Jon Ralston#The Nevada Independent

{{short description|American journalist and political commentator}}

{{Other people||John Ralston (disambiguation){{!}}John Ralston}}

{{Infobox person

|name=Jon Ralston

|image=

|birth_date={{birth date and age|1959|7|13}}

|birth_place=Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.

|education=Cornell University (BA)
University of Michigan (MA)

|occupation=Journalist

|years_active=1984–present

|employer=Las Vegas Review-Journal (1984–1999)
Las Vegas Sun (1999–2012)
Politico (2015–2016)
Reno Gazette-Journal (2015–2016)

|television=KLAS-TV and Las Vegas One (1999–2010)
KENV-DT, KRNV-DT and KSNV (2010–2014)
KLVX and KNPB (2015–2016)
KTNV-TV (2016)

|party=Independent (1994–present)

|children=1{{cite news|last1=Ralston|first1=Jon|title=The child I love|url=https://www.ralstonreports.com/blog/child-i-love|accessdate=January 22, 2017|work=Ralston Reports|date=May 23, 2016}}

|website={{Official website| https://thenevadaindependent.com/}}

}}

Jonathan Mark Ralston (born July 13, 1959){{cite web|title=Jon Ralston - Biography|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6839842/bio|website=IMDb|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=March 11, 2016}} is an American journalist, political commentator, and former talk show host.{{cite web|title=Ralston Live|url=http://www.vegaspbs.org/ralston-live/|website=Vegas PBS|accessdate=March 11, 2016}} His show, Ralston Live, was seen each weekday on the two Nevada PBS stations in Las Vegas and Reno until being discontinued on June 21, 2016.

In 2017, Ralston launched The Nevada Independent (TNI), a nonprofit online news site devoted to Nevada business and government.

Early life and education

Ralston was born in Morristown, New Jersey and grew up in Buffalo, New York, where he attended Williamsville South High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Cornell University in 1981 and a Master of Arts in journalism from the University of Michigan in 1983.{{cite web|last1=Ralston|first1=Jon|title=Jon Ralston|url=http://vegaspundit.typepad.com/about.html|website=Vegas Pundit (ret.)|publisher=Jon Ralston|accessdate=March 11, 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Ralston|first1=Jon|title=About|url=https://www.ralstonreports.com/about|website=Ralston Reports|date=September 5, 2012|publisher=Jon Ralston|accessdate=March 11, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Jon Ralston|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Jon_Ralston|website=Ballotpedia|accessdate=March 11, 2016}}

Career

After completing his master's degree, Ralston moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to become a night-time police reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 1984. In 1986, he was assigned to cover politics, and in 1989, he became a full-time political columnist for that paper. In 1999, he sold his newsletter side project to Greenspun Media Group and began writing for the Las Vegas Sun, one of its newspapers. His book, The Anointed One: An Inside Look At Nevada Politics, was published in September 2000. It recounted how Kenny Guinn won his first election, the Nevada governor's race in 1998, with backing from the casino industry and political insiders.{{cite web|last1=Ralston|first1=Jon|title=Anointed One|url=http://huntingtonpress.com/anointed-one/|website=Huntington Press|publisher=Huntington Press Publishing|accessdate=March 11, 2016}}{{cite book|title=The Anointed One Paperback – September 19, 2000|isbn=0929712013|last1=Ralston|first1=Jon|year=2000|publisher=Huntington Press }}

In September 2012, Ralston left the Las Vegas Sun. In 2014, Ralston appeared as an actor in the Amazon original series Alpha House.{{cite news | accessdate = May 25, 2016 | date = January 11, 2014 | publisher= MSNBC | title =Surprising cameos in 'Alpha House' season finale | url = http://www.msnbc.com/weekends-alex-witt/watch/surprising-cameos-in-alpha-house-finale-113715267948 | first= Alex | last = Witt }} His KSNV Ralston Reports TV show ended on December 12, 2014.{{cite web|last1=Roerink|first1=Kyle|title=TV station pulls the plug on Nevada political reporter Jon Ralston's 'Ralston Reports|url=https://nevadastatepersonnelwatch.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/tv-station-pulls-the-plug-on-nevada-political-reporter-jon-ralstons-ralston-reports/|website=Nevada State Personnel Watch|publisher=Ty Robben|accessdate=March 11, 2016|date=December 2, 2014|archive-date=March 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313143106/https://nevadastatepersonnelwatch.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/tv-station-pulls-the-plug-on-nevada-political-reporter-jon-ralstons-ralston-reports/|url-status=dead}} On January 7, 2015, he began writing for the Reno Gazette-Journal.{{cite news|last1=Scott|first1=Kelly|title=Jon Ralston joins RGJ political coverage team|url=https://nevadastatepersonnelwatch.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/kelly-scott-jon-ralston-joins-rgj-political-coverage-team/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313142902/https://nevadastatepersonnelwatch.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/kelly-scott-jon-ralston-joins-rgj-political-coverage-team/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 13, 2016|accessdate=March 11, 2016|work=Nevada State Personnel Watch|publisher=Ty Robben|date=December 17, 2014}} As of 2016, did a television show, Ralston Live, a different email newsletter called Flash, and a twice-weekly column for the Reno Gazette-Journal. His show was discontinued on June 21, 2016 by KLVX and KNPB.{{cite news| url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/jon-ralston-political-shows-dumped-las-vegas-reno-pbs-stations | first=Ben | last=Botkin | accessdate=January 20, 2017| date=June 21, 2016| title=Jon Ralston political shows dumped at Las Vegas, Reno PBS stations | work=Las Vegas Review-Journal}}

=Nevada election predictions and analysis=

Ralston analyzes Nevada elections, especially based upon early voting results and accurately predicted both the presidential election in Nevada and the Nevada Senate race in 2016 on the basis of early voting data.{{Cite news|url=http://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2016/11/05/ralston-how-deep-does-blue-wave-go/93349220/|title=Ralston: How deep does the blue wave go?|newspaper=Reno Gazette Journal|access-date=November 17, 2016}} In 2020, he accurately predicted the presidential election in Nevada and the two Las Vegas-area House races in which he offered predictions.{{Cite news|url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/biden-will-win-nevada-blue-wave-should-help-down-ballot|title=Biden will win Nevada, blue wave should help down ballot|work=Nevada Independent|last=Ralston|first=Jon|date=November 1, 2020|access-date=November 12, 2022}} In 2022, he accurately predicted the Nevada Senate race, two of the three Las Vegas-area House races, the gubernatorial race, the lieutenant gubernatorial election, the Secretary of State race, the Attorney General election, the Treasurer race, and the Controller race.{{Cite news|url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/crystal-ball-says-cortez-masto-hangs-on-sisolak-doesnt-and-dems-retain-two-of-three-house-seats|title=Crystal ball says Cortez Masto hangs on, Sisolak doesn't and Dems retain two of three House seats|work=Nevada Independent|last=Ralston|first=Jon|date=November 6, 2022|access-date=November 12, 2020}} In 2024, he incorrectly predicted that Kamala Harris would win the presidential election in Nevada.{{Cite news|url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/editor-jon-ralstons-2024-nevada-election-predictions|work=Nevada Independent|last=Ralston|first=Jon|title=Editor Jon Ralston's 2024 Nevada election predictions |date=November 4, 2024|access-date=November 4, 2024}}

=2016 Nevada Democratic state convention=

Reporting on the Nevada Democratic state convention in 2016, Ralston tweeted that supporters of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders had thrown chairs.{{cite tweet |user= @RalstonReports |number=731892274464841729 |date= May 15, 2016 |title= Convention ended w/security shutting it down, Bernie folks rushed stage, yelling obscenities, throwing chairs. Unity Now! On to Philly 2/2}} The Associated Press filed a similar report. NPR originally repeated Ralston's reporting as did other media outlets, but removed it after only being able to find evidence of a chair being lifted in the air but not of one being thrown.{{cite news|first=Elizabeth | last= Jensen |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/ombudsman/2016/05/18/478579787/fact-checking-nprs-reports-on-vegas-violence |title=Fact-Checking NPR's Reports On Vegas 'Violence' |work= NPR |date= May 18, 2016 |accessdate=May 20, 2016}} Snopes, a website that documents and debunks urban legends and rumors, identified Ralston as the source for the statement that Sanders supporters had thrown chairs and said there was no evidence to support it.Kim LaCapria, [http://www.snopes.com/did-sanders-supporters-throw-chairs-at-nevada-democratic-convention/ "The Chair Thrown 'Round the World"], Snopes, May 19, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.

=''The Nevada Independent''=

Ralston launched a digital news publication in early 2017 titled The Nevada Independent, and Ralston announced he would disclose the sources of its donations.{{Cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/11/jon-ralston-to-launch-nevada-news-site-231311|title=Jon Ralston to launch Nevada news site|newspaper=POLITICO|access-date=November 17, 2016}}{{cite news| last1=Bilton |first1=Ricardo |title= Jon Ralston is launching The Nevada Independent, with polls and Spanish-language features to offer a unique angle on a changing state |url=http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/11/jon-ralston-is-launching-the-nevada-independent-with-polls-and-spanish-language-features-to-offer-a-unique-angle-on-a-changing-state/|accessdate=January 22, 2017|work=NiemanLab| date=November 15, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Pratt|first1=Timothy|last2=Ember|first2=Sydney|title=Voice of Politics in Nevada Media Starts a News Website| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/business/media/frustrated-nevada-journalist-starts-his-own-news-website.html |accessdate=January 22, 2017|work=New York Times|date=January 16, 2017}}

Personal life

Ralston married Sarah Hoeveler, a former TV reporter and anchor, and they had one child.{{Cite web|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/former-las-vegas-journalist-sarah-ralston-dies-at-50/|title=Former Las Vegas journalist Sarah Ralston dies at 50|date=November 26, 2011}} They divorced and Ralston in 2012 married Jessica Sferrazza, a Reno city councilor.{{Cite web|url=https://mynews4.com/news/local/face-to-face-host-jon-ralston-marries-reno-city-councilor|title=Face to Face Host Jon Ralston marries Reno City Councilor|first=Sinclair Broadcast|last=Group|date=August 19, 2012|website=KRNV}} The couple divorced in 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://thenevadaglobe.com/articles/opinion-trackergate-may-reveal-more-than-identity-of-pi-client/|title=OPINION: TrackerGate May Reveal More Than Identity Of PI Client|first=T. C.|last=Sterling|date=April 10, 2023|website=Nevada Globe}}