Nevada Press Association The best in Nevada journalism since 1924
Journalists of Merit awards from the Nevada Press Association recognize people who have fewer than five years of experience in the industry and show through the quality of their work that they are the future of our profession.
TONI R. MILANO, Elko Daily Free Press
Toni R. Milano began writing as a community correspondent in 2015, and was selected to help us compile our “Elko 100” series in which she wrote 100 short biographies of people who were instrumental in the city’s history, for its centennial celebration in 2017.
Midway through the project we had an opening on staff and she jumped in. Toni not only continued to provide great community coverage, she quickly became adept at tougher beats like covering the Elko County Courthouse.
She also developed a strong instinct for enterprise writing, as well as in-depth coverage on controversial issues. Some examples include her traveling to Ely for a story on the state’s only rural marijuana dispensary; talking with city officials and business people about why abandoned buildings are not being condemned; examining the judicial system’s efforts to stop elder abuse; and relaying the sentiments of medical marijuana users after the city and county banned local sales.
Prior to becoming a journalist, Milano was editor of the Argentum arts and literary magazine at Great Basin College. She also taught English at the college, which she graduated from with associate’s degrees in 2004 and 2005, and a bachelor of applied science in 2015.
She is a native Nevadan who has been active in organizations such as the Elko County Fair, National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Ruby Mountain Symphony, and Phi Theta Kappa.
“Toni approaches each assignment like a learning experience, and does an outstanding job of simplifying and explaining complex topics for readers,” said Elko Daily Free Press editor Jeffry Mullins. “She has grown tremendously as a writer in a very short time. I would be confident sending her out to tackle the most difficult subjects.”
Robin Hebrock, Tonopah Times-Bonanza & Goldfield News and Pahrump Valley Times
Robin Hebrock, a graduate of Pahrump Valley High School who also studied at Great Basin College, says she once considered becoming an English professor.
“However, I never imagined I would end up in the journalism industry and finding myself here has come as something of a surprise,” she told editor David Jacobs. “While the style of writing may be different in a formal journalism environment, this career path has allowed me to do the one thing I love more than anything else, craft words into something that is intriguing and informative.
“But this position has also allowed me to do something I never anticipated. I can have a real impact on the community in which I live and there is nothing more heartening than that.”
Hebrock began her journalism career with no experience in November 2013 at The Pahrump Mirror. In 2015, she became lead reporter for The Mirror and during a time of staff reductions managed to keep the paper pumping out information as the only full-time staff reporter.
She later joined the Tonopah Times-Bonanza & Goldfield News and its sister paper, the Pahrump Valley Times. She had led the team in its digital transition through newly available news videos for our online readers, including a behind-the-scenes look at the Silver State chili cook-off, coverage of veterans issues and the arts community in rural Nevada.
Hebrock said she focuses on “honest, fair and equitable reporting on issues that matter the most to the residents.”
Ricardo Torres-Cortez, The Sunday
When a handful of homeless residents were murdered in the Las Vegas valley during a two-week span, Ricardo Torres-Cortez walked the streets in reporting a story on the life of one of the deceased. The man hadn’t talked to his family in decades and they were desperate to locate him.
“It was a moving narrative about a demographic of residents that needed to be told,” wrote editor Ray Brewer. “It was powerful reporting.”
Torres-Cortez looks past the police scanner and press releases to provide readers with compelling stories about the victims. His best work came on the night of the Oct. 1 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip as one of the first journalists on the scene, reporting from a hotel where many of the 22,000 concertgoers fled the gunfire.
There was much confusion with the injured and survivors. Torres-Cortez remained calm and professional and constantly sent updates to the desk — information the world was waiting to learn.
While so many reporters build their stories with little concern for impact or engagement,
Ricardo’s features and reports draw the reader in and proclaim their relevance.
A graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the College or Southern Nevada, Torres-Cortez worked at student publications at both schools before interning with the Las Vegas Review-Journal and, in 2016, joining Greenspun Media Group.
Nicole Raz
Joining the Las Vegas Review-Journal in May 2016, Nicole Raz hit the ground running and quickly established herself with a fresh eye for coverage of technology, economic development and other topics. In the past year, she wrote about the nascent startup scene in Las Vegas, the direct-selling industry and how Nevadan had turned to it during the recession.
(Elizabeth Brumley/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
She distinguished herself after the October mass shooting when she identified a need in the coverage and became the authoritative source on efforts to raise funds to benefits victims’ families and survivors. Among those stories, she revealed how one fund had quietly given money to help three families, but wouldn’t help others. Raz stayed on top of the story as the funds consolidated efforts and began distributing money to victims.
Her work led to a promotion as assistant business editor, although she continued to report. She also was among the leaders in embracing the use of video, social media and other new tools for journalists, setting an example for others in the newsroom.
She has launched a Las Vegas chapter of Journalism and Woman Symposium and serves as regional captain, as well as overseeing the JAWS fellowship committee.
A graduate of American University, Raz worked as a newsroom assistant for WMAL radio in Washington, D.C., before becoming a field reporter for the station and winning awards there from the local chapter of Society of Professional Journalists and from Associated Press.
