn Newberg for Police and Criminal Justice Reporting and Sam Gordon for Local Sports Column.

Davidson, Morales and Gordon are no longer employees of the Review-Journal.

The Review-Journal’s advertising department captured five first-place awards in the contest’s urban division. Olivia Kuntz won Best Digital Ad and Best Print Ad Half-Page or Larger. Angie Gutting won for Best In-House Advertising. Henry Hernandez won Best Print Ad Less Than Half-Page. And Kuntz, Gutting and David Sly won Best Special Section or Campaign for the Review-Journal’s Academic Excellence Awards.

The Review-Journal’s affiliated newspapers also took home some awards.

Robin Hebrock of the Pahrump Valley Times won first place for entertainment feature story and community service and shared the award for best news photo coverage with John Clausen. The Times also took home four second-place prizes and five third-place honors in the rural division.

The Boulder City Review won five awards, including first place for Ron Eland’s feature photo, in the rural division.

The 2024 Nevada Press Foundation Awards of Excellence covered work published between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. The contest was judged by the New Mexico Press Association, the Utah Press Association and the Montana Press Association. The awards were announced Saturday night during a banquet at The Depot Brewery & Distillery in Reno.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on X.