National Public Radio's "Day to Day" aired Amanda Becker's (M.A. Print Journalism '08, pictured) project for News21 — A national 10-week Carnegie-Knight initiative led by five of America's leading research universities, including USC Annenberg — about Washoe County's growing political importance in Nevada and the 2008 presidential race.

A political scientist she interviewed said political turnout in Las Vegas' Clark County is low, and Washoe County could be the deciding factor in which presidential candidate carries the state. Nevada has correctly picked the winner in all but one election since 1912.

"Which means Reno, Nevada's biggest little city, should be getting a lot of campaign visits this year," Becker said.

A local Democratic party official Becker interviewed said liberal county residents previously needed to keep their Democratic views a secret to keep colleagues, friends and bosses happy. But the interviewees agreed that Reno is in the middle of a cultural and political renaissance. The margin of the registered Republican advantage in Washoe County has dropped two-thirds.

"And that's breathing new life into liberal political activism," Becker said. "Residents like David Kladney have even started hosting Democratic house parties."

Becker later said she enjoyed covering Las Vegas politics for News21 because of the access to resources and expert guiding faculty such as journalism professor Marc Cooper, associate journalism director Pat Dean and USC Annenberg Radio News director Willa Seidenberg.

"It's a great opportunity for young reporters because you're given a lot of responsibility and a travel budget, and that's something we probably won't get to do again until later in our careers," she said.

Becker, who went to Indiana University for undergraduate studies and is fresh off her News21 fellowship, recently accepted a job as a staff writer covering the business side of law for The Daily Journal.

She recently sold freelance pieces to Marketplace and Marketplace Money about the World Series of Poker and workforce shortages in the utility industry, respectively.

Day to Day piece
More on Becker
News21
Marketplace Money piece