C.J. Hadley

C.J. Hadley, Holly Rudy-James and the late Vail Pittman were inducted into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame last weekend in Ely in a luncheon held during the Nevada Press Association’s 95th annual convention.

A brief biography of Ms. Hadley is posted below.

Here’s a video of her moving acceptance speech from the luncheon in Ely:

C.J. Hadley

To appreciate her unique and notable role in the history of Nevada journalism, consider the fact that Caroline Joy Hadley, aka “CJ” Hadley, is the first person to be inducted into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame without ever having worked at a newspaper.

For the past 28 years and 108 issues, Ms. Hadley has been publisher and editor of Range magazine, the only publication in the state that strives to document the trials, tribulations, failures, challenges and successes of those who live, work, love and strive to preserve the spirit and heritage of The West.

She was born in England and emigrated to the U.S. when she was 17. She began her career as a journalist in 1963, in the “Mad Men” environment of New York magazine publishing. Within a few years she was hired as managing editor of Car & Driver, where she remained until 1972.

A three-year stint traveling and writing adventure pieces for national magazines ended with a 1975 assignment for Sports Illustrated serving as commercial tuna fishing deckhand. “I thought I was a tuna fisherman,” she wrote, “until I puked 21 pounds of my own viscera into the Pacific.” After 21 days at sea she was dropped off on the docks of Sausalito, dehydrated and starving. She promptly hitchhiked to the driest state in the union, where she has called home ever since.

She served as editor of Nevada Magazine during the publication’s most formative years editorially and in circulation growth. Under her watch, the magazine transitioned from quarterly to bimonthly frequency and became self-supporting for the first time in more than 30 years. There were bumps along the way, including the time she put her own health and the publishing life of the state-sponsored magazine on the line against powerful legislators who threated its finances and her personally. She rallied community leaders who backed her up and shamed the legislature into retreat.

After leaving Nevada Magazine in 1985, Ms. Hadley freelanced for a number of publications and worked as a consulting editor for the University of Nevada, Reno Silver & Blue alumni magazine to earn the money she needed to launch Range magazine in 1991.

In the eight years Range has participated in the Nevada Press Association’s Better Newspaper and Magazine Contest it has been recognized with more than 120 awards, despite having no fulltime editorial staff. 

In one of those competitions a judge remarked: “Never heard of Range magazine before but they take wide swings at big, fascinating, important subjects with thorough investigation, put-me-there drama and unflinching portrayal of the facts, regardless of politics, personal beliefs or religion. This is the kind of reporting that makes us important and relevant in an age when everything else is becoming more like a sound bite.”