The Oklahoma Publisher - Oklahoma Press Association

Transcription

The Oklahoma Publisher
Official Publication of the Oklahoma Press Association
www.OkPress.com
www.Facebook.com/okpress
INSIDE
PERFECTA AWARD:
OPA creates new award
for advertising insertion
excellency.
PAGE 6
ONF INTERNS: 21
student interns will be
working at Oklahoma
newspapers this summer,
thanks to the ONF Internship
Program.
PAGE 10
EL RENO HAS A NEW
PRESS: It’s all systems
go for the El Reno Tribune’s
new press in a new building.
PAGE 14
Vol. 83, No. 5
24 Pages • May 2012
BE PART OF THE TEAM AT THE
OPA 2012 ANNUAL CONVENTION
The 2012 OPA Annual Convention kicks off June 7
at the Reed Center in Midwest City, Okla.
There’s a full playbook of events from speakers to
roundtable discussions and even an autograph signing
by University of Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winners
Steve Owens, Billy Sims and Jason White.
Events begin Thursday afternoon with a session
introduced at least year’s convention, “News Flash.” If
you know the Ignite conferences or TED Talks, you’ll
get the idea. Eight or nine presenters will share their
ideas, accompanied by a slide presentation, each within
a five-minute time span.
Later Thursday night, get to know your fellow
“teammates” at the welcome dinner. Be sure to wear
your favorite local school or professional sports team
shirt or jersey. There will be fun activities led by
“coaches” from the National Center for Employment
Development.
The stands will be packed Friday morning for Ed
Henninger’s session on how you can use design elements and new content to generate revenue. Also that
morning will be a session by Joplin Globe editor Carol
Stark on her experiences covering the devastating May
2011 tornado. National Newspaper Association postal
consultant Max Heath will take time to review your
postal statement forms and look for ways to maximize
your postal savings. Call OPA at (405) 499-0040 to sign
up for these detailed one-on-one 15-minute sessions!
Governor Mary Fallin will be on hand at 11:00 a.m.
Friday, June 8, to participate in a question-and-answer
session with attendees.
The “Hit and Misses” luncheon Friday includes
several sweepstakes awards as well as the highly anticipated Blooper Awards.
Head-to-head concurrent sessions Friday afternoon
offer a variety of topics. Sessions include:
• When Write is Wrong, led by design consultant
Ed Henninger.
• Generating Revenue Through Community Events,
where publishers Jeff Funk, Enid News & Eagle; Jeff
Mayo, Sequoyah County Times; and Mary Mélon, The
Journal Record, share how they created popular community events that also built profits.
• Breaking News: Changes to USPS, led by Max
Heath, postal chairman for the National Newspaper
Association.
• Crime Reporting in a Small Town with session
Continued on Page 3
BE PART OF THE TEAM AT THE
OPA ANNUAL
CONVENTION
JUNE 7-9, 2012
REED CENTER, MIDWEST CITY, OK
2
The Oklahoma Publisher // May 2012
the point across and to impact the
reader. Don’t take that piece of gum!
TO A CLASS OF EIGHTH GRADERS,
O P A
P R E S I D E N T ’ S
C O L U M N
BY RUSTY FERGUSON, PUBLISHER OF THE CLEVELAND AMERICAN
Satisfied with my first mowing and
trimming effort of the season, I grew a
bit agitated the next day when I stepped
outside to see a number of dandelions
proudly waving their heads of goldenyellow florets above the freshly mowed
blades of grass.
One of my greatest irritants when
it comes to lawn care, dandelions have
been known to get the best of me. During my most recent war on the sneaky
weed, I was reminded of the May when
I actually found a positive spin on dandelions for a speech I gave at the local
National Honor Society initiation.
I was talking about being a leader
and used the dandelion as an example.
Dandelions don’t blend in. Instead, they
stand out. People can easily spot them
as being different from their surroundings. Dandelions rise above a given
situation.
Between year-end banquets for organizations such as NHS, commencements and graduations, I’ve enjoyed
talking to students who are clamoring
to move on to experience the big adventure of life.
As I was thinking about my nemesis,
the dandelion, some of those other May
addresses came to mind and I found
it interesting how much of what I’ve
shared with students is so easily adaptable to my life even today. For example,
I want my newspaper to, well, be a dandelion! I want it to stand out. I want it to
be noticed. And just as the seed-bearing
parachutes of those fuzzy, cotton-like
seed heads expand, lift out and blow
in the wind, I want the news that we
report to spread so that people are talking about it and new readers will take
root in homes across our community.
IN ANOTHER TALK TO STUDENTS, the
subject was the importance of being
honorable. I revealed my childhood
indiscretion involving a gum ball. I
admitted when tagging along with my
dad to the opening of a new grocery
store a box of colorful gum balls got
the best of me. While my dad was busy
chatting it up with the new store owner,
I quickly snatched a bright yellow gum
ball and stuck it in my pocket.
Once outside the store I popped it in
my mouth and enjoyed the instant pleasure my loot provided. Smacking away,
a few blocks later my dad turned to me
and asked what I had in my mouth.
Busted. He wanted to know where I got
it. The gig was up. He shifted gears and
turned his red and white Chevy pickup
around and headed back to that store,
giving me an earful along the way.
Once in front of the store, he
explained my next move. He handed
me a nickel and told me to walk in, ask
for the owner by name, present him
with the nickel and explain to him what
I had done and apologize. It was the
walk of shame.
I told the students that as they ventured out into life, many decisions of
right and wrong would come their way
and my encouragement to them was...
“don’t take that piece of gum.”
Isn’t the same true for us today?
Time is ticking away and the deadline is near. Confirmation of a quote is
needed. Couldn’t we just use another
anonymous source? Maybe even make
up a name. The facts may not be precise, but, hey, they’re close enough,
right? After all, they’re needed to get
I reminded their promotion was an
opportunity to continue learning. I
told them that if they thought books,
classes, homework and tests summed
up learning, then they still had a lot
to learn. I explained that we keep on
learning each and every day.
How true is that!? I think of how
in this industry we have continued to
learn. The technological advancements
alone have been staggering, yet we’ve
shown we can gain new knowledge
and change with the times. We learn
something new every time we go out to
investigate a story or follow-up a lead,
or sit down with an interesting character for a feature profile. We learn when
we cover meetings and ask the hard
questions.
In other end-of-school occasions,
I’ve talked about strength of character, dreaming, fostering an imagination, taking the initiative and good
old-fashioned hard work. Everything
I “preached” I’m reminded I should
practice. In the community newspaper
business it wouldn’t be difficult to fall
into a rut. Just meet the deadline. However, when we get imaginative with our
stories, features and design…when we
dream up a great new promotion…
when we step up to lead the community
in a worthwhile cause, when we take a
stand for what is right…it’s not just our
readers who benefit. We do, too.
And as hard as it is to admit, the
dang dandelion actually does have a
wide range of positive uses. I’ve been
told it spreads nutrients and adds minerals and nitrogen to soil. It is also
known to attract pollinating insects and
release ethylene gas which helps fruit
to ripen. I guess even irritants are here
for a reason. And that’s a lesson for all
of us.
THE POINT AFTER
“Learn to live and live to learn.”
— Bayard Taylor
Weekly newspapers featured in Oklahoma Today article by Terry Clark
“Fit to Print,” a story about Oklahoma’s weekly newspapers by Terry
M. Clark, was published in the MayJune issue of Oklahoma Today, the state
magazine.
Clark interviewed newspaper people
in Cherokee, Madill, Oologah, Sallisaw
and Sayre for the story.
“I wanted to show the influence and
role of weekly papers in every corner
of the state,” Clark said. “In spite of all
the doom and gloom people read about
newspapers, I think it is important that
Oklahomans know there is another
press out there that is vibrant and
adapting to change.
“The hardest part was culling
through 3,000 words of notes for a
1,200-word story,” he said. “Newspaper
people are delightfully quotable.”
OPA CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
GAME
PLAN
Complete Listing of Events at
www.OkPress.com
JUNE 7-9, MIDWEST CITY
OPA ANNUAL CONVENTION
Join the team at the OPA annual
convention. Ed Henninger, newspaper
layout & design consultant; Carol Stark,
editor of The Joplin Globe; and Max Heath,
NNA postal chairman, will speak. OU
Heisman Trophy winners Steve Owens, Billy
Sims and Jason White will sign autographs
at a reception on Friday, June 8. Don’t
miss this three-day event, which provides
networking opportunities and a dozen
educational sessions. (The deadline for
hotel room reservations at the Midwest City
Sheraton is May 23, call 1-800-325-3535.)
To view session descriptions and register
online, visit okpress.com/convention.
THU., JULY 12, OKC
(RESCHEDULED)
“PUMP UP YOUR AD
SALES” WITH EXPERTS
Presenters Mark Millsap (Express-Star,
Chickasha) and Karan Ediger (The Edmond
Sun) will cover the elements of becoming
a great salesperson. This workshop can
help ad salespeople who were hired in the
past six months, reporters who have started
selling ads, or ad reps who want to find
new techniques. Registration $35. For more
information or to register, visit okpress.com/
events-calendar.
THU., JULY 27, OKC
COLLEGE PUBLICATION
ADVISERS AND EDITORS
MEETING
Advisers and editors of college publications
are invited to this free event sponsored by
Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation and the
Oklahoma Collegiate Media Association.
The meeting will feature Freedom of
Information tips for college publications. For
more information or to register, visit okpress.
com/events-calendar.
For more information on upcoming events,
visit the OPA website at www.OkPress.com or
contact Member Services Director Lisa Potts at
(405) 499-0026, 1-888-815-2672
or e-mail [email protected].
More ways to get news from Bigheart Times
The Bigheart Times has joined the
ranks of other Oklahoma papers like
the Tulsa World, Vinita Daily Journal
and Weatherford Daily News by placing its content behind a paywall.
The new system offers various
options to subscribers including an
e-edition “flipbook,” which is the exact
replica of the printed version. The website will also post stories and photos
about breaking news off deadline and
offer more news and photos than the
print edition.
An annual subscription for all online
OPA CONVENTION
Continued from Page 1
leaders John D. Montgomery, Purcell
Register; Louise Red Corn, The Bigheart Times; and Barb Walter, The
Hennessey Clipper.
• More than Fair and Balanced, a
discussion on ethics led by newsroom
managers Mike Strain, Tulsa World;
Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman; and
Rob Collins, Enid News & Eagle.
• Hot Niche Ideas for New Revenues, presented by Ed Darling, publisher of the Duncan Banner.
Friday night is the Convention’s
Super Bowl – the Awards Banquet.
Find out how member papers ranked
in the 2012 Better Newspaper Contest.
The banquet also includes presentations of the OPA Milt Phillips Award,
the ONF Beachy Musselman Award
and the OPA Quarter and Half Century
Awards.
On Saturday, June 9, don’t miss a
chance to question U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe
and Dist. 2 Rep. Dan Boren, Dist. 3 Rep.
Frank Lucas, Dist. 4 Rep. Tom Cole and
Dist. 5 Rep. James Lankford.
For more information or to register,
see the convention game plan online at
www.okpress.com/convention.
CORRECTION
In the article “Nominating Committee recommends officers, directors for 2012-13 term” in last month’s
Oklahoma Publisher, the name of
Nominating Committee Chairman
Stu Phillips was inadvertently left
out of the list of those attending the
March 16, 2012, meeting. We regret
the error.
content is $35, one month is $10, six
months is $25 and one e-edition of the
paper is $1. You can also purchase one
article at a time for 25-cents per article.
The Times is the first newspaper in
the country to use a company called
TinyPass as its way to charge for content. TinyPass (www.tinypass.com) is
a startup company that allows news
organizations to charge for content in
any way they see fit without having to
erect expensive traditional paywalls.
Current print subscribers can pay
$10 extra to have full access to the
website for the duration of their print
subscription.
The goal, said Times’ publisher Louise Red Corn, is to reduce the number
of papers printed.
Some content will still be free on the
website – community events announcements, editorials, small breaking news
items and some photo galleries.
In the first two weeks that the paid
system was operating, there were more
than 70 transactions for content on the
site, generating about $400 in new revenue, said Red Corn.
O’Colly finds success behind paywall
It’s been more than one year since
Oklahoma State University’s The
Daily O’Collegian became what many
believe to be the first college news
outlet to charge for content online.
After many larger national publications like the Wall Street Journal and
New York Times began to erect paywalls, O’Colly General Manager Ray
Catalino thought it would be worth
it to place a dollar value on student
produced content.
Access is still free for readers with
an “.edu” email address or those who
live within 25 miles of Stillwater. Readers who don’t meet these criteria are
allowed to read three articles before
being prompted to sign in and subscribe.
Catalino set an informal goal of 100
subscribers in the first year. On the
one-year anniversary of the paywall
there were 156 subscribers; as of late
April there were 177 subscribers.
Having surpassed 100 subscribers,
The O’Colly even upped its online
subscription cost from $10 to $15 for
online content. Catalino has even budgeted $3,00 to $4,000 in revenue from
online subscribers for The O’Colly’s
next fiscal year.
The paper’s regular online audience is 2,000 and the print circulation
is 25,000.
Online subscribers came slow and
steady, with never more than three
signing up in one day, said Catalino.
Since The O’Colly switched to a pay
model, several other college papers
have followed suit including the Kansas State Collegian, Tufts University’s
Tufts Daily and Boston University’s
Daily Free Press.
3
The
Oklahoma
Publisher
ISSN 1526-811X
Official Publication of the
Oklahoma Press Association
PUBLISHER
Mark Thomas
[email protected]
EDITOR
Jennifer Gilliland
[email protected]
OPA OFFICERS
Rusty Ferguson, President
The Cleveland American
Jeff Shultz, Vice President
The Garvin County News Star
Gracie Montgomery, Treasurer
The Purcell Register
Mark Thomas,
Executive Vice President,
Oklahoma City
OPA DIRECTORS
Rod Serfoss, Past President
Clinton Daily News
Jeff Mayo, Sequoyah County Times
Jeff Funk, Enid News & Eagle
Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman
Dayva Spitzer, Sayre Record &
Beckham County Democrat
Brian Blansett, Shawnee News-Star
Mike Brown, Neighbor Newspapers
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499
(405) 499-0020
Toll-Free in Oklahoma: (888) 815-2672
www.OkPress.com
[email protected]
www.Facebook.com/OKPress
SUBSCRIBE TO
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER
$12 PER YEAR
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER (USPS 406-920) is
published monthly for $12 per year by the Oklahoma
Press Association, 3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma
City, OK 73105-5499. Periodicals postage paid at
Oklahoma City, OK.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, 3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.,
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499.
4
Century Chest to be opened
The countdown to the opening of
the First Lutheran Church of Oklahoma City’s “Century Chest” has begun.
On April 22, 2013, church members and other dignitaries will gather
to open the chest, which was buried
in the church basement at 1300 North
Robinson on April 22, 1913.
The chest is made of copper and
enclosed in double cement walls, one
foot under the ground.
The church has partnered with the
Oklahoma Historical Society so the
treasures of 1913 will be preserved
and exhibited at the Oklahoma History Center.
Some of the contents of the chest
include Oklahoma city newspapers,
Indian relics donated by Oklahoma’s Native American tribes, a quilt
stitched with the names of over 700
Oklahoma citizens, photographs,
paintings, books, poetry and more
than 40 messages from clubs and
organizations in 1913 to their counterparts in 2013.
The chest also contains 1913
products including a Kodak camera
shipped direct to the church from the
factory, a telephone, coins, clothing,
the pen with which President McKinley signed the free homes bill for
Oklahoma and a poster advertising
the first 4th of July celebration ever
held in Oklahoma City.
Three events for the opening of
the Century Chest are in the planning
stages.
The events include an unearthing ceremony at the First Lutheran
Church of Oklahoma City, a special
live opening of the chest at the Oklahoma Historical Center and, later, a
major exhibit at the History Center
revealing all of the historic treasures
recovered from the chest.
OKLAHOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
LAUNCHES GATEWAY TO HISTORY
Hundreds of thousands of historical Oklahoma newspaper pages are
available for free viewing thanks to the
Oklahoma Historical Society’s recent
project, “The Gateway to Oklahoma
History.”
The Gateway is an online repository
that allows users to browse through
newspaper pages dating from the 1840s
to the 1920s.
The project started in 2010 after the
Ethics and Excellence in Journalism
Foundation awarded the OHS a grant
to digitize public domain newspapers
in the collection. In the U.S., any work
published before Jan. 1, 1923, is in the
public domain.
The public domain is generally
defined as consisting of works that
are either not eligible for copyright
protection or with expired copyrights
and available for anyone to use for any
purpose.
The goal of the project is to “enhance
dramatically the ability of reporters,
journalism students and professors,
other teachers and students, historians,
and the general public to do research
in every newspaper that was published
from 1844 through 1923 in the area that
now is Oklahoma.”
To accomplish that goal, a researcher-friendly Internet platform named
“The Gateway to Oklahoma History”
was created and is accessible at gateway.okhistory.org.
The University of North Texas
Libraries’ Digital Libraries Division
developed the platform.
OHS also received two “We the People” grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a grant
from the Chickasaw Nation.
OPA and OHS began a partnership
in 1893 to preserve Oklahoma’s news-
The Oklahoma Historical Society’s
new portal, The Gateway to Oklahoma
History, contains thousands of historical
newspaper pages. The website can be
accessed at gateway.okhistory.org.
papers for future generations. Today,
93 percent of all Oklahoma newspapers
ever published are preserved on microfilm at the OHS located at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
“OPA has been a supporter of the
OHS since its inception, and supported
the efforts to secure this public domain
newspaper digitization grant,” said
Mark Thomas, executive vice president
of the Oklahoma Press Association.
“To see the grant come to fruition
and make these historically valuable
newspapers available is an exciting
development.
“I expect newspapers will be among
the first and most frequent users of
these old pages. Hopefully, while people are viewing these early day newspapers, they will also remember the
value of having a local newspaper that
records local events for generations
that follow us.”
NEWSPAPER & PUBLICATION BINDING
Before you have your next issue bound, give us a call. We offer exceptional quality,
competitive pricing and fast turnaround times. With three generations of experience, we have the knowledge and skill to get your job done. Other services
include Bible binding and restoration, embossing and much more.
ACE BOOKBINDING CO.
825 N. Classen Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73106
(405) 525-8888 or Toll-Free at 1-800-525-8896
E-mail: [email protected] • www.AceBookBinding.com
Tuttle Times receives conservation award
The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts and the Oklahoma
Press Association recently presented
their Excellence in Communication
Awards.
The awards were presented on April
16 during Conservation Day at the
State Capitol. Awards presented were:
• Excellence in Communication,
Newspaper Award presented to the
Thomas Tribune, nominated by the
Deer Creek Conservation District.
• Excellence in Communication District Award presented to Kay County
Conservation District for its Outstanding Communication Campaign.
• Excellence in Communication District presented to the Oklahoma
County Conservation District for its
Outstanding Newsletter.
• Excellence in Communication
Broadcast Award presented to
George Plummer, News Director,
KOOL 105.5 FM, Chickasha.
The OACD/OPA Excellence in Recognition Communications program has
proven to be a positive means to recognize the work of the state’s press
in informing the public about natural
resource conservation.
The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) and the Oklahoma Press
Association (OPA) presents the Excellence in Communication Newspaper Award to
the Thomas Tribune. Pictured from left are OPA Executive Vice President Mark Thomas;
Jamie King, Thomas Tribune editor; Deer Creek Conservation District employee Kristi
Hill; Deer Creek Conservation District board member Bertha Miller; Deer Creek CD
employee Christine Harper; Deer Creek CD board member Alveta Taylor, and OACD
President Joe Parker. The Deer Creek Conservation District nominated the Thomas
Tribune for the award.
Tulsa County News closes up shop after 90 years
On April 25, Tulsa County Publishing Inc. ceased publication of the Tulsa
County News.
“Southwest Tulsa is on the upswing
so it is particularly hard to have to close
this paper after nearly 90 consecutive
years of weekly publication,” said Gary
Percefull, co-publisher of the News.
“We are grateful to our loyal subscribers and advertisers who supported this
community-oriented enterprise. We are
also grateful for our many contributors,
including area high school students.”
Tulsa County News started in 1922
as the West Tulsa News. The paper
has changed names multiple times in
its nine decades of printing, including Tulsa County News and Southwest
Tulsa News.
Bill Retherford owned the paper for
many years and built the Neighbor
Newspaper group after purchasing the
Tulsa County News in 1965. He also
published papers in Bixby, Broken
Arrow, Collinsville, Coweta, Glenpool,
Jenks, Owasso, Sand Springs and Skiatook.
Community Publishers Inc. purchased Neighbor Newspapers after
Retherford’s death in 2005.
CPI had planned on closing the
Tulsa County News in April of 2008
but three Tulsa business people, Jim
Frasier, Linda Jordan and Percefull purchased the paper from CPI and formed
Tulsa County Publishing Inc.
“Our plan was to attempt a rescue
and we gave ourselves one year to turn
things around. We made it almost four
years before we ran out of gas,” Percefull said.
During those four years the Tulsa
County News won several OPA awards,
including the Sequoyah Award.
Tulsa County News subscribers will
continue to receive either the Sands
Springs Leader or South County Leader from CPI, said Percefull.
“We are grateful to Community Publishers, Inc. for continuing to serve our
readers,” Percefull said.
“We believe they are positioned to
continue community coverage in our
area of focus in south and west Tulsa
County.”
MAKE TRACKS TO THE OPA CONVENTION
JUNE 7-9, 2012 • REED CENTER, MIDWEST CITY, OK
For more information or to register visit www.OkPress.com/convention
New managing
editor at Duncan
Banner; Kaley
returns to Waurika
Daniel Kelley is the new managing of the Duncan Banner.
Kelley is a Kentucky native and
returns to the newspaper business
after a stint in medical school and
the food industry.
He replaces Jeff Kaley, who will
return to the Waurika News-Democrat as editor and general manager.
“We’re really pleased to have a
young, talented professional like
Daniel join our staff,” Ed Darling,
publisher of The Banner, said.
“He’s an excellent writer,
designer and organizer who will
add much, not only to The Banner,
but to the communities we serve as
well.”
Kelley will oversee news gathering for The Duncan Banner,
duncanbanner.com, Duncan…the
magazine and other projects.
Kelley is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. Previously, he
was news editor of the Manhattan
(Kan.) Mercury and copy editor
of the Georgetown (Ky.) NewsGraphic.
He also spent time on the promotional team of the Lexington Legends, a minor-league baseball team
in Lexington, Ky.
Kelley was an editor-columnist
for Kentucky Kernel and a sportswriter for the Bourbon Times and
Citizen, both in Paris, Ky.
Kaley has spent 26 years working for the Duncan Banner and
Waurika News-Democrat.
He started as sports editor of
the Duncan Banner in 1985. He is
returning to Waurika, where he
spent six years as editor, after a
year at The Banner.
Prior to working at the Banner
and News-Democrat, Kaley worked
for the Stillwater News-Press, the
Borger (Texas) News-Herald and
the Robinson (Ill.) News.
Kaley’s wife is a former Banner
editor and is now editor of the
Cotton Electric Current.
5
6
OPS ADVERTISING INSERTION ACCURACY
Oklahoma Press Association recognizes the 153 business member
newspapers that successfully ran all ads placed by Oklahoma Press Service
for the first quarter of 2012 (January through March).
Congratulations for a job well done.
The (Afton) American
The Altus Times
Alva Review-Courier
The Anadarko Daily News
The Antlers American
The Apache News
The Ardmoreite
Atoka County Times
The (Barnsdall)
Bigheart Times
Bartlesville
Examiner-Enterprise
The (Beaver)
Herald-Democrat
The (Bethany) Tribune
Blackwell Journal-Tribune
The Blanchard News
Bristow News
& Record-Citizen
Broken Bow News
The Canton Times
The Chelsea Reporter
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
The Cheyenne Star
The (Chickasha)
Express-Star
Choctaw County Times
Choctaw Times
Claremore Daily Progress
Clayton Today
The Cleveland American
The Clinton Daily News
Coalgate Record-Register
Collinsville News
The Comanche County
Chronicle
The Comanche Times
The Cordell Beacon
The Countywide & Sun
Coweta American
Cushing Citizen
The Davis News
The Dewey County Record
Drumright Gusher
The (Eakly) Country
Connection News
The Edmond Sun
The Ellis County Capital
El Reno Tribune
Enid News & Eagle
The Fairfax Chief
The Fletcher Herald
Fort Gibson Times
The Frederick Press-Leader
The Freedom Call
The Friday Gazette
(McLoud)
The Gage Record
Garber-Billings News
Garfield County
Daily Legal News
The Garvin County
News Star
The Geary Star
Guthrie News Leader
The Haskell News
The Healdton Herald
Heavener Ledger
The Hennessey Clipper
Henryetta Free-Lance
The Hinton Record
The Hobart Democrat-Chief
Holdenville News
Holdenville Tribune
The Hominy News-Progress
The Hooker Advance
The Hughes County Times
Hugo Daily News
Inola Independent
The Kingfisher Times
& Free Press
Kiowa County Democrat
The Konawa
Leader
Latimer
County
News-Tribune
The (Laverne)
Leader Tribune
The Lawton
Constitution
The (Lawton) County Times
The Lincoln County News
The Logan County Courier
The Lone Grove Ledger
The Madill Record
Marietta Monitor
The Marlow Review
McIntosh County Democrat
The Meeker News
The Miami News-Record
The Mooreland Leader
Morris News
Mountain View News
Mustang News
The Newcastle Pacer
The Newkirk Herald Journal
The Norman Transcript
Northwest Oklahoman &
Ellis County News
The Okarche Chieftain
The Okeene Record
Okemah News Leader
The (Oklahoma City)
Black Chronicle
(Oklahoma City) Capitol Hill
Beacon
The (Oklahoma City) City
Sentinel
Oklahoma City Friday
The (Oklahoma City)
Journal Record
Owasso Reporter
Pauls Valley Democrat
Pawhuska Journal-Capital
The Pawnee Chief
The Perkins Journal
Perry Daily Journal
The Piedmont-Surrey
Gazette
The Ponca City News
The Prague Times-Herald
The (Pryor) Paper
The (Pryor) Times
The Purcell Register
The Ringling Eagle
The Rush Springs Gazette
The Ryan Leader
Sand Springs Leader
Sapulpa Daily Herald
The Sayre Record & Beckham County Democrat
The Seminole Producer
Sequoyah County Times
The (Shawnee) County
Democrat
The (Shidler) Review
Skiatook Journal
South County Leader
(Tulsa County)
Southeast Times (Idabel)
Spiro Graphic
Stilwell Democrat Journal
Stroud American
Sulphur Times-Democrat
Tahlequah Daily Press
Taloga Times-Advocate
The Thomas Tribune
The Tonkawa News
Tulsa Beacon
Tulsa County News
Tulsa Daily Commerce
& Legal News
Tulsa World
Vian Tenkiller News
The Vici Vision
Wagoner Tribune
Waurika News-Democrat
Weatherford Daily News
The Weleetkan
The Westville Reporter
(Westville) Weekly Express
The Wewoka Times
The Wilson Post-Democrat
Woods County Enterprise
The Wynnewood Gazette
The (Yale) Phoenix
Yukon Review
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 499-0020 • www.OkPress.com
Perfecta Award to
honor newspapers
for ad placement
The Oklahoma Press Association is
proud to announce a new award – The
Perfecta.
The Perfecta honors those OPA
business member newspapers that
achieve 100 percent accuracy on advertising orders from the Oklahoma Press
Service in a calendar year.
“This award recognizes a basic fact
of our business,” said OPA Executive
Vice President Mark Thomas. “You
can have the perfect ad, but it doesn’t
mean anything if the ad doesn’t run as
ordered.”
Ninety-one newspapers will be honored with the Perfecta Award during
the OPA Annual Convention, June 7-9,
2012, at the Reed Center in Midwest
City.
Beginning this month, the OPA will
publish a quarterly ad in The Oklahoma
Publisher of member newspapers that
ran all ads as ordered. These papers
are ones that went the entire quarter
without any “DNRs”. A newspaper can
receive a DNR (did-not-run) for failing
to run the ad as ordered (i.e., missed
insertion date) or for poor reproduction
quality of the ad in the newspaper.
According to data from OPS, 105
member newspapers had 267 DNRs
amounting to a total of $32,351.90 during the 2011 calendar year. OPS data
shows the longest length of time daily
newspapers went without having a DNR
was 26 consecutive days in September
2011. At least one weekly newspaper
had a DNR every week in 2011.
“We want to recognize newspapers
in a positive way,” said Thomas.
“Newspapers that go an entire quarter without a DNR are to be commended; those that go an entire year truly
have the processes in place to achieve
customer satisfaction.”
Harper County Journal
names Painter as editor
Alisha Painter is the new editor of
the Harper County Journal in Buffalo.
A 2001 high school graduate, Mrs.
Painter has taken some college businesss management courses. She and
her husband, Travis, are the parents of
three children.
7
ONF selects scholarship recipients for 2012-2013
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation has selected recipients of the 201213 ONF Scholarships and Breeden
Scholarship.
Kyle Fredrickson, Mary Newport
and Andrea Perry have been awarded
ONF Scholarships of $1,500 each.
KYLE FREDRICKSON is a senior at
Oklahoma State University. He left his
home and school in Colorado to enter
the sports media program and join
the team at The Daily O’Collegian as a
sports writer. He rapidly became sports
editor and is now editor-in-chief.
Fredrickson, who hopes to be a
sports columnist at a major metropolitan newspaper, said he knows there will
be sacrifices along the way.
“I have dedicated myself almost
completely to the success of the (OSU)
newspaper and growing as a reporter
and storyteller,” Fredrickson said.
MARY NEWPORT is a senior at East
Central University. She’s editor-in chief
of the ECU newspaper, The Journal,
and has won many awards for her
work. Newport progressed from being
refused for unpaid internships to now
starting her second ONF internship at
an Oklahoma newspaper.
She wants to be “a treasure, a valued
journalist working hard at an Oklahoma newspaper.”
ANDREA PERRY is a junior at Langston University. She’s a broadcast student, but since starting to work at the
Langston University Gazette, she said
she has fallen in love with print media
as well.
“The thing I enjoy most about writing is that I get to paint a picture, and
I like the idea that I get to be a storyteller,” Perry said. “I never knew how
fascinating being a journalist would be
until I tried it.”
This is the sixth year that ONF
has awarded three $1,500 scholarships
to Oklahoma student journalists. The
recipients must be majoring in journalism or an equivalent degree program
and must be a junior or senior at an
Oklahoma college or university.
ONF also awarded the Breeden
Scholarship. The $1,000 Bob and Marion Breeden University of Oklahoma
Journalism Student Aid Fund Scholarship goes to a senior at OU each year.
This year’s winner, CARMEN FORMAN, has high hopes for her career.
She said, “It’s unbelievably difficult to
narrow down my career goals in the
newspaper industry, considering I love
everything about journalism and would
like to do a little bit of everything.”
Forman plans to work in Oklahoma
to gain experience, using her reporting,
photography and videography skills.
She’d also like to cover politics or investigative journalism at the Washington
Post and shoot photos for the National
Geographic.
Forman is an investigative reporter
for the Oklahoma Daily and was a
multimedia intern for the Oklahoma
Gazette.
The Breeden Scholarship was started by the Breeden family with a memorial donation to the Foundation in 2006.
Newspaper contest judges needed
Have you ever wondered what
other newspapers are doing? Find out
by volunteering to judge the Nevada
Press Association’s Better Newspaper
Contest.
OPA needs 50 experienced newsroom and production staff members
to judge this contest. Nevada judged
the OPA Better Newspaper Contest,
and now it’s your turn to help them
out.
Judges will review entries for
events in Reporting, Advertising,
Design, Websites and Photography
categories for newspapers or magazines.
Most entries will be judged online,
but General Excellence and Special
Sections events will be mailed to judges.
Please respond by May 23 to
become a judge. Sign up online at
www.okpress.com/contestjudging
or fax in a sign-up sheet (available
online) to (405) 499-0048 to participate.
For more information, contact
Eli Nichols, OPA Member Services
Coordinator, at (405) 499-0040 (1-888815-2672 toll-free in Oklahoma) or at
[email protected].
CARMEN FORMAN
KYLE FREDRICKSON
MARY NEWPORT
ANDREA PERRY
NEWSPAPER BROKERS, APPRAISERS, CONSULTANTS
Serving the Newspaper Industry Since 1966
When the time comes to explore the
sale of your community newspaper,
you can count on us. We offer
decades of experience and a record
of success in community newspaper
sales.
Community newspapers still have
good value. If you’re ready to sell, call
us for a confidential discussion.
THOMAS C. BOLITHO
P.O. Box 849, Ada, OK 74821
(580) 421-9600 • [email protected]
EDWARD M. ANDERSON
P.O. Box 2001, Branson, MO 65616
(417) 336-3457 • [email protected]
NATIONAL EDIA
A SSOC IATES
www.nationalmediasales.com
8
SPJ Oklahoma honors state journalists at awards banquet
The Oklahoma Pro Chapter of the
Society of Professional Journalists held
its annual awards banquet at the Jim
Thorpe Museum in Oklahoma City on
April 21 to honor the best journalistic
work in the state.
Foreign correspondent and two-time
Pulitzer Prize winner, Anthony Shadid
was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, the chapter’s
highest honor.
Shadid was born in Oklahoma City
in 1968 and was a graduate of Heritage
Hall High School. He attended the University of Oklahoma for a brief period
of time before transferring from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. He
graduated in 1990.
After graduating, Shadid studied
Arabic at the Center for Arabic Study
Abroad in Cairo.
His journalism career spanned 15
years and included stints with the Associated Press, Boston Globe, The Washing Post and The New York Times
where he was Beirut bureau chief at
the time of his death.
Most of his journalism career found
him based in the Middle East.
He won two Pulitzer Prizes for International Reporting in 2004 and 2010,
both for his coverage of the Iraq War.
He was the author of three books,
NEWSPAPER DIVISION A
INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTING BY AN
INDIVIDUAL:
1st: Warren Vieth,
Oklahoma Watch
2nd: Omer Gillham,
Tulsa World
3rd: Sean Murphy,
Associated Press
INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTING BY A TEAM:
1st: Tiffany Gibson,
Matt Patterson,
Nick Tankersley and
Grayson Cook,
The Oklahoman
2nd: Ziva Branstetter,
Cary Aspinwall, Curtis
Killman and Sheila
Stogsdill,
Tulsa World
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
REPORTING:
1st: Shannon Muchmore,
Tulsa World
2nd: Ginnie Graham,
Curtis Killman and Cary
Aspinwall, Tulsa World
3rd: Warren Vieth,
Oklahoma Watch
Anthony Shadid (left) received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the SPJ/Oklahoma
Pro Chapter awards banquet on April 21 in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoman’s Bryan
Dean received the First Amendment Award. Melanie Wilderman received the Teacher
of the Year Award.
Dean is past president of the Oklahoma Pro chapter of SPJ and of Freedom
of Information Oklahoma Inc. He has
served on the FOI Oklahoma board for
five years.
Melanie Wilderman, a journalism
professor at Northwestern Oklahoma
State University, was awarded Teacher
of the Year.
She joined the Northwestern staff in
2005 as a mass communication instructor and advisor to the student newspaper, Northwestern News.
She is part of a three-faculty mass
communication program and teaches a
vast array of courses, including News
Reporting, Feature Writing, News Editing, Desktop Publishing and Mass
Communication Law and Ethics.
Before starting at NWOSU she spent
three semesters teaching journalism
and English courses as an adjunct faculty member at OU, OSU and Oklahoma
City Community College.
She received both a B.A. and M.A. in
journalism from OU and is in the final
course work for her doctorate in Higher Education Administration at OSU.
Below and on the next page is a list
of newspaper and Internet award winners in this year’s contest.
“Legacy of the Prophet: Despots, Democrats and the New Politics of Islam”
(2001); “Night Draws Near: Iraq’s People in the Shadow of America’s War”
(2005); and “House of Stone: A Memoir
of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle
East” (2012).
In 2011, while on assignment for
the New York Times in Libya, he and
three other journalists were captured
by troops loyal to then Libyan dictator Muammar al-Ghaddafi. They were
released four days later.
He died of an apparent asthma attack
in Syria while leaving the country after
covering the uprising against Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad.
Bryan Dean, a staff writer at The
Oklahoman, won the Carter Bradley
First Amendment Award.
He has worked at The Oklahoman
for 10 years.
Dean is a 2001 graduate of the University of Oklahoma.
He coordinates The Oklahoman’s
annual Sunshine Week coverage and
has written numerous stories pressuring state and local officials to follow
the state’s Open Meeting and Open
Records Acts.
GOVERNMENT
REPORTING:
1st: Warren Vieth,
Oklahoma Watch
2nd: Clifton Adcock,
Oklahoma Gazette
3rd: Sean Murphy,
Associated Press
EDITORIAL/
COMMENTARY:
1st: Bobby Ross, Jr.,
The Christian Chronicle
2nd: David Hale, The
Lawton Constitution
3rd: Bryan Pollard,
Cherokee Phoenix
SPORTS FEATURE
1st: Jenni Carlson,
The Oklahoman
2nd: Jimmie Tramel,
Tulsa World
3rd: Hamil Harris and
Erik Tryggestad,
GENERAL
PHOTOGRAPHY
1st: Michael Wyke,
Tulsa World
2nd: Jim Beckel,
The Oklahoman
3rd: Nate Billings,
The Oklahoman
PAGE ONE
LAYOUT AND DESIGN
1st: Ethan Erickson,
Tulsa World
2nd: Steve Reckinger,
Tulsa World
3rd: Matthew Clayton,
The Oklahoman
SPOT NEWS:
1st: Staff, Tulsa World
2nd: Staff, Tulsa World
3rd: Andrea Eger, Kevin
Canfield, Michael Overall and Ziva Branstetter,
Tulsa World
GENERAL NEWS
REPORTING:
1st: Justin Juozapavicius,
Associated Press
2nd: Ginnie Graham,
Tulsa World
3rd: Bobby Ross, Jr.,
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,
HEALTH & ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING
1st: Cary Aspinwall,
Tulsa World
2nd: Justin Juozapavicius,
Associated Press
3rd: Murray Evans,
Associated Press
ENTERTAINMENT
FEATURE
1st: Rod Lott,
Oklahoma Gazette
2nd: Rod Lott,
Oklahoma Gazette
3rd: Michael Smith,
Tulsa World
ARTS CRITICISM
1st: Phil Bacharach,
Oklahoma Gazette
2nd: Rod Lott,
Oklahoma Gazette
3rd: Michael Smith,
Tulsa World
SPORTS COLUMN
1st: Kelly Bostian,
Tulsa World
2nd: Jenni Carlson,
The Oklahoman
3rd: Carrie Coppernoll,
The Oklahoman
STORY/PHOTO ESSAY
1st: Mike Simons,
Tulsa World
2nd: Mike Simons,
Tulsa World
3rd: Mike Simons,
Tulsa World
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
REPORTING:
1st: Warren Vieth,
Oklahoma Watch
2nd: Cary Aspinwall,
Tulsa World
3rd: Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Oklahoma Watch
BUSINESS REPORTING
1st: D.R. Stewart,
Tulsa World
2nd: Scott Cooper and
Ben Fenwick,
Oklahoma Gazette
3rd: Bryan Painter,
The Oklahoman
LEISURE WRITING
1st: Ben Fenwick,
Oklahoma Gazette
2nd: Rod Lott, Jenny
Coon Peterson and
Matt Carney, Oklahoma
Gazette
3rd: Nicole Marshall Middleton, Tulsa World
FEATURE
PHOTOGRAPHY
1st: Michael Wyke,
Tulsa World
2nd: Jim Beckel,
The Oklahoman
3rd: Nate Billings,
The Oklahoman
SPOT NEWS
PHOTOGRAPHY
1st: Sue Ogrocki,
Associated Press
2nd: Christopher Smith,
Tulsa World
3rd: James Gibbard,
Tulsa World
FEATURE PAGE
LAYOUT AND DESIGN
1st: Bill Bootz,
The Oklahoman
2nd: Bill Bootz,
The Oklahoman
3rd: Matt Clayton,
The Oklahoman
DIVERSITY COVERAGE:
1st: Ginnie Graham,
Tulsa World
2nd: Justin Juozapavicius,
Associated Press
3rd: Lenzy KrehbielBurton, Tulsa World
BUSINESS FEATURE
1st: Steve Lackmeyer
and Jay Marks, The
Oklahoman
2nd: D.R. Stewart and
John Stancavage,
Tulsa World
2nd: Steve Lackmeyer,
The Oklahoman
SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
1st: Bryan Terry,
The Oklahoman
2nd: Tom Gilbert,
Tulsa World
3rd: Chris Landsberger,
The Oklahoman
BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC
PORTFOLIO
1st: Jim Beckel,
The Oklahoman
2nd: Tom Gilbert,
Tulsa World
3rd: Bryan Terry,
The Oklahoman
FEATURE WRITING:
1st: Phil Bacharach,
Oklahoma Gazette
Tulsa World
3rd: Tiffany Gibson,
The Oklahoman
PERSONAL COLUMN:
1st: Steve Lackmeyer,
The Oklahoman
2nd: J.E. McReynolds,
The Oklahoman
3rd: Ginnie Graham,
Tulsa World
EDUCATION REPORTING
1st: Sara Plummer,
Tulsa World
2nd: Murray Evans,
Associated Press
3rd: Andrea Eger and Kim
Archer, Tulsa World
SPORTS REPORTING
1st: Staff, Tulsa World
2nd: Ed Godfrey,
The Oklahoman
3rd: Jim Beckel,
The Oklahoman
USE OF
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION
1st: Yvette Walker and
Todd Pendleton, The
Oklahoman
2nd:Phillip Baeza,
The Oklahoman
3rd: Todd Pendleton,
The Oklahoman
HEADLINES
1st: Rod Lott,
Oklahoma Gazette
2nd: Moran Elwell,
The Oklahoman
Continued on Page 9
Schaefer receives
Liberty Bell award
Ralph Schaefer, managing editor at
the Tulsa Daily Commerce and Legal
News, recently received the 2012 Liberty Bell Award.
The award was presented the April
27 Tulsa County Bar Association Law
Week luncheon in Tulsa.
The purpose of the award is to
acknowledge the work of a non-lawyer
to the betterment of the legal profession and community as a whole.
“Ralph Schaefer has secured a place
of honor among the Tulsa legal community because of his integrity in journalism, his high work ethic, his virtuous character and his never ending
dedication to the people for which he
writes,” stated the citation.
9
Oklahoma newspapers win Great Plains awards
Several Oklahoma newspapers
took home top honors at the Tulsa
Press Club’s Great Plains Journalism
Awards. The Great Plains award honors outstanding journalism from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri,
North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa
and Nebraska.
The Tulsa World was named Newspaper of the Year while The Oklahoman’s NewsOK.com won Website of
the Year. The Daily O’Collegian won
Student Newspaper of the Year.
Other individual winners were:
Writer of the Year, Michael Overall, Tulsa World; Photographer of
the Year, Mike Simons, Tulsa World;
Best Website Design, The Oklahoman
Staff, NewsOK.com; Blog Writing,
Steve Lackmeyer, The Oklahoman;
and Photo Illustration, Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman.
Also, General News Photography,
Michael Wyke, Tulsa World; Spot
News Photography, Mike Simons,
Tulsa World; Multiple News Photographs, Christopher Smith, Tom Gilbert, James Gibbard, Cory Young,
Michael Wyke, Mike Simons, Matt
Barnard, Tulsa World; and Single
Feature Photograph, Michael Wyke,
Tulsa World.
Sports Action Photography, Bryan
Terry, The Oklahoman; Non-Deadline
Video, Adam Wisnesky, Tulsa World;
Audio Slideshow, Bryan Terry, The
Oklahoman; Multimedia Project or
Series, Adam Wisnesky, Tulsa World;
General News Reporting (more than
75,000 circulation), Bryan Painter, The
Oklahoman; Best Reporting, Bryan
Painter, The Oklahoman; Sports
Reporting, Tulsa World staff, Tulsa
World; Sports Column, Jenni Carlson,
The Oklahoman; Entertainment Feature, Whitney Ortega, The Oklahoman; Editorial Cartoon, Bruce Plante,
Tulsa World; and Editorial Portfolio,
J.E. McReynolds, The Oklahoman.
Student Editor-in-Chief of the
Year, Kyle Fredrickson, The Daily
O’Collegian.
SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
1st: Rachel Anne
Seymour, The Bigheart
Times
2nd: Kylie McMains,
The Daily O’Collegian
3rd: Ed Blochowiak,
The Shawnee NewsStar
FEATURE PAGE
LAYOUT AND DESIGN
1st: Staff,
2nd: Chris Lusk,
The Oklahoma Daily
3rd: Brandy Brackett,
McAlester NewsCapital
3rd: Michael Kimball,
The Oklahoman
3rd: Bryan Terry,
The Oklahoman
STORY/PHOTO ESSAY
1st: Rachel Anne Seymour,
The Bigheart Times
2nd: Kacy Hammock,
The Southeasternl
3rd: Alisha Loyd,
The Southeastern
USE OF GRAPHIC
ILLUSTRATION
1st: Brandi Bunch,
The Southeastern
SPECIAL REPORT/
ENTERPRISE
1st: Patrick B. McGuigan,
CapitolBeatOK.com
2nd: Stacy Martin,
CapitolBeatOK.com
3rd: Michael Kimball,
The Oklahoman
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC
OR RESOURCE
1st: Christopher Hickerson and Curtis Killman,
Tulsa World
2nd: Joe Wertz,
StateImpact Oklahoma
3rd: Christopher Hickerson, Tulsa World
SPJ Award Winners - Continued from Page 8
3rd: Karen Welch,
Tulsa World
BEST REPORTING
PORTFOLIO
1st: Ginnie Graham,
Tulsa World
Tulsa World
3rd: Clifton Adcock,
Oklahoma Gazette
BEST NEWSPAPER
1st: Tulsa World
2nd: Oklahoma Gazette
3rd: Cherokee Phoenix
NEWSPAPER DIVISION B
INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTING
BY AN INDIVIDUAL
1st: Brianna Bailey,
The Journal Record
INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTING BY A TEAM
1st: Joey Stipek and Whitney Knight, Pioneer
2nd: Patrick B. McGuigan
and Stacy Martin,
The City Sentinel
3rd: James Beaty and
Rachel Petersen,
McAlester
News-Capital
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
REPORTING
1st: M. Scott Carter,
The Journal Record
2nd: M. Scott Carter,
The Journal Record
3rd: Louise Red Corn,
The Bigheart Times
GOVERNMENT
REPORTING
The Journal Record
2nd: Louise Red Corn,
The Bigheart Times
3rd: M. Scott Carter,
The Journal Record
SPOT NEWS
1st: Donna Hales,
Muskogee Phoenix
2nd: Louise Red Corn,
The Bigheart Times
3rd: Jeanne LeFlore,
FEATURE WRITING
1st: Dale Denwalt,
The Daily Elk Citian
2nd: Hannah Covington,
Oracle
3rd: John Small, Johnston County CapitalDemocrat
PERSONAL COLUMN
1st: Jeanne Grimes,
The Express-Star
2nd: Brian Blansett,
3rd: Josh Hutton,
The Vista
EDITORIAL/
COMMENTARY
1st: Mike McCormick,
2nd: Ray Lokey, Johnston County CapitalDemocrat
3rd: Jeremy Cloud,
Pioneer
GENERAL NEWS
REPORTING
1st: M. Scott Carter and
Marie Price, The Journal Record
2nd: Brianna Bailey,
The Journal Record
3rd: Dale Denwalt,
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
REPORTING
1st: Rachel Petersen,
2nd: Elizabeth Ridenour
and Dylan Goforth,
Muskogee Phoenix
The Journal Record
DIVERSITY COVERAGE
The Journal Record
The Journal Record
The Journal Record
EDUCATION REPORTING
1st: Wendy Burton,
Muskogee Phoenix
2nd: Rob Morris,
Moore Monthly
3rd: Kory B. Oswald,
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,
HEALTH & ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING
The Journal Record
|The Journal Record
The Journal Record
BUSINESS REPORTING
M. Scott Carter,
The Journal Record
2nd: Louise Red Corn and
Rachel Anne Seymour,
The Bigheart Times
The Journal Recordy
ENTERTAINMENT
FEATURE
1st: Patrick B. McGuigan,
The City Sentinel
2nd: Rachel Anne Seymour, The Bigheart
Times
3rd: James Beaty,
ARTS CRITICISM
1st: Dani Norton,
The Southeastern
2nd: Brandi Bunch,
The Southeastern
3rd: Chelsea Ratterman,
15th Street News
SPORTS REPORTING
1st: Rachel Anne
Seymour,
The Bigheart Times
2nd: Mike Kays, Kenton
Brooks and Ronn
Rowland,
Muskogee Phoenix
3rd: Anthony Slater,
SPORTS FEATURE
1st: Eli Linton, Oracle
2nd: Anthony Slater,
3rd: Kenton Brooks,
Muskogee Phoenix
SPORTS COLUMN
1st: Mike Kays,
Muskogee Phoenix
2nd: Brendon Morris,
3rd: Anthony Slater,
GENERAL
PHOTOGRAPHY
1st: Ray Lokey, Johnston
County CapitalDemocrat
2nd: Corie Wilkinson,
3rd: Cathy Spaulding,
Muskogee Phoenix
SPOT NEWS PHOTO
1st: Rachel Anne
Seymour, The Bigheart
Times
2nd: Wendy Burton,
Muskogee Phoenix
3rd: Kevin Harvison,
BEST PHOTO
PORTFOLIO
1st: Rachel Anne Seymour,
The Bigheart Times
2nd: Dale Denwalt,
3rd: Corie Wilkinson,
PAGE ONE
LAYOUT AND DESIGN
1st: Brandy Brackett,
2nd: Chris Lusk,
The Oklahoma Daily
3rd: Kathryn Clark and
Staff, The Daily
O’Collegian
HEADLINES
1st: Lornna Bates,
The Southeastern
2nd: Dylan Goforth,
Muskogee Phoenix
3rd: Jerry Willis,
Muskogee Phoenix
BEST REPORTING
PORTFOLIO
1st: Louise Red Corn,
The Bigheart Times
2nd: Brianna Bailey,
The Journal Record
The Journal Record
BEST NEWSPAPER
1st: The Norman Transcript
2nd: The Oklahoma Daily
3rd: Muskogee Phoenix
ONLINE
ONLINE WRITING
1st: Joe Wertz,
State Impact Oklahoma
BREAKING NEWS
COVERAGE
The Journal Record
2nd: Michael Kimball,
The Oklahoman
BLOG
1st: Photo Staff,
The Oklahoman
2nd: Guerin Emig and
John Hoover, Tulsa
World
3rd: Christopher Smith,
John Clanton and Mike
Simons, Tulsa World
MULTIMEDIA
1st: Tiffany Gibson, Nick
Tankersley, Grayson
Cook and Matt
Patterson,
The Oklahoman
2nd: Staff,
The Oklahoman
3rd: Christopher Hickerson, Tulsa World
VIDEO JOURNALISM
1st: Adam Wisneski,
Tulsa World
2nd: Matt Leach and
Sterlin Harjo, This Land
Press
3rd: Adam Wisneski,
Tulsa World
SLIDESHOW
1st: Mike Simons, Adam
Wisneski and Jeff Lautenberger, Tulsa World
2nd: Sarah Phipps and
Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
WEB DESIGN
1st: Christopher Hickerson, Tulsa World
Sports Extra
2nd: RangerPulse staff,
Northwestern News
3rd: Staff,
The Oklahoma Daily
ONLINE COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
1st: This Land Press,
Facebook and Twitter
2nd: Kristen Gillman,
Oklahoma Department
of Wildlife Conservation
3rd: Dana Tallon and
Jody Harlan, Oklahoma
Department of Rehabilitation Services
BEST NEWS WEBSITE
1st: News-Star.com
2nd: TulsaPeople.com
3rd: MediaOCU.com
BEST COMPANY/
ORG WEBSITE
1st: Nathan Altadonna,
St. Luke’s United
Methodist Church
2nd: Natasha Ball, Carlos
Knight and Ron Zvagelsky,
This Land Press
3rd: Stephanie Moore,
KSBI-TV
10
DONATE
TO ONF
A donation to the Oklahoma
Newspaper Foundation will
support its efforts to improve
the state’s newspaper industry
and quality of journalism.
ONF’s programs include
training and education for
professional journalists,
scholarship and internship
programs for journalism
students, and Newspaper in
Education efforts.
ONF relies on donations and
memorial contributions to fund
these programs.
If you would like to make a
donation, please send a check
to:
OKLAHOMA
NEWSPAPER
FOUNDATION
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
21 student interns ready to report for work
This summer, college journalism
students will work around the state
through the Oklahoma Newspaper
Foundation internship program.
The internship program, made possible by a grant from the Ethics and
Excellence in Journalism Foundation,
promotes working at Oklahoma newspapers and helps student journalists
start their careers. The 2012 program
had 50 student applicants. Participating newspapers went through dozens
of resumes to choose the following
students.
Jonathan Sutton, an Oklahoma State
University junior, will be The Bigheart
Times’ intern. Sutton is copy desk chief
and a reporter for The O’Collegian, the
campus newspaper.
Cherokee Messenger & Republican chose Kyle Spade, a Northwestern
Oklahoma State University junior, to
cover sports and the community. Spade
is also an Eagle Scout.
Mitch Tillison III is spending his
summer in Tecumseh at The Countywide & Sun. Tillison, an OSU junior,
writes features for The O’Collegian.
Cushing Citizen will bring in Hope
Forsyth, a University of Tulsa sophomore. Forsyth is a National Merit
Scholar. She’ll work in reporting and
advertising.
Samantha Vicent, a strategic communications sophomore, has covered
courts and crime for The O’Collegian
since August 2011. This summer she’ll
cover general assignments for The
Drumright Gusher.
Emily Henson will get advertising
experience at The Duncan Banner for
six weeks. Henson is a recent graduate
of Cameron University in Lawton.
The Duncan Banner will also take
on a part-time intern – Dianne Riddles,
a Cameron University junior. Riddles
works in layout and crime reporting at
the Cameron Collegian.
Thad Ayers, The Edmond Sun’s
intern, is a Church of Christ preacher
and OSU junior. Ayers is managing editor of the O’Collegian.
St. Gregory graduate Emily Kindiger will join the El Reno Tribune staff
full-time for the summer after writing
for the paper as a contributor. Kindiger
edited the university literary anthology
for two years.
OSU junior James Poling will intern
at the Enid News & Eagle. Poling is the
O’Collegian’s sports editor.
The Elk City Daily News hired Mary
Newport, an East Central University
senior. Newport is editor-in chief of the
ECU Journal and has interned at the
Shawnee News-Star and the Countywide & Sun.
Grove Sun’s intern, Misty Aaron
Grady, is a Northeastern State University senior. Grady is senior staff writer
at the campus newspaper, The Northeastern.
OU sophomore Clayton Hooper will
intern in the advertising department
at the Moore American. Hooper has
participated in the National Student
Advertising Competition with the OU
Ad Club.
Alex Ewald, an OU junior, will intern
at the Muskogee Phoenix. Ewald
previously interned at the Oklahoma
Gazette and has been copy chief of the
Oklahoma Daily.
The Norman Transcript gets a new
photographer with its 2012 ONF intern
choice. Julie Bragg, a UCO junior, is
a photographer for the school’s Photo
Services department.
Allie Haddican, an OSU junior, covers residential life for the O’Collegian.
She’ll intern at OKC Friday this summer.
The Oklahoman chose Carmen
Forman to intern. The OU junior has
interned at the Oklahoma Gazette and
was managing editor of the Oklahoma
Daily in summer 2011.
Laura Tomah, a May graduate, was
editor of the Southeastern Oklahoma
State University Yeardisc and a contributing writer for the campus newspaper,
The Southeastern. Tomah will work at
The Ringling Eagle during her internship.
Carmen Bourlon-Long, an Oklahoma City University senior, served an
ONF internship at the Ringling Eagle in
2010. She’ll get even more experience
at the Shawnee News-Star this year.
Whitt Carter, a UCO junior, will
spend his summer at the Sulphur
Times-Democrat. Carter is a Vista
sportswriter.
The Weatherford Daily News has
hired SWOSU junior Scott May as a
staff reporter and photographer. May is
president of the Bulldog Broadcasting
Network campus group.
DEATHS
ALBERT ‘BUDDY’ RIESEN, JR.,
longtime publisher and editor of The
Daily Ardmoreite, died April 19, 2012.
He was 79.
Riesen was a 1950 graduate of Ardmore High School and graduated from
the University of Oklahoma with a
bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1954.
In 1955, Riesen joined the Air Force,
where he became the briefing officer of
the 44th Bomb Wing.
He completed his military service
in 1956 and married Marian Coffey. At
that time, he also returned to Ardmore
where he worked as co-publisher of
The Daily Ardmoreite with his brother.
After his brother’s death, Riesen
became editor and publisher of the
paper. He was also general manager of
KVSO radio and KVSO TV until KVSO
TV was sold in 1960.
Riesen sold The Daily Ardmoreite to
Stauffer Communications in 1983 and
began a new career as a stockbroker.
Riesen served as chairman of the
OU Journalism Committee and as a
member of the Southern Newspaper
Publishers Association Board of Directors. He was an award-winning colum-
nist and was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1996.
Riesen served as co-founder of Leadership Ardmore, co-founder and chairman of Oak Hall Episcopal School and
served on the Community Activities
Foundation for 51 years.
He also served as president of the
Ardmore Chamber of Commerce as
well as the State Arts Council.
Riesen is survived by his wife, Marian; two sons, Thomas Coffey Riesen
and wife Cindy, and Mark Easley Riesen and wife Martha; one daughter,
Katherine Lee Riesen Lathrop and husband Jamie; and six grandchildren.
Oklahoman wins
awards from SPJ
PLAYER PROFILE
Name:
DARREN D. SUMNER
Publisher, Sapulpa Daily Herald
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: BA, Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Ark.
FAMILY: Wife: Darla Sumner; children: Tyler and Piper
NEWSPAPER EXPERIENCE: Spiro Graphic Advertising 1993; Republic Monitor,
Missouri, Publisher 1994-96; Stone County Gazette, Kimberling City, Mo 199799; Nixa News-Enterprise, Missouri, 2000-04; Ash Grove Commonwealth, Mo
2005; Aurora Advertiser, Bi-weekly in Missouri, 2006-08; Sapulpa Daily Herald
2008-present.
Each month, The Publisher will profile a newspaper executive in this space. Learn more about your peers
from all corners of the state. To request the questionnaire for your Player Profile, email [email protected].
Q:
A:
Several Afro-Americans disagreed with
the choice and called Channel 2 out
of Tulsa to cover their protesting. CNN
picked up the story and interview of
myself the next day and the Daily Herald
received hate mail, email and phone
calls the next few days.
Q:
Q:
A:
What are you most proud of?
A:
Q:
A:
What are your hobbies?
Q:
A:
Does your newspaper have a website?
Q:
How does your newspaper play an
important part in the community?
A:
We cover county news as well as
Sapulpa, Kellyville, Kiefer and Mounds
news for each community. We are the
voice of the community. The Sapulpa
Daily Herald allows the community to
exchange views, express their opinions,
run advertisements to create business.
We publish plans, ideas and projects
going on in the community to keep
readers informed.
What’s something most people don’t
know about you?
Played college golf at Arkansas Tech
University as a Wonderboy.
Q:
A:
What’s the best part of your job?
Q:
A:
What civic activities are you involved in?
Q:
Who’s had the biggest influence on your
career?
A:
Father, Darrell D. Sumner, in the
newspaper industry for the past 42
years.
Q:
What would you describe as the three
most important responsibilities of your
job?
A:
Managing employees, running the paper
as a business, producing a quality local
paper.
Q:
What about newspaper publishing gets
you out of bed in the morning? What
makes you want to stay in bed?
Being a business leader in a great
community.
Kiwanis President Elect, Chamber
Member, School Foundation Committee.
A:
There is always something to do, but
often there is too much to do in eight
hours.
Q:
What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve
overcome in your career?
A:
Picketers in front of the Daily Herald for
lack of coverage of the 2008 presidential
election. Since day one, the newspaper
covers local news. Our headline that day
was “Sheriff Tolivar wins third term.” In
a small story we published how Creek
County voted on the presidential election.
I stated that the Daily Herald has
been a local paper since day one and
continued its same type of coverage
after the protesters as well as former
publishers Ed Livermore and Chuck
Lake stating that I am doing a great
job and they are proud to have the
newspaper locally owned and operated.
A:
Q:
What challenges are facing your
newspaper today and in the future?
The younger readers are more
interested in mobile apps.
What are some area attractions in your
community visitors shouldn’t miss?
Heart of Route 66, Pretty Water trout
fishing, Frankoma Pottery (until it
recently closed down) and Creek County
Speedway.
eedway.
Golfing, collecting coins and spending
time with my family.
Yes, we just put tidbits of info on the free
website. E-editions are available for a
subscription price.
Looking for a Complete
A:
All local events such as Rt. 66 Blowout,
Chamber Banquet, Christmas Banquet,
Christmas parade, etc.
Writers for The Oklahoman
took home three First Amendment
Awards from the Fort Worth Professional Chapter of the Society of
Professional Journalists.
The awards were presented
April 13 in Arlington, Texas. The
Oklahoman competed against
other large market print publications in Texas and Oklahoma.
With three awards, The Oklahoman
won more than any publication at
the event.
The paper won first in the “Defending the Disadvantaged” category for
a series of articles by Robby Trammell, Randy Ellis and Nolan Clay that
showed problems within the child
welfare system.
Ellis won first in the general news
category for stories that exposed
dangers to children in the state’s
juvenile justice system after the closing of the state’s only maximumsecurity juvenile correction center.
Owen Canfield won the top First
Amendment Award in the opinion or
commentary category for editorials
he wrote opposing the Oklahoma
Supreme Court’s proposal to restrict
full addresses and full birth days
from public court records.
“These stories are the heartbeat
of our organization,” said Kelly Dyer
Fry, editor and vice president of
news at The Oklahoman. “Openness
in government and giving a voice
to the voiceless is at the core of our
mission. These are the stories that
touch lives. We are humbled to be
honored by our peers.”
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11
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MARCH 2012
DAILY WINNER:
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McAlester News-Capital
MARCH 2012
WEEKLY WINNER:
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The Hollis News
Enter and Win a $100 Check
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View contest rules and all winning photos at
www.OkPress.com/OGE-Photo-Contest
Storm clouds brew over Harmon County north of the
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Photo by DONNA PAYNE WINGO,The Hollis News, March 22, 2012
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14
El Reno Tribune installs new press, plans move
The El Reno Tribune’s new web
press is up and running.
The 10-unit Heidelberg B-30 press
with seven paper roll stands sits in a
horizontal line inside the Tribune’s new
10,000-square-foot facility located at 102
E. Wade St. in El Reno.
“It’s a big deal for us,” said Tribune
Publisher Sean Dyer. “It’s not a lot of
flash, but it’s a big deal.”
The Tribune’s new building was formerly an appliance store, owned by a
former advertiser.
The new building not only allowed
for the installation of a larger press but
also allows for the Tribune to double
its paper storage, an important consideration for a company that uses around
23 tons of paper per month.
Although only the press and its crew
are at the new facility, the rest of the
office will be moving to the new location as soon as renovations are complete. This will be the first time the
paper’s offices have moved since the
1950s.
“This will be an open office concept,”
said Dyer, who was standing in the
front part of the building. “We used to
be a big office with a small press space;
now we’ll have a big press room with a
smaller office space.”
This is the first press the El Reno
Tribune has installed in decades. The
press at the Tribune’s current building
was installed in 1968. “We added three
units we bought from Claremore in
1999 to allow us to do color on the front
page,” said Dyer.
The new press can go to a 36-inch
web width, although the Tribune is
running a 24-inch web, and greatly
increases the color capacity.
“It will give us more speed, more
color and, hopefully, the chance to do
more printing,” said Dyer. “We ran a
34-inch on it but there are still more
things to fine tune. Once we do something new it exposes a challenge that
we then overcome. It’s challenging but
so far we haven’t run across a problem
we couldn’t overcome.”
The press operates Tuesday through
Saturday. In addition to the Dyers own
publications – the El Reno Tribune and
Mustang News – other publications
printed include The Hennessey Clipper, Kingfisher Times & Free Press,
Chickasha Leader, Minco Millennium,
Garber Billings News, Newcastle Pacer,
Pressman John Wiggins checks the ink setting on the El Reno Tribune’s new press.
Sean Dyer, publisher of the El Reno Tribune and Mustang News,
checks the ink coverage on a copy of The Hennessey Clipper.
The Tribune prints 11 publications at its facility.
Early Bird Shopper, Sooner Catholic
and the Oklahoma Publisher.
Dyer first heard about his new
press when Newspaper Production &
Resource Center Training Director
Steve Bourlon contacted him.
“He (Steve) was uninstalling this
press and installing a new one for the
Cullman Times in Cullman, Alabama,”
said Dyer. “He told me the specifics and
I said ‘Yes, I want that.’”
The press was moved to the NP&RC
warehouse in Oklahoma in March of
2011 before making its way to El Reno
in July.
“In July and August (of 2011) we
The El Reno Tribune recently installed a
10-unit Heidelberg B-30 press at its new
location in El Reno.
The press is up and running at the El Reno Tribune’s new
location at 102 E. Wade Street in El Reno. The entire office will
be moving to the new building in the next few months.
started putting the press in place here,”
said Dyer. “We started test printing in
December and by January it was our
primary press.”
While finding the press was relatively easy for Dyer, installing it was
another matter.
Though the Tribune experienced
no major problems while installing the
press, 480-volt lines had to be brought
in to accommodate the machinery.
“It went well,” said Dyer. “It just took
longer than I thought it would.”
Dyer is looking forward to having
the press and offices together once
again.
“Once we do our final move it will
be so much better,” he said. “It’s a challenge having your press in one building
and your front end in another building.”
In the interim, Dyer shuttles plates
made at the old facility to the press
crew at the new facility.
Printing has been a part of the El
Reno Tribune’s operation since the
Dyer family purchased the Tribune in
the 1940s.
“But this is my first and last press
installation,” joked Dyer.
15
OPA Board of Directors meet at Keystone State Park
The OPA/OPS Board of Directors
met March 29-30, 2012, at Keystone
State Park’s Community Building during the annual Board Retreat.
Attending were OPA President Rusty
Ferguson, The Cleveland American,
and directors Rod Serfoss, past president, Clinton Daily News; Jeff Mayo,
Sequoyah County Times; Jeff Funk,
Enid News & Eagle; Robby Trammell,
The Oklahoman; Dayva Spitzer, Sayre
Record & Beckham County Democrat;
Brian Blansett, Shawnee News-Star,
and Mike Brown, Neighbor News.
Ted Streuli, who is the nominee for a
three-year term as director, attended
as a guest. Streuli is managing editor
of The Journal Record. Staff attending were Mark Thomas, executive
vice president/secretary; Lisa Potts,
member services director, and Jennifer
Gilliland, creative services director. Jeff
Shultz was unable to attend due to the
death of his mother, Helen Shultz.
President Ferguson called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. and asked the
board to review the minutes of the Feb.
2, 2012, meeting. The minutes were
approved as presented.
Board members reviewed and
acknowledged receipt of OPA and LSP
financial statements and investment
reports for the period ending Feb. 29,
2012, and a consolidated summary
report for the same period.
COMMITTEE ACTIVITY REPORTS
In committee activity reports, Trammell said the Awards Committee is
discussing the equal distribution of
participating business member newspapers into three daily and four weekly
divisions in the Better Newspaper Contest after all entries are received. The
discussion will continue at the committee’s next meeting, as well as review of
the Better Newspaper Contest budget
and entry fees to see if any changes are
needed.
A list of four individuals to be inducted into the Half Century Club and 11 to
be inducted into the Quarter Century
Club during the annual convention was
reviewed and approved by the board.
In the Education Committee report,
Funk said several good speakers and
sessions are planned for the June 7-9
OPA Convention. Funk also reported
that an opinion writing workshop led
by Streuli on Feb. 23 had 23 registrants; a legal workshop presented by
LSP attorneys Mike Minnis and David
McCullough on March 15 had 38 registrants. Both workshops received positive evaluations.
For the Government Relations Committee report, Thomas reviewed pending legislation and provided an update
on SB 1728, which contains language
that would be amended to help newspapers with some fair housing advertising
violation issues. The Feb. 9 Legislative
Summit went well and Thomas said he
received positive feedback from legislators.
Brown reported that LSP has only
one active legal action.
The Marketing Committee plans to
distribute an ad campaign to promote
legal notices in the summer or fall
of 2012 during the political election
cycle. The committee also reviewed
the content exchange program, which
launched in July and has 62 participating newspapers.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATIONS
Thomas reviewed the Nominating
Committee Report prepared by Chairman Stu Phillips, The Seminole Producer. The slate of nominees for the
2012-13 year to be presented during
the annual business meeting in June
are President – Jeff Shultz, The Garvin
County News Star; Vice President –
Jeff Mayo, Sequoyah County Times;
Treasurer – Gracie Montgomery, The
Purcell Register; Immediate Past President – Rusty Ferguson, The Cleveland
American; renewal of three-year director term – Dayva Spitzer, Sayre Record
& Beckham County Democrat; and
new director for three year term – Ted
Streuli, The Journal Record. The board
unanimously acknowledged receipt of
the Nominating Committee report.
The Nominating Committee also recommended to the OPA board appointments to the ONF Board of Trustees.
Recommendations for the 2012-13 year
are the renewal of three-year terms for
Stu Phillips, The Seminole Producer,
and Wayne Trotter, The Countywide
and Sun; and one new appointment for
Mike Strain, Tulsa World. A motion
was made and unanimously approved
to appoint the recommended nominees
to the ONF Board of Trustees.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
The board considered three applications for membership in the Oklahoma Press Association. Two publications – Choctaw Times and The Friday
Gazette (McLoud) – applied for business membership. Both publications
meet all requirements for business
membership. Owners of the Choctaw
Times also own the Mustang Times
and Minco-Union City Times, which
are sustaining members, and recently
purchased the Tuttle Times, a business
member. The Friday Gazette is owned
by GateHouse Media and is managed
by staff of the Shawnee News-Star.
The board unanimously approved both
applications tentatively, pending receipt
of any protests by the deadline of April
4.
The board also considered the sustaining membership application of OK
Jailbirds, L.L.C. The group of publications by the same name includes many
monthly editions, each covering two or
three counties. David Reid, who also
owns the Cushing Citizen, is one of
the co-owners. The board unanimously
approved the sustaining membership
application.
MEMBERSHIP DUES STRUCTURE
In other business, board members
discussed the OPA membership dues
structure. In 2010, the board voted to
establish a new business membership
dues formula, effective July 1, 2012, of a
full-page of advertising at the published
local full-page rate, plus 2% of OPS net
advertising revenue sent to the paper in
the preceding calendar year.
After reviewing the estimate of the
new dues amounts for all member
newspapers, the board discussed multiple methods of stretching out the dues
increase over a period of time. The
board unanimously approved adopting
a one-third increase method as the
membership dues limiter. Dues will be
calculated on the cost of a full page plus
2% of ad revenue, and the difference
between that amount, and the amount
paid by the member in 2011-2012 will
be divided by thirds. This method will
allow for a gradual increase in dues
and help newspapers budget for the
increased dues amounts.
OPA business members will be given
the option of billing frequency based on
an annual, quarterly or monthly basis.
Members that choose monthly dues
payments must make those payments
via automatic draft or have a credit
card on file. Quarterly or annual dues
payments can be made by any method.
In other business, Thomas said
newspapers should begin preparing
affidavits of publication in 8.5x11 page
size. Any larger or smaller affidavits
might not be accepted for oil and gas
notices. This size requirement could
eventually spread to other organizations requiring affidavits.
OPS BOARD MEETING
At the Oklahoma Press Service
board meeting, the board suspended
reading and approved the minutes of
the Feb. 2, 2012, meeting.
The board also approved and
acknowledged receipt of the OPS financial statements for the period ending
Feb. 29, 2012.
Because of continuing problems
with ads that do-not-run (DNR), Thomas discussed a new strategy that would
reward newspapers that do not have
DNR problems.
Thomas suggested recognizing
those newspapers two ways: 1) by publishing a quarterly ad in The Oklahoma
Publisher naming papers that did not
miss an OPS ad in the previous quarter, and 2) recognizing and awarding
papers that did not miss an OPS ad in
the previous year with the “Perfecta”
award during the annual convention.
The quarterly ad will begin in the May
issue of The Publisher and the first
Perfecta Awards will be announced at
the June 7-9 OPA Convention in Midwest City.
Thomas also said OPS plans to produce and provide newspapers with
posters to place on their office walls
showing how many consecutive days/
weeks they have gone without a DNR.
In other business, Thomas said the
OPS staff is beginning to make plans
for the 2012 election season.
16
AP-ONE PRESENTS JOURNALISM AWARDS
Winners in the 2011 Oklahoma
Associated Press-Oklahoma News
Editors journalism contest were
announced May 5 at the awards banquet
at the Doubletree Hotel Warren Place
in Tulsa. The Oklahoman, Muskogee
Phoenix and The Journal Record
received general excellence awards.
Following is a list of all contest
award winners:
LARGER NEWSPAPERS
BEST NEW JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: 1. Tiffany
Gibson, The Oklahoman; 2. Anna Codutti, Tulsa World.
BUSINESS FEATURE: 1. Bryan Painter, The Oklahoman;
2. Laurie Winslow, Tulsa World; 3. Jennifer Palmer,
The Oklahoman.
BUSINESS SPOT NEWS REPORTING: 1. D.R. Stewart,
John Stancavage, Tulsa World; 2. Sonya Colberg,
Chris Casteel, The Oklahoman; 3. Zeke Campfield,
The Lawton Constitution.
EDITORIALS: 1. J.E. McReynolds, The Oklahoman;
2. David Hale, The Lawton Constitution; 3. Owen
Canfield, The Oklahoman.
FEATURE: 1. Ron J. Jackson, The Oklahoman; 2. Ken
Raymond, The Oklahoman; 3. Cary Aspinwall, Tulsa
World.
FEATURE PHOTO: 1. David McDaniel, The Oklahoman;
2. Paul Hellstern, The Oklahoman; 3. Steve Sisney,
The Oklahoman.
GENERAL NEWS: 1. Wayne Greene, Tulsa World; 2.
Randy Ellis, The Oklahoman; 3. Bryan Painter, The
Oklahoman.
GENERAL NEWS PHOTO: 1. Jim Beckel, The
Oklahoman; 2. Matt Barnard, Tulsa World; 3. Sarah
Phipps, The Oklahoman.
GRAPHICS/ILLUSTRATIONS: 1. Steve Boaldin, The
Oklahoman; 2. Todd Pendleton, The Oklahoman; 3.
James Royal, Tulsa World.
HEADLINES: 1. Lana Sweeten-Shults, Wichita Falls
Times Record News; 2. Russell LaCour, Tulsa World;
3. Karen Welch, Tulsa World.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: 1. Ziva Branstetter, Tulsa
World; 2. Nolan Clay, Randy Ellis, Robby Trammell,
Ann Kelley, The Oklahoman; 3. Omer Gillham, Ziva
Branstetter, Tulsa World.
NON-PAGE ONE LAYOUT: 1. James Royal, Tulsa World;
2. Susan Cyrus, Tulsa World; 3. Greg Stark, Tulsa
World.
PAGE ONE DEADLINE LAYOUT: 1. Ethan Erickson,
Tulsa World; 2. James Royal, Tulsa World; 3. Steve
Reckinger, Tulsa World.
PERSONAL COLUMNS: 1. Steve Lackmeyer, The
Oklahoman; 2. Michael Overall, Tulsa World; 3. Lana
Sweeten-Shults, Wichita Falls Times Record News.
PHOTO PACKAGE: 1. Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman;
2. Mike Simons, Tulsa World; 3. Doug Hoke, The
Oklahoman.
PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING: 1. Shannon Muchmore,
Tulsa World; 2. Ginnie Graham, Tulsa World; 3. Ginnie
Graham, Curtis Killman, Cary Aspinwall, Tulsa World.
REVIEWS: 1. George Lang, The Oklahoman; 2. Michael
Smith, Tulsa World; 3. Jennifer Chancellor, Tulsa
World.
SPORTS COLUMNS: 1. Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman;
2. Carrie Coppernoll, The Oklahoman; 3. Dave Sittler,
Tulsa World.
SPORTS FEATURE: 1. Ron J. Jackson, The Oklahoman;
2. Jimmie Tramel, Tulsa World; 3. Bill Haisten, Tulsa
World.
SPORTS PHOTO: 1. Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman;
2. Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman; 3. Bryan Terry, The
Oklahoman.
SPOT NEWS: 1. Jimmie Tramel, Sara Plummer, Kevin
Canfield, Omer Gillham, Bill Haisten, Kelly Hines,
Jarrel Wade, Rhett Morgan, Mike Brown, David Harper,
Tulsa World; 2. Andrea Eger, Kevin Canfield, Michael
Overall, Ziva Branstetter, Sheila Stogsdill, Tulsa
World; 3. Omer Gillham, Jarrel Wade, Ginnie Graham,
Cary Aspinwall, Curtis Killman, Kevin Canfield, Ziva
Branstetter, Tulsa World.
SPOT NEWS PHOTO: 1. Chris Landsberger, The
Oklahoman; 2. Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman; 3. Mike
Simons, Tulsa World.
SPOT SPORTS REPORTING: 1. Jimmie Tramel, Sara
Plummer, Kevin Canfield, Omer Gillham, Bill Haisten,
Kelly Hines, Jarrel Wade, Rhett Morgan, Mike Brown,
David Harper, Tulsa World; 2. Berry Tramel, John
Helsley, Diana Baldwin, John Rohde, Michael Kimball,
Carla Hinton, Michael McNutt, Darnell Mayberry, Jason
Kersey, The Oklahoman; 3. John Rohde, Berry Tramel,
Jenni Carlson, Darnell Mayberry, The Oklahoman.
WEBSITE: 1. Staff, The Oklahoman; 2. Jason Collington,
Tulsa World; 3. Staff, The Lawton Constitution, The
Lawton Constitution.
WEBSITE PHOTO: 1. Chris Landsberger, The
Oklahoman; 2. Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman; 3.
Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman.
GENERAL EXCELLENCE: 1. Staff, The Oklahoman; 2.
Tulsa World staff, Tulsa World; 3. Staff, The Lawton
Constitution.
MEDIUM-SIZED NEWSPAPERS
BEST NEW JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: 1. Kory B.
Oswald, The Shawnee News-Star; 2.
BUSINESS FEATURE: 1. Kory B. Oswald, The Shawnee
News-Star; 2. Joy Hampton, The Norman Transcript; 3.
Matt Montgomery, The Shawnee News-Star.
BUSINESS SPOT NEWS REPORTING: 1. Cindy Allen,
Robert Barron, Enid News & Eagle; 2. Jeanne LeFlore,
McAlester News-Capital; 3. Kim Morava, The Shawnee
News-Star.
EDITORIALS: 1. Mike McCormick, The Shawnee
News-Star; 2. Ed Choate, Muskogee Phoenix; 3. Kim
Benedict, The Ardmoreite.
FEATURE: 1. Michael Pineda, The Ardmoreite; 2. The
LEGAL ADVICE
is just one of the benefits of being a member of the Oklahoma Press
Association’s Legal Services Plan. Remove the worry of needing
professional advice by enrolling today. For more information contact:
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION’S
LEGAL SERVICES PLAN
1-888-815-2672 or 405-499-0020
Norman Transcript; 3. Rachel Petersen, McAlester
News-Capital.
FEATURE PHOTO: 1. Billy Hefton, Enid News & Eagle;
2. Richard R. Barron, Ada Evening News; 3. Becky
Burch, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise.
GENERAL NEWS: 1. Wendy Burton, Muskogee Phoenix;
2. Joe Malan, Bruce Campbell, Cass Rains, Cindy
Allen, Phyllis Zorn, Enid News & Eagle; 3. Chelcey
Adami, Andrew Adams, Anita Pere, Chase Rheam,
Stillwater News Press.
GENERAL NEWS PHOTO: 1. Cathy Spaulding,
Muskogee Phoenix; 2. Becky Burch, Bartlesville
Examiner-Enterprise; 3. Don Alquist, The Ardmoreite.
GRAPHICS/ILLUSTRATIONS: 1. Carrie Bailey, The
Ardmoreite; 2. Violet Hassler, Enid News & Eagle; 3.
Debra A. Parker, The Norman Transcript.
HEADLINES: 1. Jerry Willis, Muskogee Phoenix; 2. Dylan
Goforth, Muskogee Phoenix; 3. Clay Horning, The
Norman Transcript.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: 1. MJ Brickey, McAlester
News-Capital; 2. Marsha Miller, The Ardmoreite.
NON-PAGE ONE LAYOUT: 1. Kevin Kerr, The
Ardmoreite; 2. Clay Horning, The Norman Transcript;
3. Brandy Brackett, McAlester News-Capital.
PAGE ONE DEADLINE LAYOUT: 1. Debra A. Parker,
The Norman Transcript; 2. David Christy, Enid News &
Eagle; 3. Jerry Willis, Muskogee Phoenix.
PERSONAL COLUMNS: 1. Andy Rieger, The Norman
Transcript; 2. Shana Adkisson, The Norman Transcript;
3. Brian Blansett, The Shawnee News-Star.
PHOTO PACKAGE: 1. Billy Hefton, Enid News & Eagle;
2. Chase Rheam, Joe Lanane, Stillwater News Press;
3. Ed Blochowiak, The Shawnee News-Star.
PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING: 1. Violet Hassler,
Phyllis Zorn, Cass Rains, Joe Malan, Kasey Fowler,
Robert Barron, Enid News & Eagle; 2. James Beaty,
McAlester News-Capital; 3. Marsha Miller, Steve
Biehn, The Ardmoreite.
REVIEWS: 1. James Beaty, McAlester News-Capital; 2.
Kevin Kerr, The Ardmoreite.
SPORTS COLUMNS: 1. Clay Horning, The Norman
Transcript; 2. Erik K. Horne, The Ardmoreite; 3. Dave
Ruthenberg, Enid News & Eagle.
SPORTS FEATURE: 1. Clay Horning, The Norman
Transcript; 2. Erik K. Horne, The Ardmoreite; 3. Erik K.
Horne, The Ardmoreite.
SPORTS PHOTO: 1. Jason Smith, The Shawnee NewsStar; 2. Bonnie Vculek, Enid News & Eagle; 3. Billy
Hefton, Enid News & Eagle.
SPOT NEWS: 1. Mike McCormick, Kim Morava, The
Shawnee News-Star; 2. The Norman Transcript; 3.
Donna Hales, Muskogee Phoenix.
SPOT NEWS PHOTO: 1. Billy Hefton, Enid News &
Eagle; 2. Wendy Burton, Muskogee Phoenix; 3. Bonnie
Vculek, Enid News & Eagle.
SPOT SPORTS REPORTING: 1. Clay Horning, The
Norman Transcript; 2. Erik K. Horne, The Ardmoreite;
3. Erik K. Horne, The Ardmoreite.
WEBSITE: 1. The Shawnee News-Star, The Shawnee
News-Star; 2. Staff, Muskogee Phoenix; 3. Staff,
Stillwater News Press.
GENERAL EXCELLENCE: 1. Staff, Muskogee Phoenix;
2. Staff, Enid News & Eagle; 3. Staff, Stillwater News
Press.
SMALLER NEWSPAPERS
BEST NEW JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: 1. Kolby
Paxton, Tahlequah Daily Press; 2.
BUSINESS FEATURE: 1. Brian Brus, The Journal
Record; 2. April Wilkerson, The Journal Record; 3.
Betty Ridge, Tahlequah Daily Press.
BUSINESS SPOT NEWS REPORTING: 1. Brian Brus,
Brianna Bailey, April Wilkerson, David Page, Joan
Gilmore, Ray Tuttle, The Journal Record; 2. Brianna
Bailey, The Journal Record; 3. Kirby Lee Davis, The
Journal Record.
EDITORIALS: 1. Kim Poindexter, Tahlequah Daily Press;
2. Rich Macke, Woodward News; 3. Ted Streuli, The
Journal Record.
FEATURE: 1. Betty Ridge, Tahlequah Daily Press;
2. Teddye Snell, Tahlequah Daily Press; 3. April
Wilkerson, The Journal Record.
FEATURE PHOTO: 1. Rip Stell, The Journal Record; 2.
Maike Sabolich, The Journal Record; 3. Tim Ritter, The
Claremore Daily Progress.
GENERAL NEWS: 1. Teddye Snell, Tahlequah Daily
Press; 2. Rowynn Ricks, Dave Matthews, Woodward
News; 3. Brian Brus, The Journal Record.
GENERAL NEWS PHOTO: 1. Rip Stell, The Journal
Record; 2. Josh Newton, Tahlequah Daily Press; 3.
Maike Sabolich, The Journal Record.
GRAPHICS/ILLUSTRATIONS: 1. Gary Berger, The
Journal Record; 2. Maike Sabolich, The Journal
Record; 3. Josh Newton, Tahlequah Daily Press.
HEADLINES: 1. Sharon Beuchaw, The Journal Record;
2. Kim Poindexter, Tahlequah Daily Press.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: 1. M. Scott Carter, The
Journal Record; 2. Brianna Bailey, The Journal Record;
3. Josh Newton, Teddye Snell, Kim Poindexter,
Tahlequah Daily Press.
NON-PAGE ONE LAYOUT: 1. Ben Johnson, Tahlequah
Daily Press; 2. Kim Poindexter, Tahlequah Daily Press;
3. Vicky O. Misa, The Journal Record.
PAGE ONE DEADLINE LAYOUT: 1. Kim Poindexter,
Teddy Snell, Tahlequah Daily Press; 2. Rowynn Ricks,
Woodward News; 3. Vicky O. Misa, The Journal
Record.
PERSONAL COLUMNS: 1. Kim Poindexter, Tahlequah
Daily Press; 2. Ted Streuli, The Journal Record; 3. M.
Scott Carter, The Journal Record.
PHOTO PACKAGE: 1. Matt Meason, Jodi Davis, Elk City
Daily News; 2. Rip Stell, The Journal Record; 3. Maike
Sabolich, The Journal Record.
PUBLIC SERVICE REPORTING: 1. M. Scott Carter, The
Journal Record; 2. Josh Newton, Kim Poindexter, Rob
A. Anderson, Tahlequah Daily Press; 3. David Page,
The Journal Record.
REVIEWS: 1. Tom Fink, The Claremore Daily Progress;
2. Joan Gilmore, The Journal Record; 3. Ted Streuli,
The Journal Record.
SPORTS COLUMNS: 1. Ted Streuli, The Journal Record;
2. Kolby Paxton, Tahlequah Daily Press; 3. Ben
Johnson, Tahlequah Daily Press.
SPORTS FEATURE: 1. Ted Streuli, The Journal Record;
2. Kirby Lee Davis, The Journal Record; 3. M. Scott
Carter, The Journal Record.
SPORTS PHOTO: 1. Shawn Yorks, Guymon Daily
Herald; 2. Johnny McMahan, Woodward News; 3. Matt
Meason, Elk City Daily News.
SPOT NEWS: 1. Brian Brus, Brianna Bailey, David Page,
April Wilkerson, Joan Gilmore, Ray Tuttle, The Journal
Record; 2. Ray Tuttle, The Journal Record; 3. Josh
Newton, Tahlequah Daily Press.
SPOT NEWS PHOTO: 1. Rip Stell, The Journal Record;
2. Rip Stell, The Journal Record; 3. Jessica Bruha,
Woodward News.
SPOT SPORTS REPORTING: 1. Ben Johnson,
Tahlequah Daily Press; 2. Johnny McMahan,
Woodward News; 3. Tim Ritter, The Claremore Daily
Progress.
WEBSITE: 1. Kolby Paxton, Josh Newton, Kim
Poindexter, Ben Johnson, Tahlequah Daily Press; 2.
Dave Rhea, Ronnie Clay, The Journal Record.
WEBSITE PHOTO: 1. Rip Stell, The Journal Record; 2.
Josh Newton, Tahlequah Daily Press; 3. Rip Stell, The
Journal Record.
GENERAL EXCELLENCE: 1. Staff, The Journal Record;
2. Randy Cowling and staff, The Claremore Daily
Progress; 3. Staff, Woodward News.
17
It’s time to protect your Mac with anti-virus software
Computer Notes
from the road
by Wilma Melot
[email protected]
Anti-virus for your Mac is now
becoming more of a necessity than
ever before. Experts now say that 20 to
30 percent of all Macintosh computers
have a malware virus on the drive.
I’ve dealt with several drives with
problems this month – including one
we had to wipe completely. If you do
not own a copy of your system software, reformatting is a problem. The
operating system software for older
Macs runs anywhere from $89 to $289
per copy.
Avira Free Antivirus for Mac is a
good product that isn’t limited to home
users.
Avira has made it “truly free for
everyone without any advertising or
marketing pop-ups.” Download it at:
www.avira.com/en/download/product/avira-free-mac-security.
After downloading, go through the
step-by-step instructions. Once you’re
done, it will update and scan your system.
Sophos is another anti-virus product
for Macs, but it’s a home edition and
not to be used in offices. I believe this
company was the first to offer free antivirus to Mac users. More and more
companies are offering free anti-virus
programs for Macs every day.
I do recommend Sophos for something like a home laptop that you take
back-and-forth from home to the office.
It can be found at www.sophos.com/
en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition.aspx.
This free software doesn’t scan or
repair until you tell it to run.
After installing Sophos, let it update.
Then go to Preferences and choose the
“Scan local drives” (the first choice at
the top). Change the button “When a
threat is found” to “Clean up threat”
and then change “If cleanup fails” to
“Delete Threat.” You also may want to
change the auto update to “once every
day” instead of every hour. You will
have to unlock and authenticate with
your administrator password to make
these changes.
After initially telling Sophos to scan
the drives, it will do it every so often. If
you tell it to scan all drives, it might ask
you to authenticate again.
For Macs that get heavy email use in
your office, it’s worth it to spend some
money on antivirus software.
Norton has a very good product
for Macs as well as a great Windows’
product. For years they were the only
company to support Macs for this kind
of threat. It costs around $50 a year
depending on the level of protection.
Norton is available at norton.com.
One more product to consider is the
Avast free anti-virus for Mac. These
guys are one of the tried-and-true Windows’ companies that has been around
a while. Available online at www.avast.
com/free-antivirus-mac.
When you’re considering protection
software for Mac or Windows software,
look for these items:
1. It should automatically look for
new virus solutions. If it doesn’t, you’re
not truly covered.
2. Auto scanning should be a feature.
The less you have to keep up with the
better.
3. It should be easy to understand
and navigate once installed. And, an
extra Firewall is a plus.
A company that really supports
Macs, like Norton, cannot be beat.
They have versions that work with all
versions of Mac OSX.
SEARCH AND REPLACE
I get this question a lot so here’s a
few tips on search and replace. All new
employees should be schooled in the
use of this tool since it’s a time saver for
all who use it.
It’s basically the same in all layout
and word processing programs that
have the feature.
For the sake of this column we will
use InDesign for my examples.
When you’re pasting in a long piece
of text, tabs and indents often do not
work with your new column width.
Or perhaps the copy has two or
three tabs when you only need one.
To see what you’re dealing with,
turn on “Show Hidden Characters,”
found under the Type menu.
It’s imperative that you highlight
all the copy that needs to be changed
before starting.
Next, go to “Find/Change” under
the Edit menu. The caret symbol (shift
+ 6 on the keyboard) with a lower case
“t” is used to remove extra tabs. To
find tabs, type in ^t or use the flyout
menu at the end of the “Find What”
line. Type that command as many times
as you need for the number of tabs
you want to search for.
For example, if you
want to take out two
tabs, type ^t^t in the
“Find what” box. In
the “Change to” box
type a single ^t to replace two tabs with
one. Now click the “Change All” button
and the extra tabs will be deleted.
The Find/Replace function also
works well for any strange symbols
that come into your document when
you paste from the Web. Just paste
the symbols you want to delete in the
“Find what” box, type what you want to
change it to in the “Change to” box and
hit “Change All.” (You can leave the
“Change to” box empty to remove the
unwanted text.)
You can even change styles that
come in from other programs into the
styles you have built in InDesign. Some
file formats will not work with the mapping that InDesign uses when a story
is placed but the Find/Change can do
it for you.
To change formats, look for the
little magnifying glass next to the “Find
format” box. Click on it and choose the
style to be changed. In the “Change
Format” box choose the style that you
want to use.
Take a little time to explore the
features in “Find/Change.” There are
all kinds of treasures that can save you
time and automate your workload.
SCANNER SOFTWARE
So you updated your system software and now your scanner doesn’t
work. What to do, what to do.
You might want to look at some third
party software that runs your old scanner. It might have a plugin that works
with your office’s version of Photoshop.
A good one to check out is VueScan
9. This reputable company offers a free
demo that works for a year. After that it
costs $39.95 for the basic version.
The software is compatible with
more than 1,850 scanners and has several versions that work on Windows
and Mac.
If you have an older scanner, such as
the Canon LIDE or the HP4500 Office-
jet, VueScan most likely has a driver
that will help. This can be a real boon
to many papers since HP is only giving
the most basic support in Mac’s new
operating systems.
Another good choice is
Scanitto Pro, which has OCR
built into it. Now those typed
documents that come into
the office can be scanned and
turned to text files without
typing. This full scanning program
works with many scanners and is only
$29.95 for a single user license. A site
license is $199. A decent OCR program
for $30 is a great deal.
SilverFast is another company to
look into. It has solutions for newer
scanners and supports newer operating
systems up to 10.6. SilverFast pricing
begins at $74. This company supports
340 scanners, as well as OSX 10.7 and
Windows 7 on some scanners.
ADOBE CS 6 UNLEASHED
Adobe Creative Suite 6 has been
released. This latest release changes
the playing field for how we buy our
products from Adobe. Plus, there’s lots
of cool, new features. And, Photoshop
got a real update this go-around. Give
it a look.
Adobe is now selling its products
through the Adobe Creative Cloud. It
gives you access to any of the Adobe
programs, including Apps. The new
lease program from Adobe costs $49 a
month with a year plan.
If you already bought CS3/4/5 or
better directly from Adobe, Creative
Cloud is just $29 a month for a year’s
subscription. The Creative Cloud
allows you to download the programs
you need and updates are free to you
from now on.
It looks like the update to InDesign
CS5 from PageMaker is still available
for $200, but it might not be for too
much longer. To update from InDesign
CS3 to CS6 is also available for $279.
A full version of CS6 is $699 per
copy.
OPA Computer Consultant Wilma
Melot’s column is brought to you by the
Oklahoma Advertising Network (OAN).
For more information on the OAN
program, contact Oklahoma Press Service
at (405) 499-0020.
18
REMARKS WORTH REMEMBERING
Clark’s Critique
by Terry Clark
Journalism Professor,
University of Central Oklahoma
[email protected]
I was especially taken by the words
of Faith and John Wylie at the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame last month
and asked if I could reprint some of
them. I think every paper should run
these remarks as guest editorials. Here
are some excerpts.
BY FAITH L. WYLIE
“As the graphics and production
department, I get a backside view
of community journalism. Today, we
use different tools. Instead of layout
boards, we work at computers. But the
tools don’t matter.
“Those of use behind the scene
are the weavers. We draw together all
the different pieces…the advertising,
news stories, football pictures, wedding
announcements, community events
and classified ads.
“Each week all these diverse threats
find their way to our desk. Our task is
to weave these elements together into a
tapestry that captures a true, engaging
picture of our community…
“We weave a new picture each week.
And, through that process of sharing
a picture of the community, we form a
partnership with our community. We
shape the community and the community shapes us.
“The result is a growing tapestry
richer than anything we could imagine
on our own, a tapestry that captures
the people, events and dreams of a
special place. Across Oklahoma, those
tapestries are building and growing
each week.
“I don’t know what the tools will
be in the future, but I know communities need journalists who will weave
together the words and images that
help us visualize who we are and who
we dream to be.
“That’s the difference between journalism and social media. We select,
evaluate, investigate, organize, verify
and create a coherent record. We bring
order and meaning to information.”
BY JOHN M. WYLIE II
“We have a painting in our museum
across the street from our office in
Oologah titled ‘In the shadow of the
Cherokee Kid….
“I never knew Will Rogers but I certainly feel his presence in Oologah and
in Oklahoma…
“I don’t feel like I live in Will’s
shadow, though. I think we all live in
Will’s light…
“I miss the light the Tulsa Tribune
shed on Oklahoma.
“The Tribune was brilliantly written
and edited. You won’t get that kind of
descriptive language in today’s 24/7
cable and Internet sites which regurgitate the same information in slightly
modified form over and over, instead
of actually covering different stories….
“That’s the major reason I’m so sad
that pundits claim the print business is
dead. What garbage!!
“Print media and print websites are
what still provide serious news coverage. We shed the light!”
LOOKIN’EM OVER. One of the best
papers in the state is the Pioneer at
Oklahoma City Community College.
Faculty advisor Sue Hinton and lab
director Ronna Austin manage to lead
an ever-changing bunch of students in
producing journalism of professional
quality.
I’m not talking just about clean layout and style, but specifically about its
excellent and well-written content. As
the recipient of many of Sue’s transfer students, I shouldn’t be surprised.
They’re always well prepared and dedicated. But to consistently put out a
strong paper when the staff changes
every semester is remarkable.
Most recently, the paper did what
I’ve not seen in other college papers,
and in few commercial papers. It ran
a two-part investigative series on how
OCCC complies with the Open Records
Act, specifically about its finances with
the college aquatic center. Kudos to
writers Sarah Hussain, Joe Stipek and
Mike Wormley for guts in going up
against college administrators. It also
reported that 14 percent of college
employees are within $5,000 of poverty.
Check the paper’s classy web page at
www.occc.edu/pioneer.
There’s a teenager in Grove who
P IONEER
OKLAHOMA CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
INSIDE
PIONEER ONLINE
To comment on
stories, or to access
the latest news,
features, multimedia,
online exclusives and
updates, visit
occc.edu/pioneer.
APRIL 20, 2012
WWW.OCCC.EDU/PIONEER
Ice cream
social
EDITORIAL
RESEARCH
NEEDED FOR
CMV VIRUS
Reporter Chris James
says CMV, a common
virus that affects
thousands, needs
more attention and a
viable vaccine. Read
more inside.
OPINION, p. 2
Kasey
Handley,
Communications
Lab tutor, serves
ice cream at the
Communications
Lab 2 open
house event on
April 12. The
Communications
Lab 2 can be
found in room
146 of the Visual
and Performing
Arts Center.
CAMPUS LIFE
UNITED
NATIONS TO
MEET OCCC
OCCC will play video
host to members of
the United Nations
from the Dominican
Republic regarding
human issues. See
what topics are up
for discussion.
NEWS, p. 6
SPORTS
LASER TAG
TOURNEY
APRIL 25
OCCC is hosting
a Laser Tag
tournament, free to
all students. Sign
ups have started and
will continue through
April ??. For more
details, see inside.
SPORTS, p. 8
CAMPUS LIFE
WHEN IS A
RELATIONSHIP
ABUSIVE?
Student Life hosted
a Brown Bag
luncheon recently
that explored how
to have a healthy
relationship.
COMMUNITY, p. 10
Chris James/
Pioneer
2&&&H[SHUWVYLHZV
GLIIHURQRSHQUHFRUGV
Pioneer reporters re(Editor’s Note:
,QSDUWWZRRIDWZRSDUWVHULHV quested
an accounting
In part two of a
WKH3LRQHHULQYHVWLJDWHV2&&&V of Aquatic Center revtwo-part series,
enues and expenses on
Pioneer reportrs
FRPSOLDQFHZLWKWKH2SHQ
Jan. 20. The document
investigate wheth5HFRUGV$FW
outlining expenses and
er OCCC releases
revenue came March 5
public records in a
is being asked.
timely manner and whether
State and national experts in an email message from
an employee is available to say prompt and reasonable Cordell Jordan, media relatake Open Records requests access should be a matter of tions coordinator.
Jordan
is the college offiduring business hours.)
days. For some OCCC administrators, it means weeks, cial charged with accepting
records requests from the
SARAH HUSSAIN
months or years.
public and providing the
Senior Writer
PROMPT AND
records once they have been
JOEY STIPEK
REASONABLE ACCESS
Special Projects Writer
An example would be a collected by the appropriate
MIKE WORMLEY
story published in the Pio- department.
A previous Pioneer request
Online Reporter
neer on March 30. The story
reported the college spent for Aquatic Center records
rompt and reasonable $75,000 more in 2010 to in April 2011 met with the
access to public re- maintain the Aquatic Center response from Jordan that the
cords is required under the than the center collected in records did not exist.
OCCC Community DeOklahoma Open Records revenue. The data provided
Act. What defines “prompt also gave the figures for 2008 velopment Vice President
and reasonable?”
and 2009, both years where
See RECORDS page 12
That would depend on who expenses outpaced revenue.
P
COVERING OCCC SINCE 1978
6WXGHQWVVKRXOG
EHRQDOHUWIRU
VFKRODUVKLSVFDP
WHITNEY KNIGHT
Online Editor
[email protected]
A
recent scam targeting current and
prospective students in search of financial aid has college officials concerned,
said Financial Aid Assistant Director
Linette McMurtrey.
McMurtrey said the official-looking
document from an organization called the
Student Financial Resource Center has
been popping up in mailboxes nationwide,
including in those of some OCCC students.
The letter states students can fill out the
enclosed forms to apply for the “maximum merit and need-based (scholarship)
programs” available.
“They use a symbol like the U.S. Department of Education and use similar
terminology,” she said. “It looks and feels
legitimate.”
However, the organization also requests
an enclosed “processing fee” of $59,
which, McMurtrey said, is a tell-tale sign
of a scam.
“Students can get information about,
and apply for, all of those scholarships
for free,” she said. “We don’t want our
students paying for services available to
them for free.”
McMurtrey said an increase in scams
usually occurs around this time of year,
due to the upcoming fall semester.
“It’s that time of year,” she said. “The
2012-2013 year is starting up and that’s
when people start filing for financial aid
and filling out scholarships.”
McMurtrey said she is unaware how
companies receive students’ names and
contact information.
She encourages students who receive
something that appears to be a scam to
alert Financial Aid immediately.
“We like to be informed of these things,”
she said. “That way, we can send out emails
to students alerting them of the situation.”
Besides suspicious costs, McMurtrey
said, there are other ways to spot legitimate
opportunities from false ones.
She said official financial aid inforSee SCAM page 9
Stories you would miss if you didn’t read the
newspaper – OCCC’s compliance with the Open
Records Act in the Pioneer; a World War II vet
graduating from high school in the Cushing
Citizen, and the oil boom endangering water in
the Garvin County News Star.
deserves a state medal and more recognition. Peggy Kiefer of the Grove Sun
reports about a high school student
who is a teacher’s aide in a special
needs class. She invited all five of those
students to be her date at the school
prom. Headline: “Special Prom.” Wow.
A story many communities should
look at in the current oil boom: “Water
woes worry city officials,” headlines
Jeff Shultz’s story in the Garvin County
News-Star, about a lawsuit involving the
oil industry procedures endangering
the city water supply.
Another statewide story: It’s going
to be an early wheat harvest, report
Lori Cooper at the Carnegie Herald and
Barb Walter at The Hennessey Clipper.
And it looks like a bumper crop. Lots
of stories.
A tip of the hat to the Holdenville
Tribune for devoting entire front page
to the story of a WWII vet.
Jim Perry at the Cushing Citizen tells
the story of a WWII vet who is finally
graduating from high school. Headline: “Man’s long journey ends with a
short walk.” Lead: “It is tempting to
say Frank Bickell graduated from the
school of hard knocks. / “Fighting lifeand-death battles with the Nazis qualifies as such. Even if the U.S. Army does
not hand out diplomas.”
Provocative writing in The Tulsa Beacon: “Just days after Republican legislative leaders killed a bill that grants person status to unborn children, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has squashed an
initiative petition that would have put
the issue to a vote of the people. / “A
‘conservative’ Legislature and a ‘liberal
court’ are denying pro-life Oklahomans
a chance to protect unborn children,
one spokesman for petition group said.”
Miranda Elliott of the Sulphur Times
Continued on Page 19
‘Privacy’ concerns trump openness
Legal Notes
by Michael Minnis
OPA Attorney
The Driver’s Privacy Protection
Act (DPPA) is a federal law ostensibly
enacted to prevent stalking. The impetus for this law was the murder of an
actress killed by her stalker. The stalker obtained her home address through
a private detective agency.
The DPPA restricts access to “personal information” obtained by state
motor vehicle agencies “in connection
with a motor vehicle record.”
Like so many other laws at the
federal or state level based on isolated
incidents, the DPPA would not have
prevented the incident that led to its
enactment because private investigators are exempt from the law.
The latest use of the DPPA is as
an excuse for denying access to public records. The Oklahoma Highway
Patrol (OHP) recently refused to
release blood alcohol test results citing
the DPPA as a reason. As Joey Senat
has pointed out, the DPPA contains a
provision that “personal information”
and “highly restricted personal information” can be used “by any government agency, including any court or
law enforcement agency, in carrying
out its functions.” Senat is an associate professor for the School of Media
and Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University.
Senat noted: (1) that the Wisconsin Attorney General has opined that
responding to public records request
is a required function of law enforcement agencies; and (2) that various
courts have ruled that the DPPA only
applies to records of the Department of
Motor Vehicles pertaining to a motor
vehicle license or permit not to law
enforcement records involving traffic
accidents.
Public agencies often seem to be
unaware of their function of providing
public access to public records. One
might look at the denial of access to
blood alcohol tests as an unintended
consequence of the DPPA, or as simply
another excuse by a public agency for
not complying with the Open Records
Act. State agencies might call the latter
excuse that the “devil made me do it”
rationale for denying access to public
records.
Clark’s Critique Continued from Page 20
Democrat wrote a feature on a long-time
county extension director retiring.
And we sure need humor these days.
At the Sequoyah County Times, Linda
Copeland photographed an attorney’s
truck covered with a bee swarm. Headline: “Bee Express.” But the good part
was the last line of the cutline: “He said
that his girlfriend, Kelsey Karber of
Lavaca, Ark., thinks he is pretty sweet
and thinks that might be the reason the
bees swarmed his truck.”
HEAD’EM UP AWARDS. First place,
Tulsa Beacon, on the story about legislative and court action on pro-life, a
must read story:
Babies aren’t ‘persons’
Second place, Clayton Today, on an
Eddie A. Owens story about an 11-yearold boy who saved a wreck victim from
drowning:
Heroes come in all sizes
Third place, tie, The Cleveland American, on a Rusty Ferguson story, showing the power of a verb:
Embezzlement charges sting city hall
and Stillwater NewsPress, on a Rick
O’Bannon story about controversy at
the county commissioners:
Taxes: A fair split?
Honorable mention: Inola Independent, “Tough water questions flood
town board”; Prague Times-Herald, on
a Sharron Maggard story about the
festival, “Czech Us Out”; Duncan Banner, on a Tony Hopper story about a
cop squad on bicycles, “Awake at the
wheel”; Mustang News, on a Victoria
Middleton story about a local soldier
on duty at the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier, “Guardian of the Unknown”;
Cherokee Messenger & Republican, on a
Jim Cotton story about reserve police
officers, “‘Even if you don’t see us,
we’re out there’”; Tulsa World, on a Ginnie Graham story about group homes
and child welfare, “Home and Hope”;
and El Reno Tribune, on Glen Miller’s
photo of a UP steam train coming to
town, “Steaming into Train Town”.
19
Talking social media –
one person at a time
That InterWeb
Thing
by Keith Burgin
[email protected]
When I was 15, I schmoozed my
way into a job as a disc jockey at the
local radio station, KCOW.
During my stay there, I picked up
a number of valuable mental trinkets.
One of the most useful and lasting
was this adage: “You’re talking to one
person.”
At first, I took that to be a simple
device for overcoming “mic fright,”
that tongue-numbing terror that
attacks radio newbies when the
record ends. As I think back on it,
though, my characterization was shallow. “You’re talking to one person,”
transcends one meaning and one
application.
When dealing with Facebook fans,
Twitter followers or other social
media contacts, keep in mind that
while there may be hundreds if not
thousands reading your posts, you’re
talking to one person at a time.
Engage that person. Respond as
often as you can. Joke with supporters or address the concerns of critics
– publicly.
Let’s drill down and talk Twitter
for a second.
The simplest way to reflect an
interest in the world around you is to
follow others. I recommend following
three to four times as many people as
follow you – and add some folks you
disagree with.
Not only does it make what you
read more varied and interesting, it
reflects an appealing openness.
If someone disagrees with your
editorial stance or complains about
your words – whether they were
printed or posted, try to address that
– again, talking directly to that one
person. Keep the conversation professional and friendly.
In some cases, since Twitter only
allows 140 characters, you may want
to take that discussion to Facebook.
“Dave, I’d like to address that
more fully,” you might write. “Let’s
adjourn to Facebook.” Link directly
to the relevant post.
Here’s a tip for those who haven’t
discovered it: when you post to
Facebook, you can click on the “timestamp” for that post and it will take
you to that single post rather than to
your default Facebook page.
That’s the address I would link to.
Use a service like bitly.com to shorten the URL and save characters.
“Last night, town council shut
down discussion of water ordinance.
Crowd too rowdy or council avoiding
discussion?”
That little blurb is 115 characters.
It leaves 25 for a link – a bitly link
to your Facebook conversation runs
about 18 characters. It’s a good way
to start a discussion.
Retweet often but only if it’s
interesting. Join the discussion as
frequently as is practical and offer
your social media friends what you
offer your print friends – something
interesting.
Get that mojo going – draw your
reader in, introduce him to new
people and ideas. Be the center of
attention.
Oh, and invite, don’t demand.
Remember, you’re talking to one
person.
“This is interesting. Please tell me
what you think,” catches more flies
than, “Here’s a link. Click.”
These principles work for Facebook, Tumblr, Google+ and others.
Yes, working a network takes a
little time – slackers need not apply –
but as you get more adept, you’ll find
ways to make it part of your normal
day.
Above all, write, tweet, post as
though you enjoy it.
After all, you and your one person
are friends.
20
SCOUTING REPORT 10
Join OPA President Rusty Ferguson on
his visits to OPA member newspapers
BY RUSTY FERGUSON, OPA President
“Nobody does hometown news, like
hometown folks!” — so says the masthead of the Country Connection News
in Eakly. While that’s an assertion to
which I’d readily agree, it was certainly
affirmed during my most recent road
trip visiting several newspapers in western Oklahoma.
OPA Executive Vice President Mark
Thomas and I enjoyed stops in Eakly,
Carnegie, Mountain View, Hobart,
Altus and Lawton.
We were greeted by husband and
wife teams on our first three stops.
Like so many other couples across the
state, these duos do it all when it comes
to delivering the news to their readers
week after week.
In Eakly, Joyce and Rusty Carney
have been publishing the Country Connection News for three decades and
they’re still going strong. The Carneys
said they do their best to cover events
in a coverage area that expands 1,000
square miles.
Joyce, who is editor and publisher,
said she has never been afraid to take
on any challenge. “We cover the hard
news and report on council meetings,
school board meetings and will tackle
any story that affects our readers,” she
said. “We also take pride in reporting
the good news in our area.”
Donald and Lori Cooper maintain
their news office in nice and tidy fashion in downtown Carnegie (seriously
— it’s one of the tidiest and cleanest
news offices I’ve visited). Obviously a
proud husband, Donald looked at his
editor/wife and said, “Any community
events happening in Carnegie usually
funnel through this office. Everyone
comes to see Lori to get her ideas and
she’ll steer them in the right direction.”
The Carnegie Herald has been publishing for 108 years and is Carnegie’s
oldest privately-owned business still in
existence today.
The Coopers bought the Herald in
1991 from Leon and Jyl Hobbs, publish-
ers of the neighboring Mountain View
News. Lori worked for the Hobbs for
five years before she and Donald made
the purchase.
The Mountain View News has been
publishing for 73 years. The Hobbs
moved to Mountain View in 1979 and
fully invested themselves in the community. Leon served as the town’s
mayor for eight years and they were
active participants in the Main Street
program, completely renovating and
upgrading their news office building.
The renovation design was even recognized with an annual Main Street
Award.
And not too far down the road, another couple, Joe and Neville Hancock,
also know a thing or two about newspaper publishing. The Hancocks, publishers of the Hobart Democrat-Chief, have
been married for 63 years. With son
Todd Hancock onboard as editor, Joe’s
days have slowed down a bit. He began
working in the newspaper industry as
a nine-year-old paper boy five years
before his father, Ransom Hancock,
bought the Hobart Democrat-Chief.
Today, he routinely drives his golf cart
to the office — after stopping for coffee at a local cafe. Neville continues
to write a lengthy “what’s happening”
column for the paper that also includes
recipes. “She writes from home these
days. She’s always known that a newspaper column needs a lot of names in it
and that’s what she does,” Joe said.
The two daily newspapers we visited
appear to be doing quite well in strong
military communities.
The Altus Times, owned by Heartland Publications, is in its 112th year of
publication. The Lawton Constitution,
recently purchased by brothers Bill and
Brad Burgess, has been locally owned
for 110 years. To help connect their
military communities to their cities,
both papers assist with the publication
of military newspapers. The Freedom
Flyer covers the Altus Air Force Base
and The Cannoneer covers news of the
Ft. Sill U.S. Army base in Lawton.
While the Lawton Constitution
boasts the third largest circulation in
Oklahoma, its management takes pride
in being identified as a community
newspaper.
“Community newspapers can and
should be the conscience of the community. We wanted to be part of the
Lawton Constitution team,” said Bill
Continued on page 21
OPA President Rusty Ferguson visits with Mountain View News owners and publishers Jyl and Leon Hobbs. The Hobbs moved to
Mountain View in 1979.
21
SCOUTING REPORT 10
Continued from page 20
Burgess regarding his decision to enter
the newspaper business. The Constitution’s longtime general manager, Mike
Owensby, said the decision to “quit
covering the world” was an important
move. “We’re covering southwest Oklahoma and are concentrating on local
news. We’re getting our reporters in
the field to see what’s going on,” he
said.
Noting other papers have scaled
back on news staff in recent years,
Owensby said the Constitution has purposely maintained a strong editorial
staff and the results have been significant.
During the process of the recent sale
of the newspaper, Owensby said, “We
were able to take a good look at ourselves.” Noting other newspapers that
have suffered in circulation numbers,
he said the Constitution is actually up a
couple of hundred with a 23,500 Sunday
circulation.
In addition to the local coverage
and strong editorial staff, he credits
superior customer service as a reason
for strong readership. “We still ‘porch’
the paper every day and our readers
appreciate that,” he said. “That’s a huge
thing. If one of our carriers drop the
ball, we hear about it…and quickly fix
the problem.”
Obviously, it takes advertising to
provide a community of any size with a
quality newspaper. In Altus, publisher
Dan Taylor looks for creative ways to
help local businesses.
“We want our businesses to know
we can offer one-stop media solutions
for all their advertising needs,” Taylor
said. “We want to help them be successful. That’s what advertising is all about.
When a business experiences advertising that works, they’re going to return
for more.”
In addition to various niche publications, newspaper and website advertising, Taylor said the Altus Times is helping its customers establish their own
online presence.
“People don’t use phone books
and Yellow Pages like they once did.
Instead, they Google the information
they want,” he said. The Altus Times
is providing a service of establishing
simple one-page websites for numerous
businesses. “They may be small, but
we’re able to make them look like a million bucks,” Taylor said of the websites
At the Hobart Democrat-Chief, a wall of memorable photos decorate publisher Joe Hancock’s office. From left, OPA President
Rusty Ferguson; Hobart Democrat-Chief publisher Joe Hancock; Dayva Spitzer, OPA board member and co-publisher of the Sayre
Record & Beckham County Democrat; Todd Hancock, Democrat-Chief editor; and OPA Executive Vice President Mark Thomas.
that operate through the newspaper’s
Internet provider. Search words are
included that help the businesses pop
to the top of the list when potential customers do a web search.
“Advertising is designed to help people make money. We want to help them
do just that,” he said.
The right type of Internet presence
is something Oklahoma newspapers
continue to refine.
With new ownership in Lawton, Bill
Burgess is excited about an upcoming “complete upgrade” of technology
at the Constitution. Not only will the
paper’s website and digital offering be
upgraded, but readers will be able to
easily access the newspaper from their
smart pads and phones.
While some papers, such as the
Hobart Democrat-Chief, are using specialized companies to provide online
subscriptions, others such as Eakly,
Carnegie and Mountain View simply
send a PDF of their pages to the email
address of subscribers. An added bonus
for being a digital subscriber is that the
pages are sent upon completion giving
digital subscribers the opportunity to
read the news before the printed newspapers even hit the news stands.
The use of social networking has
been receiving somewhat contrasting
reactions from newspaper professionals across the state. While some are
embracing the use of Facebook as an
additional place to share photos that
were unable to be used in print or to
gain ideas or tips for stories, others find
it frustrating.
For example, in Carnegie and Mountain View, the publishers expressed
frustration over a popular local event
such as “Senior Night” where parents
take dozens of pictures and place them
on Facebook days before the newspaper is even printed.
“By the time we publish the same
basic picture, it’s old news,” said
Carnegie’s Lori Cooper, who is in
search of a workable solution. “On the
other hand, it has pushed us to purposely look for a story each week that
no one seems to yet know about!”
MORE TO THE JOB
It’s not unusual to visit community
newspapers and discover they’ve diversified their business interests.
In Eakly, we interrupted Rusty Carney from his diligent work of adding
name plates to trophies and plaques.
He manages the trophy business in
addition to being the Country Connection’s ad director, photographer and
circulation manager.
In Carnegie, Donald Cooper only
had one shot at watching a pressman
burn a plate and print a job on an A.B.
Dick job shop press. His skills as a
diesel injection pump technician apparently helped, because his first print job
on his own was a two-color flyer. That
was years ago, and today Donald and
the Carnegie Herald maintain a steady
stream of business in their print shop
and office supply store.
In Hobart, Joe Hancock owns the
Tag Agency and has sectioned off a
portion of his front office for that purpose.
In Mountain View, frustrated that
his community did not have Internet
service, Leon Hobbs decided to do
something about it. After developing
his own Internet company that provided dial-up service to his community,
he soon advanced to high-speed and
broadband. The company became so
successful he was able to sell it — and
even maintain a job working for the
new owners.
INVOLVEMENT
Mike Owensby said community
involvement is second nature for members of the Lawton Constitution staff.
22
Mike Owensby, general manager at the Lawton Constitution, says circulation is up a
couple of hundred with a 23,500 Sunday circulation.
Lori and Donald Cooper became owners and publishers of the Carnegie Herald in 1991
when they purchased the weekly paper from Leon and Jyl Hobbs.
Dan Taylor, publisher of the Altus Times, is helping his customers develop an online
presence by building web pages for them.
SCOUTING REPORT 10
“The newspaper has to step up and
show community leadership. I’m out
there — staff members are out there
— on boards, as volunteers, simply
being involved. It’s just essential to be a
part of the community…to be out there
doing our part.”
In Altus, Dan Taylor said his involve-
ment on the Workforce Investment
Board has given him keen insight
regarding what employers want in the
workforce. “Obviously, people go where
there are jobs. When we see a population loss, it’s a matter of concern,” he
said. Concerned about growth in his
community, Taylor said it’s important
for the paper to do its part to promote
progress.
Involvement would be an understate-
ment in describing Joyce Carney. While
her current passion is assisting abused
and neglected children through a court
advocacy program called CAT, she’s
anxious to use the newspaper to help
many worthwhile causes.
“So many things simply go hand-inhand,” she explained. “Our readers are
a wonderful bunch of giving people.
Each Christmas they provide gifts for
foster children — it just happens, we
hardly even have to promote it anymore.”
She gave examples of community
members with serious illnesses or students participating in Special Olympics
and other worthwhile endeavors as
how she uses the paper to promote and
support such individuals and groups.
She told of a woman living in a nearby city who was relying on a ventilator
to help her breathe when her electricity
was about to be cut off. “I wrote a story
and told of the circumstances. People
gave. We restored the electricity.
“I tell people from other communities to get their newspaper behind
them. That’s where they should be able
to go when they need something…at
least that’s the way I see it,” she said.
With his son Todd now being the
“involved” one, Joe Hancock, at 83, has
scaled back his many civic activities
but served for years with the Hobart
Kiwanis Club, Chamber of Commerce,
Housing Authority and Board of Education. “We belong to the community,”
Hancock said. “Being involved helps
us to inform and entertain through our
newspaper.”
Mountain View draws in thousands
for its annual fair and right there in the
midst of them are Leon and Jyl Hobbs
doing their part to promote their community. For 16 years Leon served on
the fair board and continues to offer
advice and support. “Everyone pitches
in around here,” he said.
ALONG THE ROAD...
• There was a plate of homemade
cookies freshly delivered to Rusty and
Joyce Carney when we arrived in Eakly.
Seems the ladies of OHCE really appreciate the Carneys’ service to Northern
Caddo County. The same group used
to bring them hot meals on their “late
night” at the office. “Those were the
days when we’d be so tired, we’d line
dance around the layout tables to keep
ourselves awake and entertained,”
Joyce said. Technology advancements
such as pagination and stringers being
able to send in stories and photos have
done away with the late nights...and hot
meals!
• Jyl Hobbs shared a fun advertising idea — perfect for leading up to
the dog days of summer. Sell an ad
to a pet groomer or some other petrelated business and feature a “dog of
the week” complete with picture and
personal dog information. They always
The Oklahoma Publisher // April 2012
23
SCOUTING REPORT 10
have a waiting line! Another great idea
from Mountain View was a “Good Deed
Doer” recognition feature used to, obviously, point out the good deeds of others.
• A downtown fire and ice storms,
and horror stories of others not having adequate back-up systems in place,
prompted Donald and Lori Cooper to
develop such a plan. Not only do they
have back-ups in place, they have a
generator at home if needed to get the
paper out.
• Lori Cooper was such a “fixture”
at Carnegie school board meetings that
when the board needed a new minutes
clerk…they hired her! After all, she
was already there doing the same job.
• For a contrast of the “old and the
new” I’ve seen no better example than
at the Lawton Constitution. In the lobby
of their beautiful up-to-date building
stands an old Linotype complete with
lead pigs and other old relics once used
to make up pages in wood and metal.
Perfect for all those Scout tours!
• Among its niche publications, the
Altus Times produced a “Business and
Service Directory,” which is basically
a booklet of business card ads printed,
by category, in full color. The booklet
was inserted into the Times. It was well
done and a great idea.
• One of my favorite “office of
the publisher” that I’ve seen over the
course of the past year has got to be Joe
Hancock’s in Hobart. It is filled, wall-towall, with photographs. A former OPA
president, one wall has a series of OPA
Board of Director pictures along with
ADMINISTRATION
MARK THOMAS
Executive Vice President
[email protected]
(405) 499-0033
ROBERT WALLAR
Accounting Manager
[email protected]
(405) 499-0027
SCOTT WILKERSON
Front Office/Building Mgr.
[email protected]
(405) 499-0020
Newspapers in southwest Oklahoma include The Country Connection News in Eakly. OPA Executive Vice President Mark
Thomas (left) and OPA President Rusty Ferguson (right) visit with Rusty and Joyce Carney, owners and publishers of the Country
Connection News.
pictures of Hancock with elected officials such as senators, representatives,
governors and even shaking hands
with President Reagan. Another wall
chronicles the staff of the DemocratChief in picture after picture of group
pictures at the company Christmas
party. Another wall pays tribute to the
MEMBER
SERVICES
LISA POTTS
Member Services
Director
[email protected]
(405) 499-0026
ELI NICHOLS
Member Services
Coordinator
[email protected]
(405) 499-0040
Oklahoma Sooners! Every picture has
a “cutline” added to it so that everyone
in the picture is identified! The greatest
part about it is that all those pictures
are a result of his involvement in the
newspaper industry.
• It was nice to have Dayva Spitzer
of the Sayre Record & Beckham County
OPA STAFF DIRECTORY
ADVERTISING
CINDY SHEA
Media Manager
[email protected]
(405) 499-0023
LANDON COBB
Account Executive
[email protected]
(405) 499-0022
COURTNI SPOON
Advertising Assistant &
OCAN/2X2 Contact
[email protected]
(405) 499-0035
CREATIVE
SERVICES
COMPUTER
ADVICE
JENNIFER GILLILAND
WILMA MELOT
Creative Services Director
[email protected]
(405) 499-0028
Computer Consultant
[email protected]
(405) 499-0031
MORGAN BROWNE
POSTAL
ADVICE
Creative Assistant
[email protected]
(405) 499-0029
BILL NEWELL
Postal Consultant
[email protected]
(405) 499-0020
Democrat with us for stops in Eakly,
Carnegie, Mountain View and Hobart.
As the “western Oklahoma” rep to
the OPA Board of Directors, Dayva
was anxious to visit her neighbors. We
enjoyed her company.
OPEN
(DIGITAL CLIPPING)
KEITH BURGIN
OPEN Manager
[email protected]
(405) 499-0024
KYLE GRANT
Digital Clipping Dept
[email protected]
(405) 499-0032
OPEN (CONT’D)
BRENDA SUMMIT
Digital Clipping Dept.
[email protected]
(405) 499-0030
NELSON SOLOMON
Digital Clipping Dept.
[email protected]
(405) 499-0045
GENERAL INQUIRIES
(405) 499-0020 • Fax: (405) 499-0048
Toll-free in OK: 1-888-815-2672
24
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MARCH 2012 CONTEST WINNERS
Column:
Editorial:
STEVEN
JAMES
WAYNE
TROTTER
South County Leader
MARCH 2012 EDITORIAL WINNER WAYNE
Countywide & Sun
TROTTER, COUNTYWIDE & SUN
A little history
History can be an unsettling
subject, even among neighbors. Close
to a quarter-century ago, Tecumseh
wisely invested $2 million in water
for the future. That money, which
the city borrowed, was funneled
through the Pottawatomie County
Development Authority along with
$18 million from the City of Shawnee
and major assistance from the
federal government. The payoff for
Tecumseh was supposed to be 15
percent of the lake’s water or more
than 600,000 gallons a day. Shawnee
would get the other 85 percent.
But several years later, the
Tecumseh City Council dropped the
ball. It signed a contract that in effect
said Shawnee would treat all the Wes
Watkins water, deliver Tecumseh’s
share and bill Tecumseh for the
treatment costs plus associated
costs. This newspaper, then simply
The Tecumseh Countywide News,
vigorously opposed that contract
because it looked to us as if doing
that would put Tecumseh in a trap.
Tecumseh would have two sources of
water (Wes Watkins and Tecumseh
Lake) and for much of most years, the
600,000 gallons would be sufficient to
meet Tecumseh’s daily needs. What
would come of the Tecumseh Lake
water and the city’s existing treatment
plant? We had other objections but in
comparison, those were incidental.
What happened? Exactly what
we feared all those years ago. Wes
Watkins was finished in the late
1990s and Tecumseh hasn’t used a
drop of its water yet. It’s gone over
the spillway and down the North
Canadian River. By now, Tecumseh
residents ought to feel at home when
they visit Lake Eufaula. In effect,
they’re swimming and fishing in their
own water.
The contract is no longer a
problem. Subsequent City Councils
saw the light and began negotiating
with Shawnee to change the offending
contract to allow Tecumseh to treat
the water its citizens paid for more
than two decades ago. Thanks for
that largely go to Linda Praytor, now
Tecumseh’s vice mayor, and Linda
Peterson, now the mayor of Shawnee.
The problem now is that
Tecumseh has no way to get the
water to its lake and subsequently its
treatment plant. The city is working
on that now. Building a pipeline
will cost about another million and
take about a year, we’re told. That
is one of the projects Tecumseh has
assigned to former City Manager Jim
Thompson, now a consultant. With
luck and hard work, Tecumseh will
finally have its water in little more
than 12 months.
But meanwhile, this searing
drought has practically emptied
Tecumseh Lake. It was little more
than a puddle before this week’s
wonderful rains and now is only about
25 percent full according to Interim
City Manager Jimmy Stokes. It will
take another good rain and maybe
still another to begin to restore the
lake as a reliable source of water.
And guess what? If you live in
Tecumseh, you’re drinking and
otherwise consuming Wes Watkins
water right now ... and probably
some from the Twin Lakes as well.
Tecumseh is buying treated water
from Shawnee and raising its rates
slightly to cover the costs. Shawnee
is acting as a friend in need to its
smaller neighbor, but for a while this
story is back to Square One.
It really is a sad story, one that
didn’t have to happen and wouldn’t
have if enough citizens had paid
attention oh, about 20 years ago. The
moral, if there is one, is to watch what
your elected officials are doing. The
only way to do that is through this
and other newspapers. No other outlet
covers those local bodies except
at times of high crisis when a few
television stations might wander over
and grab a few seconds of tape and
a sound bite or two. Water contracts
don’t attract that kind of attention.
They’re boring.
Babies have grown to voting age
while Tecumseh waited for its water.
Since Wes Watkins opened, more
than 3,000,000,000 gallons of water
Tecumseh owns has flowed down the
North Canadian. When it comes to
government, even boring things can
be very important.
Enter and Win a
$100 Check from
ONG!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Each month, send a tear sheet or
photocopy of your best column and/
or editorial to ONG Contest, c/o OPA,
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City,
OK 73105-5499.
Include the author’s name, name of
publication, date of publication and
category entered (column or editorial).
Only ONE editorial and/or ONE
column per writer per month will be
accepted.
All entries for the previous month must
be at the OPA office by the 15th of the
current month.
Winning entries will be reproduced
on the OPA website at www.OkPress.
com.
Entries must have been previously
published. Contest open to
all OPA member newspapers.
Although Oklahoma Natural Gas Company
selects representative contest winners’ work
for use in this monthly ad, the views expressed
in winning columns and editorials are those
of the writers and don’t necessarily reflect the
Company’s opinions.
Thank you for continued support of “Share The Warmth”
Read the Winning Columns and Editorials on the OPA website: www.OkPress.com (Under Contests)

The Oklahoma Publisher - Oklahoma Press Association

Transcription

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