About Us

We provide Nevadans with in-depth news coverage and informed opinions that shed light on the matters that affect them most. We operate as a reader-supported nonprofit that is committed to transparency in how we are funded and how we report.

The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information, provide space for elevated dialogue on policy and help increase civic engagement across Nevada.

We do not have a paywall, and all our content is free. Regular readers and supporters of our mission can choose to become sustaining members through a monthly or annual donation. We are supported by grants from a variety of charitable foundations, philanthropists who value nonpartisan journalism, corporate donations, memberships, and event ticket sales and sponsorships. We disclose all our members and donors on this searchable page as well as in stories in which they are mentioned. Donors have no influence over our content.
The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as The Nevada Independent's editor-in-chief. You can read CEO Jon Ralston's Jan. 16, 2017 introduction of The Nevada Independent here.

CONTENT

Our primary focus areas are state and local government; campaigns and elections; the Nevada economy and business; and the following policy areas: education; health care; the environment; courts; immigration; and energy. We endeavor to provide accountability journalism — holding elected officials and government accountable to voters — as often as possible.

We provide content in both English and Spanish in order to serve the entire Nevada community.

We have formed content-sharing agreements with a number of Nevada's rural and small town newspapers, many of whom struggle to adequately staff their newsrooms for financial reasons. Stories written by The Nevada Independent are re-published free of charge by the following media outlets: Elko Daily Free Press, The Fernley Reporter, Winnemucca Publishing, among others. Read more about our rural partnerships here.

Our editorial policies including interview protocols, our approach to transparency, our standards for the use of anonymous sources and our guidelines for opinion-editorials can be found here.

OUR TEAM

Our seasoned team of credentialed reporters, editors and veteran columnists work hard to provide Nevadans with nonpartisan coverage they can trust. We also publish occasional freelance work from talented journalists and columnists.

OUR READERS

We are committed to a high level of reader engagement. We love to hear from our readers — including what we can and should be doing better — and often publish well-written opinion-editorials from private citizens (again, you can read our policies and guidelines for opinion pieces here).

NONPROFIT NEWS & 990s

Tax-exempt nonprofits are required to provide copies, upon request, of their three most recently filed annual information returns (IRS Form 990) and their application for tax-exemption. To make it easier for those seeking historical and financial information about The Nevada Independent, we have provided links to all of our filed 990s since receiving IRS confirmation of our EIN (Federal Tax ID 27-3192716) and our IRS determination letter of nonprofit status.

If you have questions about our legal or financial status, contact Operations Manager Stephanie Lauer at [email protected].

Governing documents

Whistleblower Protection Policy