John L Smith’s resignation this week came days after the Review-Journal’s new editor, Keith Moyer, made the ban public knowledge in an interview with the Society of Professional Journalists over the weekend.
“As long as I’m editor, John won’t write about Sheldon Adelson,” said Moyer, who claimed a conflict of interest in light of the past litigation. According to Vegas journalist and broadcaster Jon Ralston, the ban also extends to commentary about Adelson’s pal, Steve Wynn, a man who also sued Smith over a book that alleged mob ties.
Sheldon Adelson, who is determined to prohibit regulated online poker from gaining a foothold in the United States, purchased the newspaper secretly in December last year. The owner’s mystery identity was only eventually revealed by sleuthing from reporters within the newspaper itself.
The fact that a Vegas newspaper’s top columnist was barred from writing about two key figures within the city’s main industry, who between them employ thousands and thousands of Las Vegas residents, raises serious questions about its editorial independence under Adelson’s patronage.
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