Ed Vogel 1948-2015

Former Las Vegas Review Journal capitol bureau chief Ed Vogel died of cancer on Feb. 22.

Vogel, originally based in Las Vegas, came to the north to cover the legislature and liked the area. After being assigned to the capital, he and his wife Carol—also a journalist—settled in Genoa.

He had a unique story sense, seeing news or human interest in things other reporters did not. After the feds gave the operational name Misty Rain to a nuclear bomb test at the Nevada Test Site, Vogel wrote a fascinating piece about how the feds chose the names. On another occasion, he penned a story about state government's unusual officials like the state demographer. In many cases, his fresh eyes on Northern Nevada turned up stories local reporters had overlooked.

His long tenure resulted in a head full of institutional memory that his fellow journalists consulted regularly.

Vogel's RJ colleague A.D. Hopkins wrote, “For in-depth stories, Vogel sometimes used unorthodox research methods. Once, to accurately describe the difficulties faced by Las Vegas' homeless, he dressed in rags and spent a day and a night dumpster-diving, panhandling, and dodging policemen.”

Vogel was named to the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2012.