Nevada Press Association The best in Nevada journalism since 1924
Rachel Crosby
Just 24 hours after being named one of Nevada’s journalists of merit, Rachel Crosby was among the first reporters to respond to reports of a shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas that turned out to be the worst mass killing in the history of the United States.
As lead reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal on the massacre, she broke news day after day, as well as finding ways to put faces on the victims by telling readers, for example, of a California man’s frantic 22-hour search for his wife and, in another heartbreaking story, how 87 children will grow up without a parent whose life was taken by the gunman.
A graduate of the University of Florida, Crosby also contributed to another major story Las Vegas story this year — the resignation of Wynn Resorts chairman and founder Steve Wynn after allegations of sexual misconduct, as well as writing memorable columns on crime, courts and cops.
Judge’s comment: Ms. Crosby is clearly an outstanding journalist that stands above the rest. I love her use of language. She uses descriptive language and adjectives effectively when it strengthens the story, but knows to step away from that and is more direct when its appropriate. Another thing that stands out to me so powerfully about Ms. Crosby is her knack for understanding the plights and dilemmas of the people she’s reporting on. Something that always wins me over, too, is the ability to set a scene in the lede that draws in readers. It’s so important to get readers engaged right off the bat and Ms. Crosby is an expert in that field, it seems. The shooting and corruption among Vegas officials are pretty obvious areas one has to cover, but when it comes to the shooting especially, Ms. Crosby found intriguing ways to keep covering the story. Truly an excellent journalist and the best of the entries in this category.
Dave Price
Dave Price started working for the Tahoe Daily Tribune as a sports stringer in high school in the early 1970s. He went to work for the paper upon graduation with nothing but his high-school journalism class under his belt.
He was being interviewed for the sports editor job by Tom Wixon, then publisher of The Record-Courier, on Aug. 27, 1980, the day of the Harvey’s Resort Hotel bombing less than a mile away. Up to that time, it was the biggest instance of domestic terrorism in American history. Dave said the waitress apologized for seating them next to the window. Oh, yes, he got the job — and stayed for the next 16 years.
In 1996, Dave went back to dailies when he went to work for the Nevada Appeal in Carson City.
After a decade at the Appeal, he went on to be the sports editor at the Grass Valley Union, later working for the Sierra Sun and Lahontan Valley News before returning to The Record-Courier in 2014.
Over a lengthy career at newspapers in Northern Nevada, Dave Price has covered the athletes and residents who live and play in these communities with a dedication and skill that showed up every day in his work. It’s hard to imagine a parent’s refrigerator in Douglas County that hasn’t, at some point, been decorated with a Dave Price story.
Judge’s comment: The winner’s writing spoke for itself. Self promotion was not needed.
