Nevada Press Association The best in Nevada journalism since 1924
Few people embodied community journalism the way Anne Pershing did over her 33-year career as a reporter, editor, general manager and columnist.
The toughest times for her were during her reporting of the leukemia cluster in Fallon, when she was writing about people she loved and cared for. She kept her journalistic professionalism and tried to stay as objective as she could, but she ached for the families and children who were suffering. She was as determined to find out what was wrong as they were.
She was a mom and a grandma to her own family, of course, but also to anybody she cared about — and that was a lot of people, from wayward kids to governors. Anne told them what they needed to hear, whether it was a mild scolding or a word of encouragement. And either way, she probably followed it up with a plateful of fudge. Her column was called ‘Grandma with an Attitude’ because it fit.
Both of us came from small towns in Illinois, and we talked often about our Midwestern values. She had that relationship with Fallon, as somebody who knew everybody in town and an awful lot of their secrets. She was willing to stand by them if they were willing to stand up for themselves. She was proud to have covered gay and lesbian issues in a small, conservative town long before they became an accepted cause.
For the Nevada Press Association, Anne was a leader, mentor and constant presence on behalf of good, strong community journalism. She looked back fondly at the days when family-owned newspapers were the rule rather than the exception, but she moved forward with the times too. We’re proud that she’s a member of the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame.
I don’t know which was stronger, her maternal or journalistic instincts. But they complemented each other, because she kept in touch with everybody, it seemed, and knew what was going on with their lives. She treasured the readers of her column, mostly older folks who she believed weren’t getting the attention they deserve.
I’ll miss her a great deal — her wit and advice and common sense.
If you want to know more about Anne, here’s the full nomination from her friend and colleague, former Mason Valley News publisher Jim Sanford, for the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Update: Here’s the obituary Steve Ranson wrote for the Lahontan Valley News.
