[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5448]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING JOHN L. SMITH OF THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL

  (Ms. TITUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, the Las Vegas Review Journal, Nevada's 
largest newspaper, lost another standard bearer this week. John L. 
Smith, who resigned after citing difficulties with management, spent 
nearly three decades enlightening, emboldening, and entertaining the 
Las Vegas community.
  In his resignation letter, John L. Smith said that he learned to 
never punch down in his weight class, an approach that is rare in 
journalism today.
  He wrote: ``You don't hit little people. You defend them.''
  Those principles, reflected in his columns that appeared four times a 
week, made him a beloved figure, a respected wordsmith, and a community 
leader.
  It is no surprise that during the week when he resigned, he received 
the Ancil Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism. It wasn't the first 
time his work had been recognized, and I am sure it will not be the 
last.

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