On Oct. 29, the Thursday before Election Day, the WIN Nevada speaker series will shine a light on state and national elections and what they could mean for Nevadans in their personal and professional lives. Our speaker is Jon Ralston, who has been Nevada’s resident expert on the subject for more than 30 years. He will talk about potential scenarios while also dispelling (or confirming) myths around the election.
Jon wrote for the Las Vegas Review-Journal for 15 years, the last seven as a freelance columnist. In 1999, Greenspun Media Group purchased his political newsletter, The Ralston Report, and hired him as a columnist for the Las Vegas Sun where his byline appeared until September 2012. He was also a columnist for the Reno Gazette-Journal from January 2015 until November 2016, when he left to start The Indy. His blog, Ralston Reports, now lives on The Nevada Independent website.
Over the years, Jon has hosted several TV programs, including “Ralston Live” on Vegas PBS and “Ralston Reports” on KSNV News 3. He also writes and publishes a Nevada-centric email newsletter called “Flash” that frames the political agenda for the day, breaks news and offers analysis and snark.
In 2012, Politico named Jon one of the Top 50 “Politicos to Watch.” He frequently appears on MSNBC, FOX News, and PBS, and he has also appeared on NBC’s long-running “Meet the Press.”
Jon’s many awards include:
- Associated Press News Executive Council award for best local column (2009)
- Best Non-Staff Columnist (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2015)
- Best Columnist of the Year (1991 & 1992)
- Nevada State Press Association’s Outstanding Young Journalist of the Year (1986)
Jon is originally from Buffalo, New York. He has a B.A. in English from Cornell University and a M.A. in journalism from University of Michigan. He came to Las Vegas in 1984 as the night police reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, later covering general assignment and county government before becoming a political reporter in 1986. He has a son, Jake. Jon loves movies and movie trivia and aspires to one day be The Nevada Independent‘s film critic, if they’ll let him.
Follow Jon on Twitter @ralstonreports
