We’re not sure, but we think that our colleague Anjeanette Damon gets so many scoops because there’s really nothing to do up in Reno, where she lives. That’s why she nailed this one: Gov. Jim Gibbons‘ press secretary, Melissa Subbotin, has quit. She’s leaving at month’s end.

So, we’ll actually miss Subbotin, undoubtedly far more than she’ll miss us.

Most people think of journalists as cynical, skeptical alcoholics pounding away at a typewriter keyboard while smoking and making light of some tragedy with gallows humor, the kind of thing you might see in old movies. But they’re smart, see? It’s hard to fool a real newspaperman. And while we wish that were the case, the reality is much different.

Take for example this excerpt from a story in American Journalism Review, a magazine that covers the newspaper industry. The story was about newspapers that use information from Wikipedia, the online database that allows anybody to write or edit entries about a vast array of subjects. Sayeth AJR: 

Hubble Smith, the Review-Journal business reporter who wrote the crane story, says he was simply looking for background on construction cranes for a feature on the Las Vegas building boom when the Wikipedia entry popped up during a search. [It claimed the ancient Greeks invented cranes.] It was among the most interesting information he found, so he used it. But after his story went to the desk, a copy editor flagged it.

"He said, ‘Do you realize that Wikipedia is just made up of people who contribute all of this?’" Smith recalls. "I had never used it before." The reference was checked and allowed to remain in the story.

It’s hard to imagine the worst part of this story: Was it that Smith didn’t know that Wikipedia is written by just about anybody with an Internet connection, and that entries can be edited to include total bullshit? Or was it that he didn’t check information he randomly got off the Internet? Or was it that he’s willing to admit all of this in front of the whole reading audience of one of journalism’s top trade publications?

Seriously, are we going to start seeing stories about a giant monster destroying New York if Smith stumbles onto the website for Cloverfield? He knows there’s no such thing as the Blair Witch Project, right? Seriously, dude, those kids are OK. And somebody better tell him that investing any money at all in Nigeria is a really bad idea. 

On the upside, it’s good to know there are sharp-eyed copy editors at the R-J who are smart enough to raise questions about seemingly improbable claims and call reporters on the carpet when things like this come up. That’s probably why we haven’t seen a story about the footwear industry boom linked to increased production from leprechauns. 

How much would you pay to have lunch with us at Various Things & Stuff? (We asked one person here at the office, and she replied, "Well, where would the lunch be at?" It’s that kind of quick thinking that makes the CityLife staff the best in the valley, bar none.)

Anyway, what if we threw in our colleague Jon Ralston, host of Face to Face with Jon Ralston and a columnist and blogger for the Las Vegas Sun? That’s like doubling the value of that precious lunch hour, don’t you think?

We only ask because the people over at KNPR-FM 88.9 are auctioning off lunch with yours truly and Ralston as part of the radio station’s fifth annual online auction. It’s a fundraiser for a very worthy cause: the fine programming of National Public Radio as well as locally created programs such as State of Nevada, whereon we have occasionally been invited as a guest.

Currently, as we write this, the bid is up to $320, which is great. We’re totally smoking other media celebrities, including Review-Journal gossip columnist Norm Clarke, freelancer, Las Vegas Weekly columnist and podcaster Steve Friess, R-J "Online Guy" Al Gibes, Hugh Anderson (also to include Greenspun Media Group executive Bruce Spotelson or Tim Cashman of Las Vegas Harley Davidson), and even KNPR General Manager Flo Rogers herself! And we don’t even have an accent!

But we are being vexed by KLAS Channel 8’s own George "The Knappster" Knapp! His bid is up to $390 as we write this, no doubt helped along by those oh-so-cute Knapp childhood photos Channel 8 is running for February sweeps! (What happened to the day when sweeps meant wall-to-wall hot chicks? That’s what we want to know!)

Oh, food critic John Curtas is also slightly ahead of us at $330, but we can understand that, since we’ve been to lunch with that guy, and it’s totally worth it. He picks the best wine. (Personally, if we were bidding, we’d totally go for Curtas, Clarke or Knappster; they’ve all got great stories to tell.)

But in the spirit of healthy competition, we’ve got to plug bidding on lunch with us and Ralston. C’mon, political junkies! If you’re reading this blog, you’re obviously the kind of disturbed person who likes to talk about politics, so that lunch is right up your alley! Plus, if the Knappster beats us, well, let’s just say that doesn’t look good, OK?

So get on over to KNPR’s website, click on the auction link, find "names in the news" on the navigation column on the left-hand side of the screen, and then scroll down to "Lunch with Political Pundits Steve Sebelius and Jon Ralston" and bid away! (You can also click on the link at the top of this post.) Remember, it’s for a good cause. From now on, whenever you’re listening to State of Nevada, you can take pride in the fact that you helped keep that show on the air. But you’ve got to hurry, since the auction ends Saturday, so get to it!