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Tim Dahlberg’s first job in journalism was at the Sparks Tribune, where he worked as reporter, sports editor, photographer, bottle washer and sometimes deliveryman. A student at the University of Nevada at the time, he told the editor he would work for free for the experience and he almost did, getting paid $38 to put in 20 hours a week.
He moved to the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 1976, beginning as a night police reporter where he wrote about crimes that included the murder of Culinary Union leader Ed Hanley. He later worked as investigative reporter and political columnist for the state’s biggest newspaper.
Dahlberg was among the first on the scene of the 1980 MGM Grand fire that killed 87 people, writing the main story for the RJ and covering the aftermath as Nevada legislators were pushed to adopt tough new fire safety standards. Dahlberg would also ride with then-Sen. Paul Laxalt in his RV on the campaign trail that year as Laxalt headed toward his re-election while chairing the campaign of Ronald Reagan for president.
After joining the Las Vegas bureau of the Associated Press, Dahlberg covered the biggest stories of the time, including the trials of the Spilotro brothers, Wayne Newton’s libel suit against NBC, and a Culinary Union strike that paralyzed the Strip. He was on the scene of the Pepcon explosion, and there for the opening of the Mirage hotel.
Dahlberg soon gravitated to sports, helping the AP cover Muhammad Ali’s fight with Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace and launching a career covering the biggest sporting events in the world. He has covered 14 Olympics, more than 100 major golf championships, hundreds of championship fights, 10 Super Bowls and six World Series.
Dahlberg became one of only two national sports columnists for the AP in 2001, writing about a variety of sports for the world’s largest news organization. His voice was recognized in numerous APSE awards and in 2005 he was given the Sigma Delta Chi award for column writing by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Dahlberg’s career came full circle when he teamed up with former RJ publisher Sherman Frederick to form Battle Born Media in 2011. The company now owns several weekly newspapers in Nevada — including the Sparks Tribune, where Dahlberg got his start.
— From the nomination
