Kathy Espin searches for a new chapter in her life as she looks back at her career in Las Vegas
Storified by KeilaniCayabyab ·
Mon, Dec 04 2017 19:30:17
Kath Espin laughing with her media ethics students. (Photo by Keilani Cayabyab)
Kathy Espin stood before her students in a media ethics class and began a discussion on a case called "ABC vs. Food Lion." Espin's students voiced their opinion and Espin voiced hers, opening the floor for an engaging atmosphere. Espin and her students laughed, asked questions and stayed on topic until the end.
![The landmark Food Lion case | Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press]()
The landmark Food Lion case | Reporters Committee for Freedom of the PressJournalists who lie on employment applications to gain access to private facilities for newsgathering activities are not protected by the First Amendment and may be liable for trespass or other offenses, a federal appellate court ruled more than a dozen years ago in a ruling that remains the leading case on the issue.
Kathy Espin, a journalism professor and internship coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), calls Las Vegas her home. Through trials and tribulations, she paved the way to a life she can say she enjoyed as she considers retirement after teaching for 21 years at UNLV. Each of Espin’s chapters define important moments that led to where she is today. Now, Espin searches for the next meaningful chapter in her life.
"It just clicked. I got what he was talking about and the style of writing," Espin said. "I was bit. The die was cast."
Espin did not pursue journalism in the beginning. In 1973, as Espin’s children were no longer children, she went back to school for a degree in teaching. Espin considers herself a family-oriented person and believed teaching as the best path for her.
While studying as a freshman, Espin’s English classes encouraged her towards writing. After taking advice, Espin ended up in a journalism class as the only freshman amongst juniors and seniors. Espin said she felt intimidated but when she approached her journalism professor, her professor did not turn her away. Espin’s journalism professor encouraged her to continue taking the class so Espin stuck it out and bumped elbows with upperclassmen.
At the end of the semester, Espin wrote her first ever feature story on an assertive training class through continuing education at UNLV. When everyone handed in their stories, the professor expressed his disappointment in everyone except Espin. The professor edited Espin’s story and submitted it to the Review Journal, which published her story. Espin said seeing her own byline in print gave her the adrenaline rush that kept her going.
Espin worked for Hank Greenspun at the Las Vegas Sun when the Las Vegas Sun had only 25-30 employees in the newsroom and the Associated Press next door in the same office. Espin described the paper as Greenspun’s political toy and said there was a lot of control over things that frustrated the liberals like herself.
Though the job frustrated her, Espin does not regret her time spent as a journalist at the Las Vegas Sun. Espin said the Las Vegas Sun gave her opportunities far beyond her skills and opportunities at the time. She learned and grew in the job as a journalist.
"It was the best aggravating, maddening job I've ever had," Espin said. "I loved it."
Kathy Espin when she worked at the Las Vegas Sun. (Photo by Keilani Cayabyab)
Espin left journalism in 1985 and went into public relations for casinos. Then in 1996, Espin did freelancing for 10 years and worked part-time at UNLV, before becoming a full-time instructor seven years ago.
"There's a reason why they call it work," Espin said about her time as an instructor at UNLV. "But out of all the jobs I've had its the most rewarding."
Espin explained the creative freedom and flexibility as an instructor at UNLV. Espin said never once in her career has anyone ever said she cannot try an idea. Espin helped develop the first-year seminar for Urban Affairs students.
“Kathy is very dedicated to her students,” said Stephen Bates, fellow journalism professor at UNLV. “She helps them find their niche in the journalism field through the internship program and local media.”
As an instructor, Espin develops wise consumers of public information as her students critically examine what they see and hear. Espin considers this as her mission as a teacher and she believes that this mission should account for all other teachers as well. Espin said that those skills are vital for the future of our country.
