7 Places to Get Las Vegas News
Thanks to its casinos (including the ones with single deck blackjack games), lavish resorts, celebrity sightings and big events, Las Vegas is one of the most-fascinating cities on the planet. And there are no shortage of news outlets covering events in Sin City.
But what should your top sources for Vegas news be?
If you're lost for the answer, read our guide below on the seven best outlets with regard to covering Las Vegas.
1. Las Vegas Review-Journal
As Nevada's largest newspaper, it should be no surprise that the Las Vegas Review-Journal (LVRJ) tops this list.
This is an excellent source for basic Vegas news on city developments, casino expansions, traffic accidents, crime and more. But where the LVRJ really shines is its columns, which feature prominent reporters.
Examples include: Norm Clarke covers celebrity news and gossip through his Vegas Confidential column, Steve Sebelius writes about state and nationwide politics, John L. Smith has written human interest columns since the 1980s and worked for the LVRJ until April 2016.
Controversy arose when Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Adelson purchased the newspaper for $140 million in 2015. And Smith quit after being told that he was no longer allowed to write critical articles about the billionaire.
Despite this incident, the LVRJ still offers the most up-to-date news on Vegas and along with the best columns.
2. Las Vegas Sun
Founded in 1950, the Las Vegas Sun is the city's other daily newspaper. The Sun currently distributes its afternoon print edition within the pages of the LVRJ, but they maintain an independent staff and website.
This paper has produced award-winning coverage, including one series on the high death rate of Vegas Strip construction workers that led to a Pulitzer Prize. The 4-part series actually sparked government reforms that improved conditions for the workers.
Months after this feature, the Sun changed their focus from daily news to features and analysis. Unfortunately, they also fired half their staff in this move, but the Sun still continues to produce top-rate features.
3. Vegas News
Vegas News is an online website that specializes in local stories and events, especially celebrity sightings and performances.
Examples include: celebrities partying at specific nightclubs, announcing new performance dates for singers and illusionists, and celebrities doing charity work around the city.
Aside from discussing celebrity news and gossip, Vegas News also offers coverage of new casino developments and additions. If a casino adds a significant pool area or convention space, you can bet that it'll be covered here.
The only downsides to Vegas News include an unattractive website and too many ads. But once you wade through the numerous ads, you'll find useful and up-to-date news.
4. FOX 5 Vegas
If you want straight news from Las Vegas, then FOX 5 is your source. You can either watch them through channel 5 on KVVU-TV or visit their website to get breaking Vegas stories.
Much like with Vegas News, we're not big fans of FOX 5's website because it's unappealing visually and has too many stories on the front page.
But don't let this stop you from visiting the website or watching KVVU-TV since FOX 5 does a great job at covering the latest Vegas news.
Some of the different news topics that you can find through this station include local and state news, politics, sports, traffic and weather.
5. Las Vegas Weekly
This online lifestyle magazine offers a number of features, interviews and food/drink tips. You'll also find restaurant reviews that'll help you pick your next fine dining experience.
It's difficult figuring out exactly what each section of Las Vegas Weekly contains. For example, the Events and Industry Weekly sections seem to run together.
But once you do figure out the navigation, you'll have access to a wealth of entertaining and useful news.
From cocktail-making tips to celebrity features, Las Vegas Weekly does a good job of bringing Sin City glamour to its pages. We also like the look of the website, which adds to the experience as you check out Las Vegas Weekly's features.
6. Las Vegas Sun Times
One thing that the Las Vegas Sun Times does a good job of is simplifying their website. The top of their site only has sections for news, sports and entertainment, which makes navigation easy.
On the other hand, this isn't a huge news outlet so the volume of stories are lower than what you'll see at the LVRJ and Las Vegas Sun.
Nevertheless, this is a solid source for local, Nevada and national news. Most of the coverage focuses on entertainment, city planning, casino construction, politics, crime and Vegas sporting events.
7. NBC 3 Vegas
Like FOX 5 and the Las Vegas Sun Times, NBC 3 is another option for straight news that's light on opinionated pieces and human-interest stories.
The NBC 3 website is better-looking than what FOX 5 and the Sun Times offer. But scrolling the length of the homepage is cumbersome because it's so long.
This shouldn't be too much of a detraction, though, because NBC 3 offers quality news coverage of Vegas local events, crime, entertainment, events, weather and community news.
Conclusion
Whether you live in Las Vegas or like to vacation here, you'll find lots of interesting news on Sin City. But some outlets do a better job at covering stories than others, especially the seven that we discussed above.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun are great all-around news outlets that offer both features and local stories. If you only want news with no frills, FOX 5, NBC3 and the Las Vegas Sun Times are good sources.
If you're fascinated by Sin City's glamour and the numerous celebrities that party here, Vegas News and Las Vegas Weekly have entertaining pieces.
But no matter what you're looking for, you can't go wrong by following any of these news operations.
