Former Review-Journal managing editor dies at 74

Former Las Vegas Review-Journal Managing Editor Charles Zobell died Wednesday, days before he was to be inducted into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame. He was 74.

In an interview Tuesday at his Las Vegas home, Zobell told the Review-Journal that he and his daughter planned to attend the Saturday ceremony in Reno.

“It’s an honor,” he said.

The Review-Journal learned from Zobell’s daughter, Rebecca, that he died Wednesday afternoon, when he was scheduled to sit for a portrait to accompany a story about Hall of Fame inductees. The Nevada Press Foundation announced last month that Zobell was going to be inducted with seven other distinguished journalists.

Zobell was born on March 17, 1950, in Provo, Utah. He worked at the Review-Journal for 35 years, starting as a reporter in 1975 after graduating from Brigham Young University in Utah.

He left the newspaper in 1978 to work as director of intergovernmental relations for the city of Las Vegas but returned in 1980 as city editor. He eventually became managing editor, filling that role for two decades before his position was eliminated in 2012.

“I love journalism because I love to write,” he said. “And I love journalism because I like to know what’s going on before anybody else does and then try to explain it to others. And in truth, I like journalism because you can in fact effect change by informing people.”

Zobell made changes that improved the Review-Journal but spoke about his accomplishments modestly, often using the pronoun “we,” rather than “I.”

He said his editing philosophy was that the paper had hired talented people and should let them do their jobs without interfering in their writing. When hiring, he focused on candidates’ writing ability, he said, because they could learn reporting skills more easily than the talent of writing.

“He didn’t slash and burn on copy,” said Thomas Mitchell, the paper’s former top editor. “He worked with people and got it right.”

Mitchell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020.

Zobell also worked to strengthen the paper’s relationship with the Las Vegas community. Notably, he conceived and led the paper’s R-Jeneration program, which taught teens about journalism and helped them produce a weekly Sunday page.

He hired women and minorities and tried to get the newsroom to reflect the community.

“When I was city editor, this was a top priority in my mind,” he said. “I was embarrassed any time a Black leader in town would say, ‘How many Black reporters do you have over there?’”

Hiring minorities built credibility, he said, and reporters from diverse backgrounds could correct their editors when they made mistakes.

‘Wanted everything to be fair’

Zobell’s former colleagues praised him as kind and ethical.

“He wanted everything to be fair, even if we knew somebody was a bum,” retired columnist Jane Ann Morrison, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022 said.

Photographer Kevin Cannon said Zobell “cared about all of us” and was “fiercely loyal to the RJ and our product and our people.”

Assistant Managing Editor Carri Geer Thevenot, whom Zobell hired over the phone in 1990, said she was “shocked and saddened to learn of his death.”

She recalled him as a loyal, protective editor.

“What I remember most about Charlie is that, as a reporter, I could always count on him to have my back whenever a situation arose where I needed his support,” she said.

Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook was hired in 1996, when Zobell was managing editor, and looked forward to introducing him at Saturday’s ceremony.

“Charlie brought thoughtfulness and conscience to the newsroom every day he came to work,” Cook said. “His career in leadership overlapped an extraordinary period in the city’s history: the transformation of the Strip and the growth of the valley into a big city. He very much was holding the pencil that wrote the first draft of many chapters of Las Vegas history.”

Former Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick said in a statement that Zobell “stood out for his demand for fairness and commitment to excellence.”

“If you were looking for a journalist from which to model a career, Charlie Zobell would be it,” Frederick wrote.

Valued his faith

In addition to his daughter, Zobell is survived by his wife, Marilyn of Las Vegas; son, David of Arlington, Virginia; and three grandchildren.

Rebecca Zobell, who lives in Las Vegas, said he was a hands-on, attentive father who was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and valued his faith.

“He was very welcoming and open with everybody,” she said. “He just cared.”

In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to records, she said. He liked the Beatles, the Beach Boys and ABBA, as well as classical music and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

After he left the Review-Journal, he was director of digital media at KSNV-TV, Channel 3. He also taught a news reporting and writing course at UNLV for over 20 years.

Despite his stint in TV news, Zobell was a loyalist to print journalism.

“When I could see a student who had that talent to write well, I would try to encourage them to go into print,” he said. “Either magazine writing or something that relates somewhat to serious work, to real journalism.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.