About us

History

Located in Incline Village, Nev., the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza has been the community's voice since 1970.

The North Lake Tahoe Bonanza's precursor was a shopper began in 1964 called the Lake Tahoe Bonanza. It was published by the Tahoe Daily Tribune and served the five counties of the Tahoe Basin. It became the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza in 1970 with the aim of serving the North Shore as the community newspaper. David Trussell was the first publisher and it had the attention of Incline Village resident Phillip Swift, founder of its owner, Swift Newspapers. Gradually, the Bonanza began to focus its attention primarily on the Nevada side of the North Shore, providing local news and features that cannot be found in any other media.

The North Lake Tahoe Bonanza was published on Wednesdays and Fridays until 2003 when it launched a Sunday edition. The newspaper continues to be published three times a week, with several special features in the Sunday edition, including a page in Spanish.

The North Lake Tahoe Bonanza serves the communities of Incline Village and Crystal Bay, Nev., with a strong readership from Kings Beach, Calif. A marketing survey taken in July 2005 showed that the Bonanza enjoys an 85 percent readership level.

Readership and community involvement

The Bonanza places an emphasis on being involved in the community. Publisher Terrie Drago serves on several community committees and boards, and staff members participate in various community functions, such as Star Follies and Vagina Monologues, or volunteers within the school system, such as the Incline Middle School Junior Boosters or the Crab Feed.

Web sites

The Bonanza has two Web sites, www.tahoebonanzarealestate.com and www.tahoebonanza.com. You can also find the e-edition of the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza on www.tahoebonanza.com; this is an online replica of the actual newspaper, complete with photos and advertisements.

Awards and honors

The Bonanza continually earns awards for editorial and advertising excellence.

In 2008, The North Lake Tahoe Bonanza was honored as an outstanding publication by the Association of Free Community Papers. The Bonanza was given a third place award as an “Outstanding Publication” in the nation. The Bonanza also earned three first-place awards in the newspaper contest: first place to the staff for coverage of the inaugural celebration of Red, White and Tahoe Blue; first place to Kyle Magin for Best Original Writing; first place to Carrie Richards for Best Original Color Photography.

In 2007, the Nevada Press Association gave the Bonanza second place for general excellence, and then awarded the following staff: Tom Meyer with second place for Best News Feature Story, Erin Roth for third place for Best News Feature Story, Tanya Canino, second place for Best Editorial Writing, honorable mention for Community Service, Morgan Kriz, honorable mention for Best Information Graphic, Emma Garrard, first place for Best Feature Photo.

In 2007, the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation awarded publisher Terrie Lafferty Drago and editor Tanya Canino with the Outstanding Media Partner Award.