This conversation happened on November 3, 2021 at noon PDT. Watch a replay below.
This online conversation with veteran reporter and celebrated writer, Frank X. Mullen, winner of the 2021 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Award. Moderated by former newspaper reporter and editor Chris Moran, Mullen is joined in conversation by Alicia Barber, a public historian and author working at the intersections of public memory, historic landscapes, and community identity, and Anjeanette Damon, a Reno-based investigative reporter for ProPublica’s Southwest office. Panelists discuss the history and future of local journalism in Reno and how to tell the truth about this region. Learn more about the panelists below.
This program is produced by Nevada Humanities in partnership with the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, as part of the 2021 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Award celebratory events.
Alicia Barber, PhD, is a public historian and writer specializing in Nevada’s cultural landscapes and built environment. Recent platforms for her research, analysis, and storytelling include the feature “Time & Place with Alicia Barber” for KUNR Public Radio, the C-SPAN Cities Tour, and her e-newsletter about Reno development, The Barber Brief. Author of Reno’s Big Gamble: Image and Reputation in the Biggest Little City, she received the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 2014.
Anjeanette Damon is a Reno-based investigative reporter for ProPublica’s Southwest office. Prior to joining ProPublica, she was the lead reporter and writer of Season 2 of The City Podcast, a longform investigative podcast by USA Today that was recognized as one of the 10 best podcasts in 2019 by The New Yorker. Her career in Nevada journalism spans two decades, with stints at the Reno Gazette Journal and the Las Vegas Sun.
Chris Moran is a public relations specialist for the Nevada Division of Tourism (Travel Nevada). Moran is a former newspaper reporter and editor, and held various positions at the Reno Gazette-Journal in Reno, Nevada, before joining Travel Nevada in 2011. She also worked at the Yakima Herald-Republic in Yakima, Washington, and the Sacramento Bee Neighbors, a weekly insert to the Sacramento Bee.
Frank X. Mullen is a Reno-based journalist, author, historian, and Chautauqua scholar. He is an alumnus of the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, and has been a newspaperman for 41 years, including 25 years as an investigative reporter at the Reno Gazette-Journal. He is the author of The Donner Party Chronicles, a history of the Donner Party, published in 1997 by Halcyon Press at Nevada Humanities. Mullen has been a Chautauqua performer since 1998. His historical characters include Babe Ruth, Henry VIII, and Albert Einstein. Mullen, now editor of the Reno News & Review, has appeared in documentaries on the History Channel, PBS, and other networks. He was an adjunct instructor of journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, and continues to teach classes at Truckee Meadows Community College. In 2021, he was inducted into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame. Mullen is the recipient of the 2021 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Award.
