Six members, six inventive ideas

Transcription

Official Publication of the Oklahoma Press Association
Vol. 82, No. 2 • 28 Pages • February 2011
Download The Oklahoma Publisher in PDF format at
www.OkPress.com/the-oklahoma-publisher
THIS
MONTH:
State Newspapers Find
Alternative Delivery
Methods During Blizzard
Page 4
View front pages of
blizzard coverage
Page 8
SPECIAL MID-WINTER
CONVENTION COVERAGE
Beginning
on Page 11
2010 BETTER NEWSPAPER
CONTEST WINNERS
Page 20
Five of the six members who made presentations at the News Flash session during the OPA Mid-Winter Convention answer questions from the audience.
From left, Kim Noe, The Newcastle Pacer; Vickie Foraker, The Purcell Register; Dave Rhea, The Journal Record; Ted Streuli, The Journal Record; and Lynn
Martin, Alva Review-Courier. Jeff Shultz, The Garvin County News Star, also presented an idea during the session and emceed the event.
Six members, six inventive ideas
Quick… present your best
newspaper idea or topic in five
minutes or less at the Mid-Winter
Convention. Several members of
the Oklahoma Press Association
responded to that challenge and
prepared presentations for the
hour-long session on Feb. 4, 2011.
Unfortunately, two presenters
from northeastern Oklahoma had
to cancel due to blizzard conditions in the state. The remaining
six were given an additional minute to make their presentation and
News Flash was on.
The six presenters, in order of
presentations, were Dave Rhea,
multimedia editor at The Journal
Record; Vickie Foraker, advertising manager at The Purcell Register; Kim Noe, advertising director at The Newcastle Pacer; Lynn
Martin, publisher of the Alva
Review-Courier; Ted Streuli, managing editor at The Journal Record;
and Jeff Shultz, publisher of The
Garvin County News Star.
“We heard some great comments about this session and hope
to do it again,” said Lisa Potts,
OPA Member Services Director.
“You get to hear a lot of great ideas
in a short amount of time.”
With a buzzer set in place to
time the presenters, News Flash
began.
DAVE RHEA
Rhea was first up with “Shooting Quality Reporter Video.”
Rhea’s visual presentation
offered tips including:
Be aware of light sources; Be
aware of your background; Use a
tripod or stand; Zoom with your
feet; Always wear earphones when
shooting video; Try to avoid pan
and zoom; Shoot and move; Hold
shots for 10 seconds; and Look for
action/reaction.
VICKIE FORAKER
Next on the stage was Foraker,
who provided a framework for
The Purcell Register’s successful
Player of the Week Contest. The
contest generates a full-page ad in
the newspaper, and coaches and
players love it, Foraker said.
The newspaper staff selects four
Players of the Week – offensive,
defensive, offensive lineman and
defensive lineman. The players are
featured in a full-page sig ad. In
addition, winners receive a t-shirt
with the Player of the Week logo
on the front and contest sponsors
on the back.
Foraker said gross sales in 2010
were $9,000, with about $1,000
spent on T-shirts and plaques for
the Players of the Year.
KIM NOE
“New Media and the ‘Y’ Generation” was Noe’s topic. The
young generation has moved on,
Noe said.
“We’re over websites. We want
to get our information through
apps, status updates and push notifications,” she said.
More than 50,000 new blogs
are started every day, Noe said,
and niche blogs are where the
young generation is going for its
information.
“The thing we have to remember is that the need for information
will always be there, and providing
information is exactly what newspapers do best,” Noe said. “Whatever the newspapers of tomorrow
are, we have the tools to make
them succeed.”
LYNN MARTIN
Martin described how to use
Facebook in the role of a modern
day country columnist. Each Friday, the Alva Review-Courier features comments from Facebook.
When Martin sees a comment
he’d like to include, he takes a
screenshot of the page, opens it in
Photoshop and crops to the comment he wants to publish.
The cropped images are saved
Continued on Page 5
2
THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, February 2011
START THE PRESS
OPA President’s Column
By ROD SERFOSS
Clinton Daily News Publisher
C
ongratulations to all of those who
were recognized for excellence
during the awards presentations at
the Oklahoma Press Association’s MidWinter Convention.
Seeing so much high quality work
produced by Oklahoma journalists, photographers, graphic designers, advertising
departments, pressmen and web designers
should serve notice that the future of newspapers remains strong.
I LOOK FORWARD TO MIKE BROWN joining
the OPA/OPS board. Mike’s knowledge
of both daily and weekly newspaper
operations will bring a lot to the table.
Before coming to Oklahoma, Mike served
as a director and as president of the
Arkansas Press Association.
IT WAS GOOD TO SEE ALL OF THE PEOPLE
battle the deep snow in order to attend
the Mid-Winter Convention. At the same
time, we understand why so many of
our friends from eastern Oklahoma were
unable to make the journey. As one person
put it, “Eastern Oklahoma was not fit for
an Eskimo.”
On the fact sheet, registration for the
convention was up this year, but because
of the blizzard attendance was down compared to 2010.
Also because of the weather, the OPA
staff had to scurry to replace panelists and
moderators to fill the slots of those unable
to make the meeting. They went above
and beyond to overcome the adversity and
orchestrate another top-notch convention.
IT SEEMS LIKE WEATHER is always a dark
cloud hanging over the convention. While
drinking coffee with Wayne Trotter, he
brought up the idea of moving the MidWinter to March or April so that weather
will be less of a factor. I thought it was
a grand idea. Little did I know similar
conversations were taking place throughout
the convention.
One idea was to move the Mid-Winter
c
to an annual convention
in June. For many
newspapers it is a slow month. There is
no basketball to cover, school is over and
the things you can do when it is warm far
exceeds those things available in the dead
of winter.
su
Another suggestion
is to keep the same
f
t as th
format
the Mid-Winter, but add the
annual golf tournament before or after the
convention.
Others thought combining the best of
the Mid-Winter Convention and the Summer Conference would be a good idea.
Then there was the idea of making the
convention a day of education, awards and
business, and a day of social events.
I was also reminded that having it in
February is still the best option because
that is when the state legislature is in session and thus beginning their attacks on
issues that are dear to our hearts. This person also pointed out that the Mid-Winter
is a great place to rally the troops for the
battles to come at 23rd and Lincoln.
President-elect Rusty Ferguson says he
plans to look at all of the possibilities during the board retreat in late April.
Let your OPA board of directors know
what you think. After this year, moving the
date of the convention to warmer months
sounds like a great idea.
IT WAS IMPRESSIVE TO HEAR STORIES of how
newspapers continued to publish during
the recent snowstorms.
At the Clinton Daily News we print 14
weekly papers throughout the region and
none of them missed a deadline.
For the weekly publisher there is nothing worse than a blizzard scheduled for the
day they print.
For some that print with us, it is a
more than 60-mile drive each way to pick
up their papers. Getting it produced and
printed can often be easier than getting it
delivered.
Recently these harsh conditions brought
out the best in newspaper people. During the Feb. 9 blizzard, papers that were
scheduled to print on Wednesday wanted
to beat the storm and come in on Tuesday.
The problem is that we already have a
full schedule of newspapers that normally
print on Tuesdays. In typical newspaper
fashion everyone came together to make
it work.
Several of the papers that normally
print on Tuesday called and asked if it
would help if they printed early so those
that come in on Wednesday could get done
early. By everyone working together we
were able to produce 12 weekly newspapers as well as the Clinton Daily News in
a 13-hour period.
From the publisher to the pressman,
none of this could happen without the
neighboring newspapers’ commitment to
get a newspaper out, even if it is not
theirs.
Rusty Ferguson elected OPA president; members pass OPA By-Laws amendment
Rusty Ferguson, publisher of The
Cleveland
American,
was elected
as president
of the Oklahoma Press
Association
for the term
beginning July 1, 2011, at the OPA MidWinter Convention in Midwest City.
The election was held during the business meeting, at 5:30 p.m. on Feb 3 in the
Reed Center.
Other officers elected to a one-year
term were Jeff Shultz, publisher of The
Garvin County News Star, as vice president; Gracie Montgomery, co-publisher of
The Purcell Register, as treasurer; and Rod
Serfoss, publisher of the Clinton Daily
News, as past president.
Newly elected to serve a three-year
term as a director was Mike Brown, publisher of Neighbor Newspapers in the
Tulsa area. Robby Trammell, news director at The Oklahoman, was re-elected to
serve a three-year term as director.
Other members serving on the OPA
Board of Directors are Jeff Mayo,
Sequoyah County Times; Jeff Funk, Enid
News & Eagle; Dayva Spitzer, Sayre
Record & Beckham County Democrat;
and Brian Blansett, Shawnee News-Star.
Mark Thomas is the executive vice president of the OPA.
Ferguson grew up in the newspaper
business. His grandfather, Jo O. Ferguson,
bought The Cleveland American in 1931.
His father, Larry R. Ferguson, published
the paper next, and his uncle, D. Jo Ferguson, published The Pawnee Chief for
many years.
Ferguson graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1984 and returned
to Cleveland a year later with his wife,
Deana, to become publisher of The Cleveland American. His father had been elected
to the Oklahoma House of Representatives
and passed the paper to Ferguson.
Ferguson is active in his community
and has served on the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation board of trustees since
2002.
The Fergusons have four children: Liberty and husband Sol, Lincoln, Landon
and Layne.
During the business meeting, OPA
members unanimously approved a proposed amendment to the OPA By-Laws.
The dues sections of the OPA By-Laws
now reads as follows:
ARTICLE VI
Dues
SEC. 1. (A) The Board of Directors
shall establish annual membership dues.
Dues shall be recomputed each July 1.
(B) Each business member of this association shall mail or deliver six copies of
each issue of its newspaper to the OPA
offices. The number of copies required
may be decreased but not increased by the
Board of Directors. At the discretion of
the Board of Directors, and in addition to
any required print copies, the association
shall also accept electronically delivered
copies of the newspaper as dues to the
association.
SEC. 2. The membership year shall be
from July 1 to June 30, both inclusive.
Members paused for a moment of
silence during the business meeting to
honor those individuals, deceased over the
last year, who had made newspaper work
their principal occupation.
In other business, Thomas called attention to the OPA Legislative Report listing
the most serious newspaper-related bills
that he is currently monitoring for action.
3
Ed Darling named publisher of Duncan Banner
Ed Darling, who served as
executive editor and general
manager of The Duncan Banner for 10 years, was recently
named publisher of the daily
newspaper.
“I am very pleased that Ed
has decided to return to The
Duncan Banner as publisher,”
said Terry Connor, senior vice
president and division manager for Community Newspaper
Holdings, Inc. (CNHI) Great
Plains Division.
Connor said Darling’s
understanding of community journalism
and his great leadership will be a plus for
The Banner.
“It’s a privilege to be coming back,”
Darling said. “We’re excited
about renewing friendships,
meeting new people, becoming
active participants in a terrific
community and working with
a caring and committed team
to ensure The Banner plays a
significant role here each day.”
Darling has published seven
other newspapers in a career
that has spanned 45 years and
on 13 occasions those papers
have won general excellence
recognition.
He was named the outstanding citizen in Cullman, Ala., and was
selected Outstanding Alumnus in Journalism by the University of Alabama where
he graduated and remains a member of the
Board of Visitors for the College of Communication and Information Sciences.
Darling has been president of the Associated Press news organizations in Oklahoma and Alabama, was a board member on the 14-state Southern Newspaper
Publishers Association and an officer and
board member on state press associations
in Alabama and Mississippi.
A native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., he is
married to the former Julie Moss
of Natchez, Miss. They have one son,
Grant, an eight-year-old second grader.
Darling has two other sons, Scott and
Chris, who live in the Washington, D.C.
area.
The Banner is owned by CNHI, which
is a privately-owned company based in
Birmingham, Ala.
Examiner-Enterprise names Chris Rush as publisher
Chris Rush has been named
editor and publisher of the Bartlesville Examimer-Enterprise.
Rush was formerly managing editor of the publication.
Mike Ferguson, Stephens
Media Group President and
CEO, made the announcement
following the retirement of former publisher Jerry Quinn.
“Jerry Quinn has announced
his retirement after 38 years
with Donrey/Stephens Media,”
Ferguson said.
“It has been my pleasure to know and
work with Jerry for a number of years and
OKLAHOMA
NEWSPAPER DIRECTORY
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& much more
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the last four years as our publisher in Bartlesville. I thank
him for all of his efforts on
behalf of the company, and
wish him the very best in his
retirement.”
Rush has been serving as
editor/publisher of The Daily
World in Aberdeen, Wash., as
well as several weekly affiliate newspapers serving coastal communities in the Grays
Harbor and Willapa Harbor
region.
“Chris will be a great publisher of the
Examiner-Enterprise,” said Ferguson.
“Growing up in Oklahoma, serving as
managing editor for seven years and then
gaining additional experience as editor
and publisher in Aberdeen makes him the
perfect person to follow Jerry.
“He did such a good job in Aberdeen
that while I hated to lose him there, I
know he will be a tremendous addition to
our already great team in Bartlesville and
Pawhuska.
“As a media company we are fortunate
to have such talented people as Chris.”
Rush and his wife, Sheryl, have two
children, Evan, 16, and Elizabeth, 13.
ISSN 1526-811X
Official Publication of the
OKLAHOMA PRESS
ASSOCIATION
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499
(405) 499-0020 • Fax (405) 499-0048
Toll-Free in Oklahoma: (888) 815-2672
Web: www.OkPress.com
E-mail: [email protected]
PUBLISHER
Mark Thomas
[email protected]
EDITOR
Jennifer Gilliland
[email protected]
OPA OFFICERS
Rod Serfoss, President
Clinton Daily News
Rusty Ferguson, Vice President
The Cleveland American
Barb Walter, Treasurer
The Hennessey Clipper
Mark Thomas, Executive Vice President
Oklahoma City
OPA DIRECTORS
Gloria Trotter, Past President
The Countywide & Sun
Jeff Shultz, The Garvin County
News Star
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
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
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4
OPA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Complete Listing of Events at
www.OkPress.com
FEB. 23, 25 & 26, 2011
OKLAHOMA CITY
OKC GRIDIRON SHOW
Tickets can be purchased online at
www.okcgridiron.org, by phone at
866-966-1777.
THURS., FEB. 24
YOUR NEWSPAPER’S DESIGN
IS LICENSE TO PRINT MONEY
Ed Henninger offers 10 no-cost, time-saving,
revenue-generating design strategies you can
use to generate revenue at your newspaper
immediately. This workshop covers creating
premium positions for ads, using photos, color
and user-created content to sell advertisers on
your pages, and more. Registration $35. For
more information or to register, go to
www.OkPress.com
FRI., MARCH 4
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP &
INTERNSHIP APPLICATIONS DUE
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
awards several internships and three $1,500
scholarships to Oklahoma journalism students
each year. Applications for the 2011-12 school
year are due by March 4. View eligibility
requirements and download application at
www.OkPress.com/ONF.
SAT., MARCH 12
FOI OKLAHOMA
SUNSHINE CONFERENCE
For more info, go to www.foioklahoma.org
THURS., MARCH 24
ENERGIZE YOUR AD SALES
Peter Wagner can help you enliven your
newspaper’s ad sales with his informative
workshop on reaching advertisers and creating
sales promotions for every week of the year.
Registration $35. For more information, go to
www.OkPress.com.
FRI. & SAT., APRIL 8-9
SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL
JOURNALISTS REGIONAL
CONFERENCE
The SPJ Regional conference for 2011 will be
held in Norman at the University of Oklahoma’s
Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass
Communication.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the
website as noted in the calendar, go to 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].
Blizzard conditions cause delivery challenges
A major blizzard that swept into Oklahoma on Feb. 1 left in its wake closed
roads, closed businesses, stranded motorists – and newspapers looking at alternative ways to deliver their product.
The Tulsa World halted production of
its print edition for three days – Feb. 2, 3
and 4 – marking the first time in the paper’s
history an edition was not published.
Instead of delivering a print edition,
World readers were directed to TulsaWorld.com for breaking news and information, and to the newspaper’s e-edition,
which was offered free through Feb. 7, on
tulsaworld.com.
When the World resumed publishing,
Tulsa World Publisher Robert E. Lorton III
said he was “extremely pleased to be back
in the business of delivering papers to our
loyal subscribers and to our sales outlets.”
“This has been an historic event for us
– the first time in our 106-year history that
we’ve been unable to produce and deliver
a print edition,” he said.
Lorton cited the safety of almost 700
haulers and carriers who deliver the daily
Tulsa World in Tulsa and throughout
northeastern Oklahoma as the reason for
suspending the print publication.
“We had emergency vehicles getting
stuck on the roads in addition to the
numerous trucks and cars that were stranded,” Lorton said. “We just felt that it would
have been irresponsible to add to the chaos
on the roads.”
Only about a dozen newsroom employees made it into the office on the day after
the storm, said Susan Ellerbach, managing
editor of the World.
“That represents less than 10 percent of
the staff,” she said, adding that four key
people stayed in hotel rooms on Jan. 31,
“which helped considerably.”
“Eventually our 12-page e-edition came
out Wednesday morning,” she said. “After
A downtown worker makes his way to work in Tulsa on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The Tulsa World
ran the photo across six columns on the front page of its Wednesday issue under the
headline “SNOWED IN.” (Photo by Tulsa World photographer Christopher Smith)
Tuesday, we had more and more people
make it into the office. On Thursday morning (Feb. 3), our e-edition had 24 pages
and on Friday we had 28 pages.”
Ellerbach said the World was extremely
pleased with response from readers getting
news from the website and e-edition.
“We got a lot of feedback like this: ‘We
really miss holding the paper, but we appreciate the work you’re doing online…’”
Ellerbach said she did an interview with
a radio station in Los Angeles that had seen
a lot of online commenters talking about
how much they appreciated the World’s
decision to keep the safety of employees,
haulers and carriers at the forefront.
“They were amazed at how supportive
people were,” Ellerbach said.
The World was much better prepared
when the forecast once again called for
blizzard-type conditions on Feb. 9.
“We kept 16 employees downtown –
and made arrangements for others to get
downtown – and didn’t guess at what the
storm would do,” she said.
Another paper in northern Oklahoma,
the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, also
was unable to print its Feb. 2 issue. It
was the first time in more than a century
that the Examiner-Enterprise had missed
printing an edition since it began printing
in 1895.
Tom Bradley, the Examiner-Enterprise’s advertising director, said grocery
ads scheduled to run on Feb. 2 appeared in
Friday’s paper.
“We appreciate our readers’ and advertisers’ understanding for not putting out a
Wednesday paper,” Bradley said.
Other state newspapers reported delivery delays and offered complimentary
issues on their websites until delivery
resumed as normal.
OPUBCO Communications Group announces reductions in workforce
OPUBCO Communications Group
recently laid off 46 employees. The layoffs affected most major departments in
the organization.
David Thompson, president of OCG
and publisher of The Oklahoman, cited a
difficult economic climate as the reason
for the layoffs.
The employees affected were offered
severance packages as well as outplacement services.
Even with cutbacks, Thompson said,
positive developments continue at OCG,
which is the media division of The Oklahoma Publishing Co. Thompson said the
newspaper’s home delivery subscriptions
in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area
increased in 2010 over the previous year.
“This reduction takes us to 690 employees while still maintaining the largest
news-gathering team in the state,” Thompson said. “Our commitment to customers
remains unchanged.”
5
Government e-mail account missing
Questions have arisen regarding the
deletion of state public records in the
form of former State School Superintendent Sandy Garrett’s e-mail account
and data.
The questions are not about whether
the records were destroyed – everyone
seems to agree that they were – but rather
whether Garrett ordered their destruction,
and, if so, why.
Esther Braxton, a state employee charged with maintaining e-mail
accounts, claims Garrett instructed her to
delete the account; Garrett flatly denies
doing so.
“I certainly wouldn’t order anybody to
delete anything,” said Garrett.
Garrett maintains she found the
account inactive and asked Braxton
whether it could be re-activated in order
to send out goodbye letters to staff. She
said Braxton told her the account and the
e-mails with it were gone.
Normally, the State of Oklahoma
keeps important e-mail correspondence
until the state Archives and Records
Commission gives the go-ahead for deletion.
To dispose of those records without
permission is a violation of state policy
and possibly a breach of the Oklahoma
Open Records Act. Bill Young, a spokesman for the Records Commission, said
no one consulted the commission before
deleting the e-mails.
The issue came to light when a number of news agencies, including the Associated Press, asked for copies of Garrett’s
e-mails and were told that neither the
account nor the documents exist.
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News Flash offers six ideas
Continued from Page 1
according to whether the person has (a)
been asked for permission to use the comment or (b) approved publication of their
comment.
“Always request permission,” Martin
said.
The comments are packaged under a
header featuring the Facebook logo and
the tag line, “People are saying this on
Facebook…”
It’s a quick and easy way to gather
comments from your community and keep
readers checking to see if their comment
has been published.
TED STREULI
Writers were eager to see Streuli’s “10
Rules for Great Columns, Reviews & Editorials” presentation. His ten rules:
1. Write an expository essay.
2. Never write about your vacation.
3. Answer the question: Should I?
4. Open a vein.
The
5.
6.
7.
8.
Stop writing about your kids.
Don’t confuse emotion with schmaltz.
Make me feel something.
Never, ever write about writing
a column.
9. Have an opinion.
10. One idea, expressed in 500 words.
JEFF SHULTZ
Shultz, who also emceed the event, was
the final presenter with “Using Paypal
as a Collection Tool.” The Garvin County News Star website, gcnews-star.com,
allows customers to order subscriptions or
pay advertising bills using Paypal.
Once the customer makes a selection,
he proceeds to checkout on Paypal’s secure
site where he has the option of paying by
credit card or bank account.
The fun part is being paid, Shultz
said. “Once the customer’s payment hits
your PayPal account, you can transfer the
money to your bank account or spend it
anywhere PayPal is accepted,” he said.
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6
Annual Sunshine Week
conference scheduled
An international expert on government transparency laws will deliver the
keynote address at FOI Oklahoma’s
fourth annual Sunshine Week Conference on March 12 in Oklahoma City.
Robert J. ‘Bob’ Freeman will offer
insight on creating a state agency that
Oklahomans can go to for help when
public officials wrongly withhold
records to open meetings.
As executive director for the nation’s
first-such state agency, Freeman is
responsible for providing advice about
New York’s open records and meeting
laws to the public, state and local governments and the media.
This year’s conference theme is
“Putting Muscle Behind Oklahoma’s
FOI Laws.” The conference, which will
be held at The Oklahoman, 9000 N.
Broadway in Oklahoma City, also will
feature:
• State representatives discussing bills
requiring the Legislature to comply
with Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and
Records laws;
• A panel of local heroes who have
gone to court seeking information
under the Open Records Act and
challenging the conduct of public
bodies under the Open Meeting Act;
and
• A workshop training the public to
use the Open Records Act to request
records and to spot the most-likely
violations of the Open Meeting Act.
• A luncheon including a tribute to
former Oklahoma Supreme Court
Justice Marian Opala. Recipients of
FOI Oklahoma Inc.’s annual awards
will be recognized, as will winners
of its first FOI essay contest for college students.
More information about the conference and a registration form is available
at www.foioklahoma.org.
FOI Oklahoma seeking nominations for annual awards
Nominations are open for FOI Oklahoma’s awards, which recognize individuals
and organizations that promoted the First
Amendment and the free flow of information to the public in 2010.
FOI Oklahoma also recognizes those
who opposed dissemination of public
information with its Black Hole Award.
The Ben Blackstock Award is presented
to a non-governmental person or organization that has shown a commitment to freedom of information. The Sunshine Award
goes to a public official or governmental
body that has shown a commitment to
open meetings and open records.
FOI Oklahoma also recognizes an
Oklahoman who has promoted education
about or protection of the individual rights
guaranteed by the First Amendment with
Failure to publish notice
puts election on hold
North Enid will have to delay elections
for three town trustees and a town clerk
because the legal notice was not published
in the newspaper.
The election, originally scheduled for
April 5, will have to wait until a later date,
possibly in May.
Garfield County Election Board secretary Lue Ann Root said the town council
will have to pass another resolution authorizing the election and publish a legal
notice before any election is conducted.
The candidates who previously filed for
the election also will have to re-file.
Jim Coleman, a North Enid town trustee, said all the paperwork was filed with
the election board, “but we failed to take
a copy of the resolution to the newspaper
to be published.”
The legal notice must be published 10
days prior to the candidate filing period.
Root said something like this doesn’t
happen very often.
LEGAL ADVICE
its Marian Opala First Amendment Award.
The award is named for the late Oklahoma
Supreme Court justice, a Polish immigrant
who exemplified a belief in First Amendment rights.
This is the fourth year for the open government awards. Last year’s winner of the
Blackstock Award was the Tulsa World,
and the Sunshine Award was presented to
Kristy Yager of the city of Oklahoma City.
The Opala Award was presented to Lindel
Hutson, retired Oklahoma bureau chief for
The Associated Press.
The Black Hole Award went to Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater
and the Oklahoma City attorney’s office.
All four awards will be presented during the Sunshine Week conference March
12 in Oklahoma City. The local conference
WORTH MENTIONING
JOY DORMAN, long-time office manager
of the Sayre Record & Beckham County
Democrat, retired on Jan. 15, 2011.
Dorman began her newspaper career
in 1983 at the Sayre Journal. In 1987, she
followed Brad and Dayva Spitzer to their
new venture, starting the Sayre Record.
Since that time, Dorman has been a loyal
and invaluable employee. A come-and-go
reception was held at the Record-Democrat office on Jan. 13 to honor Dorman.
THE COWETA AMERICAN was recently
presented with a Business Appreciation
Award from the City of Coweta. The
award is presented each year to a local
business for its local contributions and
civic involvement.
Coweta Mayor Robbie Morton presented the award to News Editor Christy
CELEBRATING
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photographer
CHELCEY ADAMI has accepted a position
covering Mexican border issues for an El
Centro, Calif., newspaper. Adami’s work
won state recognition for the NewsPress
last year from both the Associated Press
and the Oklahoma Press Association.
D. FORREST CAMERON, editor and publisher
of the Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers,
recently received the Energy Advocate of
the Year for Journalism award from The
Energy Advocates.
The award is given to individuals
and corporations that make a difference
in regard to the energy industry and/or
energy policy.
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7
Photoshop basics for great photos
computer notes
from the road
by WILMA MELOT
At the OPA Mid-Winter Convention, I
spoke about Photoshop and all the basics
staffs should be taught in order to create
great photos in every issue of the paper.
Since many of you weren’t able to
attend because of the blizzard, here’s how
to set standards for photos. Make sure to
document this for your next new hire.
Start by making Photoshop understand
that you are printing on newsprint. To do
this, go to EDIT > COLOR SETTINGS.
In working spaces choose the popup
button that says ‘CMYK’ and select ‘Custom’ from the top of the menu. In the next
box, choose Ink Colors: SWOP (Newsprint).
USE A DOT GAIN OF 30% unless your
printer tells you differently. Set the Black
ink limit to 95% and total ink limit to
285%, then “save as” and give it a name.
Your printer may have a set of numbers
that work best for his press. Set all computers in the building to the same settings.
Next, look for photos that previously
ran well in your newspaper and save them
in a folder everyone can access – or put a
copy on everyone’s desktop. Choose the
best RGB, CMYK and black-and-white
photos you can find.
These photos will become the standard
you strive for every day or week. When a
staff member starts to correct a new photo,
have him bring up one of the photos that
ran well and put the two side by side.
He’ll be able to see if the new photo has
enough contrast, if the colors are off, or if
it is too light or too dark by comparing the
two photos.
This is a great way to train new people.
It also helps when a new monitor is
installed or if you change desks or lighting
in the office.
The next steps allow you to set standards to ensure all photos come out the
same no matter who adjusts them. These
four steps should be applied to every
black-and-white photo you print.
1. USE CURVES to lighten or darken
a photo while in RGB color mode. Use
the eyedropper to clean up overcast colors
from improper lighting while still in color
mode. Lighten the photo to the numbers
in the info palette that most closely match
one of your good photos. Use info palette
numbers to check colors against good photos from the photo folder.
2. GO TO IMAGE > MODE > GRAYSCALE and use the “Get Info” box to see
if the photo is light enough for the press.
Always look at the flashed out parts of a
person’s face to see if it is too dark or too
light.
3. GO TO IMAGE > IMAGE SIZE.
Leave “Resample Image” unchecked if it
works for your photo’s size. If needed, use
“Resample Image: Bicubic Sharper” when
resizing the image. This setting helps with
the overall sharpness of the photo when
going from a larger size to a smaller size.
Always resize in Photoshop, not a layout
program.
4. USE FILTER > SHARPEN >
UNSHARP mask filter to define edges of
contrast in the photo.
These four steps can be applied to color
photos, with a couple of extra steps. Just
don’t convert the photo to grayscale.
Be careful not to overcorrect a photo.
One or two trips to IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS should be sufficient.
Use the gray eyedropper (in curves or
levels) to color correct overcasts. Choose
something gray in the
photo, such as concrete
or gray hair, to color correct a bad photo.
Check to see if any colors are out of
range. Out of range colors show up in the
info palette with a “!” and won’t print well
in CMYK. If it must be color, try desaturating the colors that have the “!” in them
under “Adjustments Hue/Saturation.” If a
photo is very flat in color increase saturation. This can help brighten the photo, but
go easy on it; it’s easy to over correct.
Remember to TURN THE PHOTO TO
CMYK FOR EACH COLOR PHOTO. This
should be the last step in the color correction.
Are you guilty of just correcting the
faces in the front of the photo? Spend
some time making sure everyone’s face
looks good.
To lighten the faces in back, circle
them with the lasso tool, making sure it’s
feathered. “Shift” adds to a selection and
“Alt/Option” subtracts from a selection.
Lighten the faces using curves or levels.
Understanding layers and masks is
important to Photoshop users. It is most
often used to create a mask that quickly
drops the background.
I like using the Lasso Tool to select what
needs to be cut out,
and then switching
to the quick mask
mode to clean up edges.
Make sure the lasso tool is feathered (in
the Options Bar at the top of the screen)
by at least 2 or 3 pixels. Carefully select
around the art, go to Select, then Inverse
and hit the delete key to get rid of the
background. Save the selection if it’s good.
Now switch to quick mask mode and clean
up the selection. Use a soft brush and
switch between painting with black and
white to add or subtract from the selection.
This works on most photos, with the
exception of those with a lot of red in
them. In this case use a soft eraser and
carefully erase around the edge after the
background is removed.
plugged IN
Carbonite/BackBlaze Clouds
I’m often asked about cloud backup
systems but I’m reluctant to recommend
just one.
I’ve heard many horror stories about
these kind of systems from our members. Cloud backups are no more failsafe than two external hard drives – one
on site and one off.
Carbonite is used by some of our
members and gets high marks from
the reviewers. This full feature backup
system is easy to use with Macs or PCs.
Unlimited backup runs $54.95 per year.
BackBlaze offers easy backup online
for Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and
Intel Mac 10.4 or higher. It has been
rated the leading software for the past
three years. BackBlaze only uses one
percent of the CPU and memory so
it won’t slow you down while you’re
backing up. Cost is $5.00 per month, per
computer.
These are two good programs. Before
signing anything, make sure you learn
about cloud backup. Many companies
are offering this service and you want to
make sure you have a reliable one.
Good backup program
MAKING MASKS: I was recently asked
how to create words as a mask over a
photo with an older version of Photoshop.
It’s pretty easy. Start by creating a new
layer in the Layers palette to type your
words. Use a big, bold font and stretch it
with the transform tool to cover the part of
the photo you want to show through.
Select everything else on the layer with
the Magic Wand tool and go to Select >
Inverse and delete the interior of the type.
Merge the selection with the base layer,
inverse once again and then delete. Now
the words are made out of the photo.
There’s a lot to learn in Photoshop, so
watch for one of our workshops and plan
to attend.
Platinum Backup for Windows is a
full featured program that lets you back
up your files in all versions of Windows
up to Vista. It writes to CD, DVD or
external hard drive and will even let you
back up files automatically to secure
FTP sites or cloud servers. Price ranges
from $39 to $67 depending on the number of users.
Fun, useful websites
A good place to compare printer
specs is at printershowcase.com. This
company also sells printers, but it’s a
great place to compare brands.
Need to unwind and show your creativity? Head over to www.uselessgraphics.com, www.iconeasy.com and
www.candybar.com for some safe fun
on your Mac.
OPA COMPUTER CONSULTANT WILMA MELOT’S COLUMN BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE OKLAHOMA ADVERTISING NETWORK (OAN).
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE OAN PROGRAM, CONTACT OKLAHOMA PRESS SERVICE AT (405) 499-0020.
8
SNOW COVERAGE
OKLAHOMA STYLE
By TERRY CLARK
H
ow did you cover the storm? I saw some outstanding journalism in the past two weeks.
But rather than talk about it, I figured you’d
prefer to look, and that’s what we’ll do in this abbreviated column.
First though, a couple of favorite headlines had
nothing to do with weather.
Probably my favorite was in the Oologah Lake
Leader over a John M. Wylie II story: “Angry patron
cues up trouble at bar.” (Pool cue stick involved.)
Here is John’s terrific lead: “A man who wanted a
Crown at Pop’s Place Bar Monday would end up not
getting Jack—just jail.”
Another good head in the Valliant Leader, about
vandals who wrecked 80 beehives: “A Honey of A
Crime.”
Lots of good storm headlines. I first objected to
trite ones, like “Snowklahoma,” or “Snowmaggedon,” or “Snowpocalypse” but some of you pulled
them off well.
Others were more creative: Marietta Monitor,
“Ice not so nice”; Sentinel Leader, “Big Chill”;
Inola Independent: “Avalanche, 20 inch snow buries
Inola”; Shawnee News-Star, “State of Emergency”;
Stillwater NewsPress, “Minus What?”; The Journal Record, “Under the weather”; The Norman
Transcript, “A drift again”; The Lawton Constitution, “The Oklahoma tundra”; Hugo Daily News,
“Snowklahoma, where the cold front comes sweeping down the plain”; Elk City Daily News, “Winter
returns with a vengeance”; Rush Springs Gazette,
“Here we go again”; Purcell Register, “Winter storm
as advertised”; Stilwell Democrat-Journal, “Baby,
it’s cold outside”; Tuttle Times and others, “Blanketed by blizzard”; Piedmont-Surrey Gazette, “All
snowed in”; Broken Arrow Ledger, “Let it stop”;
Oologah Lake Leader, “Winter piles it on.”
Some traditional heads told the story well: Prague
Times-Herald, “Heavy snow shuts down town,
state”; Catoosa Times, “Blizzard wreaks havoc on
city”; Vinita Daily Journal, “City struggles to recover from blizzard”; Ponca City News, “Blizzard roars
through Oklahoma”; Ada Evening News, “Arctic
weather slams area.”
Several papers modified their flags. Look at the
Mustang News and the Bigheart Times.
There were other good headlines and layouts.
In all the buzz about online digital stuff, there ain’t
nothing like a real newspaper people can touch when
they’re in need. Behold a few.
Terry Clark is a journalism professor at the University
of Central Oklahoma. He can be reached by e-mail
at [email protected].
9
Google declares war on content farms
That InterWeb Thing
by KEITH BURGIN, OPA STAFF
This morning, I read a month-old article on a
“news” website concerning the death of the famous
Marvel Comic character, The Human Torch. The
author identified his cohort in The Fantastic Four as
Rex Reed. Comic fan or not, most folks know the
fellow’s name is Reed Richards. Rex Reed was a
real-life movie critic.
Mistakes happen. In print, you can only issue a
retraction or correction; on the Web though, after
a month of people complaining about the stumble,
it leads one to question whether anyone is at the
switch. In this case, no one is.
Welcome to the world of content farming.
Content farms sift through data to determine what
readers are currently searching for and pay freelance
writers to hack together a heady mixture of relevant
keywords and poorly-researched “facts” into a stew
of steaming worthlessness. These articles are then
published on the farm’s network of “information”
websites.
A content farm has no interest in informing.
Rather its goal is to draw visitors away from actual
“news” content – like your newspaper website – and
build commercial traffic for the network through
search engines.
In some cases, this is known as content spamming.
More often than not, writers have little or no
experience in or knowledge of their subject and are
paid next to nothing. They make money on volume,
pumping out article after article without much oversight.
Content farms use subterfuge to steal traffic from
legitimate sites. They should absolutely be of concern to newspapers with websites.
Over the last couple of years, though, it’s become
a problem for readers as well… and by extension,
search engines like Google.
After months of complaints from users about the
“junk” and “low quality sites” their searches produce, Google has declared war on content farms.
The web’s dominant search engine is altering
the way it looks at content in an effort to weed out
worthless websites and return information readers
want: researched, factual, well-written information –
like your news. And from every indication, Google
seems serious about this war.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” No one
is sure of the actual origin of that phrase but it’s been
in use since conflict was invented.
Next time you think about Google, you might
want to roll it around in the back of your mind. It’s
just a thought.
Accurate report in initial court pleading not basis for libel
By ATTORNEY DAVID MCCULLOUGH,
Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & Anderson, L.L.P.
Last month in this column we reported on a
Tenth Circuit opinion holding a person cannot be
sued for libel for statements made in a judicial proceeding.
Since that time, the United States Supreme Court
has refused to review a ruling that shields journalists from libel suits when they accurately report
from pleadings filed with the court.
The central issue in the case decided by the New
Jersey Supreme Court was whether there is an initial pleadings exception to the fair report privilege
for a published report recounting information found
in a complaint filed in a bankruptcy court when
there has been no adjudication of claims contained
in the complaint.
A libel action was brought against a New Jersey
newspaper that ran articles under headlines stating
“Man accused of stealing $500,000 for high living”
and “Argyle residence allegedly bought with stolen
funds.”
The plaintiff alleged the headlines and articles
therein constituted libel per se because words like
“stealing” and “stolen funds” imputed criminal conduct on his part.
The trial dismissed the lawsuit based, in part,
upon finding that the fair report privilege applied.
In reversing the trial court, the New Jersey
appeals found that while the report was a full, fair
and accurate report of the bankruptcy proceeding, the fair report privilege did not apply to initial
pleadings. The appellate court said the privilege
only applied when reporting from court decisions –
not the pleadings.
The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed the
appellate court decision, holding the fair report
privilege extended to defamatory statements contained in filed pleadings that have not yet been considered by a judge.
In reversing, the state Supreme Court opined that
the press serves an important public interest role by
reporting on new filings and developments in court
proceedings.
The libel plaintiff filed a petition to be heard
before the United States Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court declined the appeal without
comment.
10
THANK When you need legal advice…
YOU
for supporting the
OKLAHOMA
NEWSPAPER
FOUNDATION
THINK LSP
When you have legal questions, you need answers. LSP (Legal
Services Plan) provides legal assistance, advice and some defense
services at a reasonable cost. Between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2010,
LSP processed 23 inquiries: 7 were answered immediately, 6
were answered by letter, and 10 were answered by letter after
research.
Following is one of the questions the Plan received for the quarter
ending Dec. 31, 2010:
NEPOTISM
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
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If you would like to make a
donation, please send a check to:
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FOUNDATION
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Under Oklahoma law a public employee cannot appoint or vote
for the appointment of any person “related to him by affinity
of consanguinity within the third degree.” 21 O.S. § 481(A).
This nepotism provision does not apply to candidates for the
school board who are covered by their own law providing that
no “person shall be eligible to be a candidate or serve on a
board of education if the person is currently employed by the
school district governed by that board of education or is related
within the second degree by affinity or consanguinity to any
other member of the board of education or to any employee
of the school district governed by the board of education.” The
word “affinity” refers to relationships created by marriage, i.e.,
in-laws. 70 O.S. § 5-113(A)
PLAN A BENEFIT INCLUDES:
•
•
•
•
•
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Sales & Use Tax Exemption
Excise Tax
Advertising
Management
• Circulation
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• News
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• Open Records Law
• Libel, defamation, slander
• Honest Mistake Act
• Minutes Request Law
• News Reporter, Shield Law
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• Subpoenas
• Invasion of Privacy
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PLAN B BENEFIT INCLUDES:
Provides defense of
suits and subpoenas.
For complete benefits under both
Plan A and B, visit the OPA website at
Don’t be left with your questions unanswered.
Join the OPA Legal Services Plan today.
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For dues and other information about the
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11
2011 OPA MID-WINTER
CONVENTION COVERAGE
One of the most talked about topics of the 2011
OPA Mid-Winter Convention was the weather.
With nearly a foot of snow in the Oklahoma
City metro area, and even more in the northeast
part of the state, members wondered if there would
even be a convention.
On Feb. 1, OPA Member Services Director Lisa
Potts posted on the OPA website: “Mid-Winter
Convention is still on!”
Cancellations were coming in, but not as many
as expected.
“Most of the northeast part of the state had to
cancel,” Potts said, “and that was understandable.
They were hit a lot worse than the OKC metro
area.”
As members made their way to Oklahoma City
on Feb. 3, most reported improved driving conditions.
Attendance was light on Thursday, but it was
business as usual. At a session about legal notices,
OPA Executive Vice President Mark Thomas
spoke about the importance of public notices to
keep citizens informed. Thomas covered the history of public notices, the future of public notices
and the role newspapers can play in keeping citizens informed.
Thursday’s Gridiron Dinner was a huge success. There hadn’t been a more entertaining show
since last summer’s OPA Gridiron premiere. A line
may have been missed here and there, but thanks
to the writing of Wayne Trotter, the laughter never
stopped.
By Friday, the convention was in full swing.
From the morning’s fast-paced News Flash session
to the afternoon concurrent sessions, it was all systems go. There was the thrill of victory for those
winning awards at the Friday Night Awards Banquet, even though some weren’t on hand to pick
up their plaques. By the way, plaques and other
awards are being mailed or delivered to members.
The 2011 Mid-Winter Convention will long
be remembered – not only for the great sessions
and events, but for the mammoth snow storm that
preceded it.
12
2010 MILT PHILLIPS
AWARD WINNER
GLORIA
TROTTER
• CO-PUBLISHER OF THE
COUNTYWIDE & SUN
• FIRST WOMAN TO RECEIVE
THE OPA MILT PHILLIPS
AWARD
• PAST PRESIDENT OF
THE OKLAHOMA PRESS
ASSOCIATION (2009)
• FIRST OKLAHOMAN TO
RECEIVE THE NATIONAL
NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION’S
MCKINNEY AWARD (2005)
• RECIPIENT OF AN
OUTSTANDING JOURNALISM
ALUMNI AWARD FROM THE
UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
JOURNALISM ALUMNI
CHAPTER (2004)
THE MILT
PHILLIPS
AWARD
Journalist Gloria Trotter receives OPA award
Gloria Trotter was honored as the
recipient of the H. Milt Phillips Award
during the Oklahoma Press Association’s
Mid-Winter Convention.
The award was presented at the Reed
Center in Midwest City on Feb. 4, 2011.
Gloria Trotter has been hooked on
journalism since putting out a handwritten
neighborhood newspaper as a 10-year-old.
Her professional journalism career began
at a local TV station in her home town,
Bristol, Tenn.-Va., after her junior year.
Her newspaper career began at the
Bristol Herald-Courier and Virginia-Tennessean, where she spent college breaks
covering weddings and features. It was
there she met Wayne Trotter, the young
editorial page editor.
They married in 1964, during her
junior year at the University of Tennessee.
She later finished her journalism degree at
Memphis State University.
But she had married herself out of a
journalism job. Then, spouses weren’t
allowed to work for the same newspaper,
so she worked in college public relations
for 20 years.
The Trotters came to Oklahoma to buy
the Tecumseh Countywide News in 1983.
They purchased and sold the McLoud
News twice and started a weekly, The
Shawnee Sun, in Shawnee. At one point
they were publishing three weeklies with
a staff of five, and still won Sequoyah
awards for all three papers the same year.
Their newspapers, particularly The
Countywide, have collected more than
a dozen Sequoyahs since 1983, and The
Countywide has won National Newspaper
Association awards as well, including the
The H. Milt Phillips Award is the highest honor given
by the Oklahoma Press Association.
The selection of the award is based on publishing a
high-quality newspaper; contribution to the profession
and the newspaper industry; years of service to the
community, state and nation in a variety of volunteer
activities and strong love and dedication to the family.
The award was established in 1978 by the OPA
Board of Directors to recognize individuals they felt
Gloria Trotter, co-publisher of The Countywide & Sun, receives the H. Milt Phillips Award
from OPA President Rod Serfoss, publisher of The Clinton Daily News.
top three in General Excellence in 2008
and 2009.
Gloria has won 16 monthly ONG-OPA
column awards and two Sweepstakes
awards, as well as an SPJ first place in
columns.
A past president of Oklahoma Press
Association’s board of directors and of
Freedom of Information Oklahoma, she
won an Outstanding Journalism Alumni
Award by the University of Memphis
Journalism Alumni Chapter in 2004.
In 2005, she received the National
Newspaper Association’s McKinney
award, the association’s top honor for
a working newspaperwoman who has
exhibited distinguished service to the
gave the same quality of service to family, community,
country and newspapers as had H. Milt Phillips.
H. Milt Phillips purchased The Seminole Producer in April 1946. In 1950, Phillips and his brother,
Tom, purchased the two newspapers in Wewoka and
merged them into one publication. The brothers sold
the Wewoka paper in 1955. H. Milt Phillips and his son,
Ted, then consolidated the two Seminole papers to
form The Seminole Daily Producer.
community press. She was the first Oklahoman honored.
In April 2009, she and Wayne joined
the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
Her community activities serve Tecumseh and the state. She’s been a leader in
the Tecumseh Business & Professional
Women, 1993 Frontier Days chairman,
two-time past president of the Tecumseh Business & Professional Women,
two-time past president of the Tecumseh
Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA Board
of Directors, the Greater Shawnee Area
Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and many other organizations.
She and her husband Wayne have an
adult son, Greg.
Phillips was active in the Oklahoma Press Association, holding several offices including president in
1954.
He was widely known as a civic leader and statewide industrial booster. Phillips was a longtime member
of the Oklahoma Historical Society board of directors
and was the moving force in the society’s efforts to
microfilm all Oklahoma newspapers.
H. Milt Phillips died on Feb. 27, 1979.
13
2010 BEACHY
MUSSELMAN AWARD
WINNER
NOLAN CLAY
• REPORTER FOR
THE OKLAHOMAN
• COVERED THE TIM MCVEIGH
AND TERRY NICHOLS TRIALS
IN DENVER, COLO., IN 1997
• EXPOSED THE INTERNAL
DISPUTE AT OKLAHOMA CITY’S
FEED THE CHILDREN
ONF selects Nolan Clay as recipient of annual award
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
selected Nolan Clay as the winner of the
2010 Beachy Musselman Award. The award
was presented on Feb. 4, 2011, at the OPA
Mid-Winter Convention in Midwest City.
Clay has worked almost 26 years as a
reporter for The Oklahoman, doing investigative exposes and covering courthouses.
He was the lead reporter on the criminal
cases against Oklahoma City bomber Tim
McVeigh and accomplice Terry Nichols. He
covered their 1997 trials in Denver, spending almost a year away from home. He
spent almost four months more away from
home in 2004, covering Nichols’ state trial
in McAlester.
He was one of only 10 media witnesses
to observe firsthand McVeigh’s execution in
Indiana in 2001.
Clay has done investigative stories on his
own and with others. His work has helped
bring about safer day cares, workers’ comp
reforms and tighter controls on lobbyists.
His stories on a state House speaker’s
tax problems led the speaker to give up the
position.
Clay also wrote stories that brought
about the resignations of a crooked insurance commissioner and a crooked appeals
judge.
In 1999, after learning that a massive
tornado blew away his and his neighbors’
homes, he still dictated a story that night
about the tragedy. At the end of a week of
digging through debris to salvage some
of his belongings, he wrote a first-person
account about the experience.
He was involved in some of the newspaper’s biggest scoops, including 1993’s
“Governor Secretly Indicted,” which
revealed a state grand jury had charged a
governor with campaign corruption. He was
at the side of a judge’s bench a week later
when the governor pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
BEACHY MUSSELMAN
AWARD
to recognize and encourage quality journalism
in practice, education and research, is named
after the late Norman Beachy Musselman.
Musselman, the former editor and general
manager of the Shawnee News-Star, also
served as president of the Oklahoma Press
Association.
Musselman was editor and general
manager of the Shawnee News-Star from 1945
until his death on Aug. 6, 1963.
A few months after his death, his widow,
Presented annually by the Oklahoma
Newspaper Foundation, the Beachy Musselman
Award recognizes a journalist for his or her
contribution to the field of printed journalism
or its related field. The recipient of the award
receives a plaque and $1,000.
The award, which was established in 1969
His work in 2009 revealed a bitter
internal dispute at Oklahoma City-based
Feed The Children, one of the nation’s most
widely recognized charities.
Clay has a bachelor’s degree from the
University of Oklahoma and a master’s
degree from the University of Missouri at
Columbia.
He spent his final semester at Missouri
in the journalism school’s Washington, D.C.
program.
He is proud he went to Missouri because
it has one of the best journalism schools,
but he always has been a loyal Sooner fan.
He and his wife, Diane, met at The
Oklahoman and married on the 50-yard
line of OU’s Owen Field.
Clay is a native Oklahoman, spending
most of his youth in Ponca City.
He previously worked at The Tulsa
Tribune and at the Sulphur TimesDemocrat.
the late Ruth Musselman, asked the OPA
to administer a Norman Beachy Musselman
Memorial Fund. The memorial contribution
proved to be the catalyst needed to establish
the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation (ONF).
The first contribution to the foundation
was the Norman Beachy Musselman Memorial
Fund.
ONF was established to serve as a trust for
donations of money, securities or other
property.
Three inducted into Oklahoma Press Association Half Century Club
Three Oklahoma journalists were inducted into the Oklahoma Press Asociation’s Half Century Club on Feb. 4 during
the OPA Mid-Winter Convention in Midwest City.
The Half Century Club, established in 1956, honors men or
women who have dedicated 50 or more years of professional
service to the newspaper industry.
Following is information on this year’s inductees.
JERRY L. DENSON: Jerry Denson’s memories of
working at newspapers start before he was in the third grade.
His family printed both the Ellis County Capital and The
Gage Record, and Denson remembers the days of hot type
clearly. He ran the offset press from his junior year of high
school to his first year of college.
When his father passed away, he returned to the newspaper
when he was a college junior.
Denson would drive home from classes at Southwestern
Oklahoma State University, print the paper and drive back for
morning classes.
Denson and his wife, Anita, bought the papers in 1982 and
operate them today. Denson is the fourth member of his family
to be inducted into the Half Century Club.
Gilmore continues to offer her leadership and considerable
talents to her adopted state.
JOAN GILMORE: Joan Gilmore has been recognized
Gore’s take on events for the Stilwell Democrat-Journal since
1957.
She took the job when a neighbor told her she was moving
and the Democrat-Journal needed a new correspondent for the
town.
Gore’s payment consists of a free newspaper every week
and neighbors telling her how much they enjoy her column.
She writes about the important things – the birth of a baby,
weddings and family gatherings.
Gore volunteers at many places, including the Adair County
Resource Center Food Pantry, the Stilwell Nursing Home and
the Department of Human Services. She has five children and
plans to write an autobiography when she finds the time.
many times for her contributions to Oklahoma journalism.
She was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall
of Fame in 1994, and given The Journal Record Lifetime
Achievement award in 2005.
Gilmore worked at The Oklahoman as Metropolitan and
Women’s News Editor for 28 years, and became a columnist at
the Journal Record in 1980.
Her career at both Oklahoma papers spans 60 years.
Gilmore, a native of Waukegan, Ill., has given much of her
life to Oklahoma organizations, from the Oklahoma Zoological Society to the Red Tie Night AIDS Care Fund event. Three
Oklahoma governors have honored her work in the arts and
the state.
VIOLET GORE: Rock Springs news has gotten Violet
14
2010 OGE
PHOTOS OF THE YEAR
SEPTEMBER 2010 – The Lady Panthers celebrate their Class A District 17
championship Sept. 23 at home over Morrison.
Photo by LOUISE RED CORN, The Bigheart Times
2010 DAILY PHOTO OF THE YEAR
ED BLOCHOWIAK
Shawnee News-Star
2010 WEEKLY PHOTO OF THE YEAR
LOUISE RED CORN
The Bigheart Times
Photos of the year are selected from the 12 monthly winners
in the Daily and Weekly Division.
Judge for the 2010 Photo of the Year Contest was
Tom Gilbert, chief photographer of the Tulsa World
JULY 2010 – Ben Tannehill of Monroe, La., does his best to hang on during bull
riding competition at the International Finals Youth Rodeo in Shawnee.
Photo by ED BLOCHOWIAK, Shawnee News-Star
Contest rules are available at www.OkPress.com
15
2011 OPA Mid-Winter Convention
Jeff Funk and Rich Macke discuss newspapers. Funk is publisher of the Enid News & Eagle;
Macke is publisher of the Woodward News.
A birds-eye view of a reception during Mid-Winter. Clockwise: Gloria Trotter, The
Countywide & Sun; Kim Noe, The Newcastle Pacer; Wayne Trotter, The Countywide &
Sun; Victoria Middleton, The Newcastle Pacer; Brian Blansett, Shawnee News-Star; Steve
Coulter and Steve Kizziar, both from the Mustang Times.
Gridiron performers bring down the house at the dinner on Feb. 3. Cast members practicing
prior to the show are Kim Noe and Robin Wilson, The Newcastle Pacer; Cindy Allen, Enid
News & Eagle; Greg Trotter, The Countywide & Sun; and Jeff Funk, Enid News & Eagle.
Victor Hamberlin, Mustang Times, looks at
the display of winning entries.
Governor Mary Fallin enters the room next
to Jeff and Nanette Shultz, Garvin County
News Star.
Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman, records
Governor Mary Fallin on his iPhone for a
piece on newsok.com.
Dayva and Brad Spitzer, Sayre Record &
Beckham County Democrat, check out a
digital photo.
16
Oklahoma Press Association Quarter Century Club inducts 11
On Feb. 4, the Oklahoma Press Association inducted 11 new members into its Quarter
Century Club.
The awards were presented during the OPA
Mid-Winter Convention in Midwest City.
OPA established the Quarter Century Club
in 1998 to honor those men or women who
have dedicated 25 or more years of professional service to the newspaper industry.
Following is information on this year’s
inductees.
JAMES BEATY: A start in writing as an
artist-in-residence in poetry and folk music for
the Oklahoma Arts and Humanities Council
gave James Beaty valuable experience.
Beaty was a stringer for the McAlester
News-Capital while attending East Central
University and was offered a full-time job
after graduation. He graduated from ECU in
1985 and immediately started his full-time job
covering courts.
Thousands of stories later, Beaty’s still
writing for the News-Capital, now serving as
senior editor. He’s written every type of article,
from investigative reporting to features. He
covered the McAlester trial of Oklahoma City
bomber Terry Nichols in 2004 for the NewsCapital and other CNHI newspapers.
Beaty also mentors writers at the newspaper.
JOHN L. CLARK: Working as state
historian and American Legion reporter gave
John Clark his beginning in journalism.
He got into news full time with a stint at the
Poteau News & Sun.
Through the years, Clark has been everything from a photographer and rodeo reporter
with the Pictorial Press News in Tahlequah to
publisher of a weekly.
Now editor of the Spiro Graphic, Clark has
a combined 38 years of experience in shortterm and full-time writing, broadcasting and
research.
JOY DORMAN: A life-long accountant
and bookkeeper, Joy Dorman began working at
the Sayre Journal in 1981 as bookkeeper. Soon,
she became office manager.
She volunteered for computer training as
HALF CENTURY
AND QUARTER
CENTURY CLUBS
technology advances began to change newspaper accounting.
In 1987, she followed Brad and Dayva
Spitzer to their new venture, opening The
Sayre Record.
At the Record, Dorman was in charge of the
legal notices, bookkeeping, circulation, classified advertising, obituaries and various typing
assignments. In the early days of the Record,
she worked on many holidays to ensure the
paper would go out on time.
She also helped train high school students
who worked in circulation and other areas of
the newspaper. Dorman always gave handmade quilts to the students when they graduated from high school.
She also served as receptionist and loved to
visit with customers and friends. Many would
come in simply to sit and visit with her. Dorman decided to retire in January 2011, capping
a near 30-year journalism career in Sayre.
HELEN L. FERGUSON: Helen
Ferguson married into the newspaper business
– her high school sweetheart, D. Jo Ferguson,
was editor and publisher of The Pawnee
Chief.
In 1959, Ferguson became office manager
at The Chief. She became Family Living editor, writing stories and proofreading along with
many other duties.
She retired in 1985, but came back periodically to help at the paper. Ferguson is now
88 and a partner with Larry Ferguson in The
Chief.
JAMES F. FIENUP: James Fienup
began reporting and editing in 1967 as an
intern. He has worked at several Oklahoma
newspapers as a news editor and reporter since
1973, including the Poteau News & Sun and
Chickasha Star.
Over his 43-year career (so far,) Fienup
honed his journalism skills across the country,
working in New York, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana
and Kentucky.
For 17 years, Fienup has served as a writer
and publisher at the Spiro Graphic.
PATRICK JORDAN: The Ponca City
News hired Patrick Jordan as an advertising
To be eligible for membership in the
Half Century Club, nominees must have 50
or more years of service to the newspaper
industry, with 20 years of those years at an
Oklahoma newspaper.
Credit is given for work as a carrier or
stringer as well as for wartime service. Selfnominations are acceptable.
representative in 1984, when newspaper
production still involved cut-and-paste, rotary
phones and typewriters. It was his first job.
Jordan has worked with newspapers through
the computer revolution and advent of the
internet, and in 2008 took over as advertising
manager when his supervisor retired.
In addition to selling and designing ads,
his duties now include scheduling inserts and
renewing contracts.
In his spare time, Jordan creates crossword
puzzles that are published biweekly in the
Washington Post.
Bookseller Barnes & Noble will publish a
collection of his puzzles in April.
JERI McENTIRE: Jeri McEntire joined
the Shawnee News-Star accounting department
in 1984 and became the accounting manager in
1991.
She said she has seen constant change in the
newspaper business, but the biggest changes
are going on right now.
“It’s no longer business as usual,” she said.
SANDRA K. MOORE: The Collinsville
News gave Sandra Moore her start as a
typesetter in 1985.
Two years after she started work, the paper
was sold to Retherford Publications. Moore
then became a proofreader and typesetter for
The Tulsa Legal News.
She’s still a typesetter and copy editor for
the Tulsa Daily Commerce and Legal News,
and also supervises routing e-mailed publication requests.
Her hard work and knowledge of legal
notice publications has secured the excellent
reputation the Tulsa Daily Commerce and
Legal News has in the community.
Moore has two sons and four grandsons.
TODD SHORT: The Edmond Sun first
hired Todd Short as an inserter. He started fulltime in the press room in 1985.
Working as a carpenter in Logan County
and Edmond, Todd came by The Edmond Sun
to visit a friend working in the press room. He
was looking for a new job and instead found a
new career.
Since joining The Sun, Todd has worked
Inductees receive a distinguished award,
recognition at the OPA’s annual Mid-Winter
Convention and an engraved brick in the OPA’s
Centennial Plaza.
Criteria for the Quarter Century Club
requires inductees to have served 25 years in
the newspaper industry, with at least 10 years at
Oklahoma newspapers.
every position in the press room, including
overseeing the camera room, which he said he
liked because it allowed him to be creative. He
also has served in the positions of jogger, assistant pressman, pressroom manager and production manager overseeing The Sun’s Goss
Community press. He learned press operations
on a Harris V-15A press.
Todd now serves as the press room director.
He oversees the printing, inserting and delivery of dozens of publications each month to
various clients. He supervises seven full-time
employees and many part-time employees.
BRENDA TOLLETT: Brenda Tollett,
associate editor of the Ada Evening News,
began her journalism career at the newspaper
in 1985.
Tollett used her degree in home economics
and journalism to build a solid foundation for
her job as lifestyle editor.
She served in that position for 15 years, and
saw many changes in that time as the paper
went from cut-and-paste to digital, and from
typewriters to computers.
In 1999, Tollett became city editor, and the
next year, managing editor. She returned to the
lifestyle editing position in 2007, then became
associate editor a few months later.
CHRISTY BRUNKEN WHEELAND:
The world of journalism opened for Christy
Brunken Wheeland at her hometown newspaper,
the Garber Free Press.
She spent a summer interning at the Henryetta Daily Free-Lance before covering nursing homes for the Stillwater NewsPress while
studying journalism at Oklahoma State University.
She worked as a general assignment reporter in Guthrie at the Logan County News before
joining the staff of the Coweta American in
1988.
Wheeland was associate editor until 1992,
then was named editor of the weekly publication. In her years at the Coweta American,
Wheeland has received many honors from the
Oklahoma Press Association.
Credit is also given for work as a carrier or
stringer as well as for wartime service and selfnominations are acceptable.
A nomination form for either club is
available on the OPA website at okpress.com/
century-clubs. Nominations must include a
biography detailing the nominee’s years of
service to the newspaper industry.
17
OPA QUARTER AND
HALF CENTURY CLUB INDUCTEES
Joan Gilmore and Jerry L. Denson are inducted into the OPA Half Century Club on
Feb. 4, 2011, during the Mid-Winter Convention. Also inducted, but unable to attend,
was Violet Gore. For more information on this year’s Half Century Club inductees, see
page 15.
Inductees into the OPA Quarter Century Club attending the Feb. 4 banquet were Joy
Dorman, Todd Short and Jeri McEntire. Also inducted but unable to attend were James
Beaty, John L. Clark, Helen L. Ferguson, James F. Fienup, Patrick Jordan, Sandra K.
Moore, Brenda Tollett and Christy Brunken Wheeland. Brief biographies of all 2010
Quarter Century Club inductees are on previous page.
Six of the ten 2010 Sequoyah Award winners display their plaques following the awards
banquet. Blizzard conditions in Oklahoma kept many members from attending. Back: Jeff
Funk, Enid News & Eagle; Sean Dyer, El Reno Tribune; and John D. Montgomery, The
Purcell Register. Front: Steve Booher, Cherokee Messenger & Republican; Steven Kizziar,
Mustang Times; and Ted Streuli, The Journal Record. Sequoyah winners not pictured are
the Stillwater NewsPress, Oologah Lake Leader, Catoosa Times, and The Oracle, Oral
Roberts University. For a complete list of winners in the contest, see page 20.
Print Quality, Outdoor Writer and
Website awards presented at luncheon
Several awards were presented at an
awards luncheon on Friday, Feb. 4, during
the OPA Mid-Winter Convention.
Winners of the 2010 Print Quality Contest were The Journal Record in the daily
division, and the Stigler News-Sentinel in
the weekly division.
The Print Quality Contest was established in 2008 to reward good presswork.
Newspapers were judged on black ink
laydown, halftone quality, color registration, page alignment and overall print
appearance.
Also presented at the luncheon were
the 2010 Website Contest winners. The
Ardmoreite received first place in the daily
division. Taking second place was The
Journal Record, third went to the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, and fourth to
the Enid News & Eagle.
In the weekly division, the Elk Citian placed first. The Countywide & Sun
placed second, the Okemah News Leader
third and the Oologah Lake Leader fourth.
The contest was established in 2005 to
honor newspapers with websites. Websites
are judged for news content and coverage,
visual appeal, navigation, organization,
integration of advertising, timeliness and
updates to the site.
For the second year in a row, Kelly
Bostian from Tulsa World was named the
2010 ONF Joseph H. Edwards Outdoor
Writer of the Year.
In addition to being recognized at the
luncheon, Bostian received a $500 cash
prize and a plaque.
The award is named for Joe Edwards,
who was publisher of the Bartlesville
Examiner-Enterprise for 14 years. It honors a writer whose published work exemplifies and captures Edwards’ passion for
the outdoors.
18
In
Memoriam
January 2010
to December 2010
Commemorated February 3, 2011, at the
Oklahoma Press Association Mid-Winter Convention
In accordance with membership wishes, this report includes only those who were either
longtime newspaper employees still engaged in the trade at the time of death,
or those who had, though retired, made newspaper work their principal occupation.
ERNEST ‘BOB’ ALBRIGHT, a former
photographer for The Oklahoman and
Oklahoma City Times, died April 13, 2010.
He was 87. Albright was born Dec. 11, 1922,
in Dos Palos, Calif. He started a 33-year
career at The Oklahoma Publishing Co. in
1952. He was inducted into the Oklahoma
Journalism Hall of Fame in 2002 and was
twice named Photographer of the Year by the
Oklahoma Press Association. The Oklahoma
Historical Society included his work in its
“50 Years of Photojournalism” exhibit.
MARY ELINOR ALEXANDER, a former
newspaper publisher and resident of Nowata,
died May 12, 2010. She was 82. Mrs.
Alexander was born March 3, 1928, in
Bartlesville. She attended the Ward Belmont
Finishing School for Young Ladies in
Murfreesboro, Tenn., and then moved to
Oklahoma City where she attended Oklahoma
City University. She met her husband, Rev.
Charles M. ‘Pappy’ Alexander in Oklahoma
City. Mrs. Alexander was a freelance writer,
reporter and photographer for The Associated
Press. She also spent time as a reporter
for the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, the
Nowata Star and the Tulsa World. She owned
and operated the Barnsdall Times from 1980
until 1990 and also was part owner of the
Wild Cat Community newspaper in Tulsa.
BILLY FLOYD ‘BILL’ BROWN, former
publisher of the Stroud American, died April
19, 2010, in Tulsa. He was 74. Brown was
born Aug. 7, 1935, in Stroud. He graduated
from Stroud High School and attended
Central State College, now the University
of Central Oklahoma, in Edmond. In 1950,
Brown took a job with the Stroud American
as a pressman. He later began reporting
for the newspaper, covering “a little bit of
everything.” He married Alice Faye Weaver
on Feb. 27, 1956. The Browns purchased
the Stroud American in 1973. Bill Brown
continued to work for the paper after selling
it to his son and daughter-in-law, Mike and
Alicia Brown, in 1997. He retired in 2000,
after 50 years of working in the newspaper
business.
DALE COLBERT, former owner and editor
of the Northwest Oklahoman in Shattuck,
died June 20, 2010. He was 84. Colbert was
born on Aug. 25, 1925, and moved with his
family to Shattuck in 1931 when his father
opened the Northwest Oklahoman and his
mother started a Hallmark gift shop. He
attended Oklahoma Military Academy in
Claremore and then West Point Preparatory
Academy in Amherst, Mass., before serving
during World War II. After being honorably
discharged from the U.S. Army in 1946,
Colbert returned to Shattuck to join the
family business. He met his wife, Miriam
Ann Bockelman, while working at the
newspaper. They were married in Amarillo,
Texas, on June 29, 1947. Dale and Miriam
continued to operate the family business
and expand the Hallmark store until retiring
in 2004. Colbert was active in the Shattuck
community, serving many organizations.
DAVID JO ‘D. JO’ FERGUSON, longtime
publisher of The Pawnee Chief, died Jan.
4, 2010, in Pawnee. He was 87. Ferguson
was born March 7, 1922, in Pawnee. In
1941, Ferguson helped his father, Jo O., and
his partner establish the Pawnee Chief. D.
Jo worked on the Chief for a few months
before joining the Navy in 1942. He was
sent to San Diego where he was joined by
Helen Lyon, his classmate-sweetheart. D.
Jo and Helen were married in Glendale,
Calif., on April 3, 1943. He was discharged
in 1945 and returned to Oklahoma to attend
the University of Oklahoma. At OU he was
involved in both the editorial and advertising
departments of the Oklahoma Daily, and was
elected to the state legislature. He returned to
Pawnee in 1949 to operate the Pawnee Chief
while his father campaigned for the office
of Governor of Oklahoma. Ferguson was
heavily involved with community and state
organizations. He served as president of the
Oklahoma Press Association in 1972 after
serving on the board for 10 years. In 1988,
he was inducted into the OPA Half Century
Club. The OPA presented D. Jo with the Milt
Phillips Award in 1992 and in 1998 he was
inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall
of Fame.
ALAN NICHOLAS ‘NICK’ FOLTZ, a retired
Tulsa World editor, died June 18, 2010. He
was 78. Foltz was born in Wichita, Kan.,
and grew up in Oklahoma City. At age
16, he began working as a copyboy with
The Associated Press. He went on to earn
a journalism degree from Oklahoma City
University and then worked as a reporter
for The Daily Oklahoman and Oklahoma
City Times. Foltz served in the Air Force
as a public information officer during the
Korean War. In 1960, he joined the Tulsa
World as an assistant city editor. In 1978, he
became the World’s state editor, coordinating
activities for three state reporters, one
Washington Bureau reporter, two state
Capitol correspondents and several parttime correspondents. On June 5, 1968, Foltz
ordered the presses stopped and remade the
front page to include the story about Sen.
Robert Kennedy being mortally wounded in
Los Angeles. Foltz later returned to reporting,
writing about higher education for the World
until he retired in 1993.
LAWRENCE LINDSAY GIBBS, 67, managing
editor of The Perkins Journal, died Aug. 10,
2010, in Tulsa, Okla. Gibbs was born Oct.
21, 1942, in Tulsa. He grew up in Oklahoma
City and later attended Oklahoma State
University where he received a degree in
journalism. He was married on Sept. 8, 1966,
to Peggy Leigh. Gibbs had assignments with
the Guthrie Daily Leader, Chickasha Star and
the Guymon Daily Herald before joining the
Stillwater NewsPress in 1968. He remained
at the NewsPress for 35 years, working
as city editor and then managing editor.
After leaving the NewsPress, Gibbs joined
the staff at The Perkins Journal and was
instrumental in helping launch the Stillwater
Journal, a weekly section devoted to the
Stillwater community. Gibbs also produced
several periodicals for groups that shared his
interests in Oklahoma railroads. He received
the Oklahoma Press Association’s Half
Century Award in 2010.
ALEXANDER JOSEPH ‘AL’ HRUBY, 84,
former publisher of The Duncan Banner,
died Nov. 14, 2010. He was 84. Hruby was
born Nov. 12, 1926, in Lincoln, Neb. After
graduating from high school, he enlisted
in the U.S. Navy and served for two years
during World War II. In 1950, he graduated
from the University of Nebraska with a
degree in geology. Hruby was recalled to
active duty in 1951. After being discharged,
he continued his education at the University
of Oklahoma, graduating with a Master of
Science degree in geology in 1955. While
attending OU, he met Janis M. Wimberly.
The couple were married June 25, 1955, in
Altus. Hruby worked as a geologist for the
California Company (now Chevron) for 10
years. On Feb. 13, 1965, he went to work at
The Duncan Banner, the newspaper owned
by his father-in-law, Harrington Wimberly.
During the next 12 years, Hruby worked
in the circulation, advertising and business
departments at The Banner. He was named
associate publisher in 1970. When Wimberly
died in December 1978, Hruby assumed the
role of editor and publisher. He served in that
capacity until the family sold the newspaper
in August 1997. Hruby was involved in
numerous organizations over the years.
He served as president of the Oklahoma
Press Association in 1995. He also served
as a trustee of the Oklahoma Newspaper
Foundation.
JAMES PARK ‘JIM’ KIDD, former
co-owner of the Poteau News and LeFlore
County Sun, died Jan. 14, 2010. He was
92. Jim and his brother, Robert, owned and
operated the two local weekly newspapers
for 30 years. The brothers started the County
Sun in 1947 and, in 1955, bought the Poteau
News, a newspaper their father once owned.
They sold the businesses in 1979. Robert
Kidd handled the editorial side while Jim ran
the paper’s business operations and oversaw
printing. Jim served in the Army from 1942
to 1945, and was a graduate of the University
of Oklahoma.
DANA MALONE, who previously worked at
the Talihina American and Latimer County
Today, died June 28, 2010, in Tulsa. She was
60. Malone was born April 13, 1950, to Jim
and Dorothy Nicholson. After graduating
from Talihina High School in 1968, she
attended the University of Oklahoma and
received a degree in marketing/advertising in
1972. She moved back to Talihina to work in
the family business at the Talihina American.
The family later opened the Latimer County
Today newspaper and moved to Wilburton.
19
After working in the newspaper business
for 20 years, Malone went to work at the
Latimer County Library as a librarian.
ROB MARTINDALE, a longtime Tulsa World
reporter, died April 8, 2010. He was 69. In
more than 40 years as a reporter, including
32 with the World, Martindale covered
manhunts, prison breaks and politicians.
He retired in 2006. He was born and raised
in Blackwell, served four years in the Air
Force, and later attended the University of
Central Oklahoma. His first newspaper job
was in Holdenville, but he soon moved to
the Muskogee Daily Phoenix and then, in
1974, to the World. Martindale was assigned
to the World’s Washington Bureau in 1985.
He remained in Washington for five years,
returning to Tulsa in 1990. From then until
his retirement, he covered state politics and
Indian affairs.
MAXWELL MCCURDY, longtime civic
leader and former co-publisher of the Purcell
Register, died Jan. 6, 2010, at his home in
Purcell. He was 97. McCurdy was born
March 27, 1912. Following graduation from
Purcell High School in 1929, he attended the
University of Oklahoma and then returned
to Purcell where he began working at the
Purcell Register. In 1935, the Register sold
the newspaper to James C. and Ayleene
Nance of Walters. The Nance family became
next-door neighbors to the McCurdy family
and Max met his wife, Mary Rosamond
‘Rosie’ McCurdy. They were married June
23, 1937. Max served in the U.S. Navy
during World War II. After being discharged,
he returned to Purcell to work at the Register.
McCurdy served on various committees of
the Oklahoma Press Association. His weekly
column at the Register, “Hunting & Fishing
by Max,” won several awards.
more than 20 years during which time she
won several journalism awards. After leaving
the Ada Evening News in 1992, Reese joined
her mother in a ceramics business. She
was born March 14, 1954, at Superior,
Neb. She and her family moved to Ada in
1955. She graduated from Ada High School
and received a Bachelor of Science degree
in Wildlife Ecology and Communications
in 1976 from Oklahoma State University
in Stillwater. Ms. Reese was previously
employed with the Corps of Engineers as a
Park Ranger.
JANICE TAYLOR SINGLETON, who worked
at the Vinita Daily Journal, died Feb. 4,
2010, at her home in Grove. She was 54.
Janice Ann (Swango) Taylor Singleton was
born Aug. 15, 1955, in Bartlesville. She
began her journalism career at the Grove
Sun, and worked at the Miami News-Record
for a time. For more than 10 years, she
worked at the Vinita Daily Journal and Afton
American. She received numerous awards
for her journalism.
FRANK LEROY SPENCER, 85, former
publisher of the Pawhuska Journal-Capital,
died March 21, 2010, in Albuquerque, N.M.
Spencer was born in Deadwood, S.D., on
Sept. 28, 1924. He married Isla Klatka in
1949 in Alliance, Neb. In 1951, the Spencers
moved to Pawhuska where Frank worked as
editor, general manager and then publisher
of the Pawhuska Journal-Capital until 1980.
He also served as city manager in Cleveland,
Okla.
HERBERT DEAN ‘DUTCH’ MILLER,
longtime publisher of the Taloga TimesAdvocate, died May 23, 2010. He was 70.
Miller was born on March 19, 1940, in Las
Animas, Colo. He moved to Oklahoma when
he was five years old and graduated from high
school at Taloga in 1958. He began working
at the Taloga Times-Advocate in 1952 and
continued working there until he purchased
the newspaper in 1982. He operated the
newspaper until his death. Miller, who
started as a “printer’s devil,” worked more
than 50 years in the newspaper business.
He was inducted into the Oklahoma Press
Association’s Half-Century Club in 2008.
ROBERT R. ‘BOB’ STACY, who worked for
the Oklahoma Press Association for many
years, died Aug. 19, 2010. He was 61. Stacy
was born Nov. 22, 1948. He graduated from
Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor in
1968 with an associate degree in marketing
and retailing. His first job in the newspaper
business was as classified display salesman
at the Palladium Publishing Company in
Benton Harbor. Stacy left Michigan in 1971
to accept a position with Sentinel Suburban
Newspapers in Denver, Colo. In 1972, he
moved to Edmond, Okla., and was named
advertising director of the Edmond Sun &
Booster. Stacy was named assistant manager
of the Oklahoma Press Association and vice
president of Oklahoma Press Service in 1974.
He held those two positions for more than
20 years. After leaving OPA, Stacy worked
for Pro Graphics, Inc. and the Oklahoma
Department of Commerce.
PATRICIA ANN ‘PATTI’ REESE, a former
Ada Evening News staff writer and city
editor, died July 22, 2010. She was 56. Reese
was employed by Ada Evening News for
JAMES ‘JIM’ NOEL STANDARD, former top
editor of The Oklahoman, died Oct. 12, 2010,
in Oklahoma City. He was 70. Standard spent
35 years at The Oklahoman and Oklahoma
City Times, starting when he was 20 years
old. While there, he earned a reputation as an
editor who influenced a generation of young
journalists who worked in The Oklahoman’s
newsroom in the 1970s and 1980s. He also
presided over the newsroom’s conversion to
the computer age. Standard grew up in Little
Rock, Ark., starting his newspaper career as
a copy boy at the Arkansas Gazette while
in high school. He attended the University
of Arkansas for a year but left to work
in Borger, Texas. In 1960, he was hired
as an obituary writer at The Oklahoman
and Times. At The Oklahoman, Standard
covered all aspects of the criminal justice
system and the state Capitol, specializing
in investigative reporting. He was selected
as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University
in 1969, and spent a year with his family in
Cambridge, Mass. In 1975, he was named
managing editor of The Oklahoman and
Times. He became executive editor in March
1984, after the Oklahoma City Times merged
with The Oklahoman, and in 1990 he was
named editorial page editor and wrote a
weekly column, “Jim Standard’s Oklahoma.”
Standard was a former Oklahoma Newsman
of the Year, was active in journalistic and
civic organizations, and was a frequent
public speaker and lecturer during his career.
After retiring from the newspaper business
in 1995, he began a career in the ministry.
M. GERALD STONE, former publisher of the
Grove Sun, died Aug. 8, 2010, at his home in
Northport, Ala. He was 70. Stone was born
on Feb. 9, 1940. He was the former co-owner
of the Enterprise Group chain of newspapers,
and published newspapers in Slidell, La.,
Tahlequah and Grove, Okla. Stone was an
award-winning publisher and editorialist
who focused on conservative political and
fiscal views. He was often controversial with
his topics and took on all forms of corruption
at the city, county and state levels.
BRIAN JAY WALKE, 55, of Norman,
Okla., died July 2, 2010. Walke, a founding
board member of Freedom of Information
Oklahoma Inc., was born on June 3, 1955.
He graduated from Del City High School
in 1973. He received a Master of Arts in
International Relations from the University
of Oklahoma in 1990. He worked in radio
for many years, including serving as news
director at KTOK-AM, where he directed an
investigative series, “Secrets of Justice,” that
won a national Edward R. Murrow Award.
LINDA KAY (SPENCE) WOFFORD, 63,
former publisher of the Wagoner Tribune,
died Nov. 25, 2010, at her home in Wagoner.
Wofford was born Feb. 7, 1947, and graduated
from Wagoner High School in 1965. She
attended the University of Oklahoma and
Northeastern State University, earning a
degree in journalism. Wofford began her
career in the newspaper industry at the
Wagoner Tribune, which was owned and
published by her parents. She worked at
the paper and later became publisher before
leaving journalism to start a new career as
owner of a motor coach tour business.
JOE A. WOOLARD, former owner of the
Sand Springs Leader, died Nov. 10, 2010. He
was 86. Woolard was living in Lewisville,
Texas, with his wife, Nadine, at the time
of his death. He was born in Centralia,
Okla., on May 3, 1924, and graduated from
Vinita High School. He enlisted in the U.S.
Navy at age 17 and served in the Pacific
during World War II. After being discharged,
he attended and graduated from Oklahoma
State University with a degree in advertising.
He started in the newspaper business in
Alva, worked as the advertising manager for
the Miami Herald and later was editor for the
Claremore Progress. In 1965, he purchased
what was then the Sand Springs Leader
Times, working there with his wife and son,
Kerry, until he retired.
NORMA GENE BUTTERBAUGH YOUNG,
former owner of the Boise City News, died
May 26, 2010. She was 85. Young was
born March 26, 1925, in Texhoma, Texas.
She soon moved with her family to Boise
City, Okla., where she remained until June
2007. Young attended what is now West
Texas A&M University in Canyon, and then
returned home to work for her father, Roy
Butterbaugh, who published The Boise City
News.She married William Robert (Bob)
Young on June 9, 1947. The Youngs joined
Norma’s parents in the newspaper and
printing business. Butterbaugh retired in
1966 and the Youngs took over, operating it
until 1983 when they sold the business.
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation offers an
appropriate tax-exempt memorial as a tribute to the
memory of Oklahoma newspapermen and women.
All contributions in memory of an individual are
acknowledged and notification is given to the family.
The purpose of the Foundation is to advance
newspapers, and to provide for journalism education,
study and research. As funds are accumulated, the
trustees use the earnings
to finance activities in these areas.
Donations may be mailed to ONF, 3601 N. Lincoln
Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105.
20
CONGRATULATIONS
OKLAH
M
RESS ASS
P
A
2010
O
TION
CIA
O
to all the winners in the 2010 OPA Better Newspaper Contest
AWARD
WINNING
NEWSPAPER
BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST
2010 BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST RESULTS
DIVISION 1:
Dailies circ. 8,000 or more
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
Enid News & Eagle
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
Enid News & Eagle
2
The Lawton Constitution
3
Muskogee Phoenix
4
The Norman Transcript
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
1
Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise
2
Enid News & Eagle
3
The Ponca City News
4
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
The Shawnee News-Star
2
Muskogee Phoenix
3
The Ardmoreite
4
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
2
The Ardmoreite
3
Muskogee Phoenix
4
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
Enid News & Eagle
2
3
Muskogee Phoenix
4
McAlester News-Capital
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
2
Enid News & Eagle
3
Muskogee Phoenix
4
The Ardmoreite
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
2
3
Enid News & Eagle
4
Muskogee Phoenix
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
2
Enid News & Eagle
3
4
The Ardmoreite
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
2
The Ponca City News
3
The Ardmoreite
4
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
The Ardmoreite
2
3
Muskogee Phoenix
4
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
The Ponca City News
2
3
Muskogee Phoenix
4
EVENT 12:
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
1
2
The Ardmoreite
3
4
21
DIVISION 2:
Dailies circ. 3,700 to 7,999
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
Stillwater NewsPress
DIVISION 3:
Dailies circ. less than 3,700
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
The Journal Record
DIVISION 44:
Weeklies circ. 2,600 or more
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
The Purcell Register
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
The Express-Star (Chickasha)
2
3
Ada Evening News
4
Claremore Daily Progress
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
1
2
3
Woodward News
4
Ada Evening News
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
2
The Duncan Banner
3
Ada Evening News
4
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
Ada Evening News
2
3
The Duncan Banner
4
Woodward News
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
Ada Evening News
2
3
4
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
2
3
4
Ada Evening News
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
2
Woodward News
3
Vinita Daily Journal
4
Weatherford Daily News
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
Ada Evening News
2
Woodward News
3
4
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
2
Woodward News
3
The Duncan Banner
4
Ada Evening News
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
2
The Duncan Banner
3
4
Woodward News
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
2
Woodward News
3
4
EVENT 12:
1
2
Ada Evening News
3
The Duncan Banner
4
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
The Edmond Sun
2
The Journal Record (OKC)
3
Tahlequah Daily Press
4
Guymon Daily Herald
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
1
2
The Edmond Sun
3
4
The Clinton Daily News
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
2
The Daily Times (Pryor)
3
The Edmond Sun
4
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
2
The Edmond Sun
3
The Miami News-Record
4
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
2
The Edmond Sun
3
4
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
2
The Altus Times
3
4
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
2
The Edmond Sun
3
4
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
2
3
The Edmond Sun
4
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
The Edmond Sun
2
3
4
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
2
3
The Edmond Sun
4
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
2
3
4
The Edmond Sun
EVENT 12:
1
2
The Edmond Sun
3
4
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
2
Elk Citian
3
The Madill Record
4
Wagoner Tribune
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
1
Stigler News-Sentinel
2
Oklahoma City Friday
3
The Madill Record
4
Elk Citian
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
Atoka County Times
2
The Madill Record
3
Johnston County
Capital-Democrat
4
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
2
The Madill Record
3
4
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
Elk Citian
2
3
4
The Madill Record
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
2
The Madill Record
3
Stilwell Democrat Journal
4
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
Elk Citian
2
3
4
The Madill Record
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
Wagoner Tribune
2
Elk Citian
3
Johnston County
Capital-Democrat
4
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
Johnston County
Capital-Democrat
2
Nowata Star
3
Elk Citian
4
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
2
3
The Madill Record
4
Nowata Star
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
2
3
Elk Citian
4
The Madill Record
EVENT 12:
1
The Madill Record
2
3
Elk Citian
4
Watonga Republican
22
DIVISION 5:
Dailies circ. 1,600 to 2,599
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
Oologah Lake Leader
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
2
The Marlow Review
3
4
Oologah Lake Leader
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
1
Coweta American
2
The Marlow Review
3
Vian Tenkiller News
4
Latimer County News-Tribune
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
Coweta American
2
3
The Sayre Record
& Beckham County Democrat
4
Skiatook Journal
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
2
Vian Tenkiller News
3
Oologah Lake Leader
4
Latimer County News-Tribune
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
2
The Sayre Record
3
Oologah Lake Leader
4
DIVISION 6:
Weeklies circ. 1,050 to 1,599
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
DIVISION 77:
Weeklies circ. less than 1,050
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
Catoosa Times
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
2
Drumright Gusher
3
Bixby Bulletin
4
McIntosh County Democrat
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
Oologah Lake Leader
2
3
4
Skiatook Journal
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
1
The Newcastle Pacer
2
The Comanche Times
3
4
The Hooker Advance
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
Coweta American
2
Oologah Lake Leader
3
The Marlow Review
4
The Sayre Record
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
The Indian Journal (Eufaula)
2
The Sayre Record
3
Skiatook Journal
4
Coweta American
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
2
Oologah Lake Leader
3
Skiatook Journal
4
The Sayre Record
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
2
The Marlow Review
3
Coweta American
4
Skiatook Journal
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
2
3
Oologah Lake Leader
4
The Marlow Review
EVENT 12:
1
Oologah Lake Leader
2
Vian Tenkiller News
3
4
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
2
3
The Hooker Advance
4
Drumright Gusher
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
The Newcastle Pacer
2
The Carnegie Herald
3
4
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
2
Drumright Gusher
3
Collinsville News
4
The Carnegie Herald
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
Collinsville News
2
The Carnegie Herald
3
The Comanche Times
4
Bixby Bulletin
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
Drumright Gusher
2
The Carnegie Herald
3
4
The Newcastle Pacer
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
The Newcastle Pacer
2
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
3
4
Drumright Gusher
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
The Carnegie Herald
2
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
3
Bixby Bulletin
4
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
2
Collinsville News
3
The Newcastle Pacer
4
Mannford Eagle
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
Waurika News-Democrat
2
Catoosa Times
3
Pawhuska Journal-Capital
4
Tulsa County News
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
1
2
Catoosa Times
3
4
For the Record (Yale)
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
2
Glenpool Post
3
4
Mountain View News
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
Tulsa County News
2
3
Catoosa Times
4
The Granite Enterprise
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
Tulsa County News
2
Catoosa Times
3
4
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
2
The Westville Reporter
3
The Sentinel Leader
4
Tulsa County News
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
Catoosa Times
2
3
4
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
Tulsa County News
2
Catoosa Times
3
4
The Westville Reporter
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
Mountain View News
2
Tulsa County News
3
Catoosa Times
4
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
Cherokee Messenger
& Republican
2
Mannford Eagle
3
Jenks Journal
4
The Newcastle Pacer
EVENT 12:
1
Drumright Gusher
2
The Hooker Advance
3
Collinsville News
4
The Comanche Times
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
The Comanche County
Chronicle
2
3
Catoosa Times
4
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
Tulsa County News
2
The Sentinel Leader
3
Catoosa Times
4
EVENT 12:
1
2
3
Tulsa County News
4
Catoosa Times
23
DIVISION 8:
Semi-, Twin or Tri-Weekly
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
El Reno Tribune
SUSTAINING DIVISION
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
Mustang Times
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
Sand Springs Leader
2
Yukon Review
3
El Reno Tribune
4
Owasso Reporter
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
1
Yukon Review
2
El Reno Tribune
3
Sequoyah County Times
4
Mustang News
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
Mustang News
2
El Reno Tribune
3
Sand Springs Leader
4
Alva Review-Courier
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
Mustang News
2
3
Yukon Review
4
Owasso Reporter
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
Owasso Reporter
2
Sand Springs Leader
3
Yukon Review
4
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
El Reno Tribune
2
3
Mustang News
4
Owasso Reporter
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
Sand Springs Leader
2
Yukon Review
3
Mustang News
4
El Reno Tribune
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
Sand Springs Leader
2
El Reno Tribune
3
Owasso Reporter
4
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
Mustang News
2
El Reno Tribune
3
Yukon Review
4
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
Mustang News
2
3
El Reno Tribune
4
Owasso Reporter
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
Sand Springs Leader
2
El Reno Tribune
3
Owasso Reporter
4
Mustang News
EVENT 12:
1
Bristow News & Record-Citizen
2
El Reno Tribune
3
4
Alva Review-Courier
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
The Moore American
2
Mustang Times
3
Minco-Union City Times
4
Biskinik (Durant)
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
1
Oklahoma Gazette (OKC)
2
Union Boundary
& Greater Tulsa Reporter
3
Broken Arrow Ledger
4
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
Broken Arrow Ledger
2
Biskinik (Durant)
3
The Moore American
4
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
Mustang Times
2
The Moore American
3
Broken Arrow Ledger
4
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
2
Mustang Times
3
Broken Arrow Ledger
4
The Moore American
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
2
Broken Arrow Ledger
3
Mustang Times
4
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
2
Mustang Times
3
Union Boundary
4
EVENT 12:
1
Mustang Times
2
Broken Arrow Ledger
3
Union Boundary
4
EVENT 7:
PERSONAL COLUMNS
1
The Campus
2
The Oracle
3
The Daily O’Collegian
4
Northwestern News
EVENT 10:
SPORTS COVERAGE
1
2
The Oracle
3
The Vista
4
The Connection
EVENT 8:
NEWS WRITING
1
2
The Campus
3
The Oracle
4
The Vista
EVENT 11:
PHOTOGRAPHY
1
The Campus
2
The Vista
3
4
The Oracle
EVENT 9:
FEATURE WRITING
1
2
The Oracle
3
The Oklahoma Daily
4
The Campus
EVENT 12:
1
The Campus
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
2
The Moore American
3
Mustang Times
4
Broken Arrow Ledger
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
2
Mustang Times
3
Union Boundary
4
COLLEGE DIVISION
SEQUOYAH
AWARD WINNER
The Oracle,
Oral Roberts University
EVENT 1:
NEWS CONTENT
1
The Daily O’Collegian,
Oklahoma State University
2
The Oracle,
Oral Roberts University
3
Northwestern News,
Northwestern Oklahoma St. Univ.
4
15th Street News,
Rose State College
EVENT 2:
LAYOUT & DESIGN
1
The Oracle
2
The Connection,
Tulsa Community College
3
The Vista,
University of Central Oklahoma
4
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
Mustang Times
2
Union Boundary
3
4
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
2
Broken Arrow Ledger
3
Mustang Times
4
EVENT 3:
ADVERTISING
1
The Oracle
2
Northwestern News
EVENT 4:
SALES PROMOTION
No Entries
EVENT 5:
IN-DEPTH ENTERPRISE
1
The Oklahoma Daily,
University of Oklahoma
2
The Oracle
3
EVENT 6:
EDITORIAL COMMENT
1
15th Street News
2
The Campus
3
Northwestern News
4
The Connection
24
Oklahoma congressmen say country must address nation’s debt
U.S. Reps. James Lankford and Tom Cole speak at the OPA Mid-Winter Convention
in Midwest City on Feb. 5.
By M. SCOTT CARTER,
for the Oklahoma Publisher
Even though only two of Oklahoma’s
five-member Congressional delegation
attended the Oklahoma Press Association
meeting on Feb. 5, the message would
have been the same had every member
been present: the national debt is a serious
problem and Congress needs a bipartisan
way to solve the problem.
In a speech delivered at the OPA’s
Mid-Winter Convention in Midwest City,
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, and James
Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, both said the
country must address the nation’s debt.
Cole said the country’s budget is about
$3.8 trillion, with more than half that
figure – about $2.8 trillion – going to
programs such as Medicare, Medicaid
and Social Security. Currently, the United
States is running a $1.8 trillion deficit.
“The American people demand more
in the way of services than they’re willing to pay for right now,” Cole said. And
once spending is reduced, he said, “I don’t
think there will be any American that’s not
touched in some form or fashion. The fiscal crisis we face is that great.”
Echoing an earlier speech before the
Oklahoma Banker’s Association, Cole said
the large number of military installations
located here help insulate Oklahoma from
spending cuts.
“While you’re fighting the good fight,
overall, you want to be able to protect
things that you think are good for the
country and that are good for Oklahoma,”
he said.
However, while Cole said many in Congress will work to protect military installations and services for military personnel,
GOP members of Congress will not vote
to raise the country’s debt ceiling.
Lankford, speaking after Cole, said
U.S. President Barack Obama needs to
take a leadership role in reforming the
country’s entitlement programs.
“The executive branch (needs) to
engage in this,” Lankford said. “Not just
say we need it but to actually engage in
that as well.”
Additionally, Lankford said GOP law-
makers would work to reduce waste, fraud
and abuse.
“Anyone who would say that everything in government is completely efficient
hasn’t spent any time around government,”
he said. “The way to make government
more efficient is, typically, to make it
smaller.”
Many business owners, he said, were
concerned by the country’s regulatory
environment.
“People are worried by how fast the
regulations are coming and how preferential those regulations are,” he said.
“And while people can make public
comments it doesn’t seem like anyone is
listening.”
People don’t know who to hold accountable, he said.
“They don’t know who to vote against,”
he said. “There’s no one to vote against.
It’s a regulator and people don’t know who
they are.”
That area, Lankford said, would be
examined.
“That’s one of the areas we’re going to
be looking at, to examine how people can
deal with the regulatory environment.”
Citing problems with the winter storm,
other members of the state’s congressional
delegation were unable to travel to the
event.
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located at 1727 NW 16th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73106
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Friend...Breathe This Bit of Aroma:
Something Always Happens in Oklahoma!
- Ancient Gridiron Proverb
Don’t miss this year’s lively show entited “One Lump or
Two? Or: Oklahoma is Now Mary Land.”
The Oklahoma City Gridiron Club was founded in 1928
and has performed annual political satire for Oklahoma
City audiences for 70 years. The club did not perform
during the war years, 1942 through 1946, but has staged
the annual show in various sites in Oklahoma City ever
since.
Proceeds from the show fund scholarships and grants for
Oklahoma student journalists.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHOW
OR TO PURCHASE TICKETS, VISIT
WWW.OKCGRIDIRON.ORG
25
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OUR THANKS TO THE SPONSORS OF THE
2011 OPA MID-WINTER CONVENTION
Associated Press
We appreciate your continued support of Oklahoma newspapers
26
27
Fallin discusses budget cuts at press convention
By M. SCOTT CARTER,
for the Oklahoma Publisher
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said she
would ask the legislature to approve a 3
percent budget reduction for core state
agencies and a 5 percent cut for the
remainder of state government during a
speech at the Oklahoma Press Association’s Midwinter Convention.
Speaking Feb. 4 in Midwest City, Fallin
said she would use her State-of-the-State
address on Feb. 7 to announce a plan to
promote jobs and strengthen the state’s
still-ailing economy.
“There will be cuts in spending,” Fallin said, “because we can’t spend money
we don’t have. The bottom line is if we
don’t have the money, we can’t spend the
money. We’re not going to grow government faster than our economy; if we do
that our economy will tank.”
Fallin said she would ask for 3 percent
spending cuts in the areas of public safety,
education and health and human services.
She said some agencies – including the
Department of Public Safety – also would
get supplemental funds.
Other areas of government would have
their budgets cut by about 5 percent.
“There will be some entities that will be
receiving some supplementals to deal with
some of their challenges with the services
that they must deliver,” the governor said.
“I believe that moving forward with budget cuts, along with various efficiencies
in state government operation, will lead
us to create a stronger, more prosperous
Oklahoma. In the long run that will help us
create a more pro-business Oklahoma.”
Fallin’s call for spending cuts follows
predictions by some lawmakers of a $600
million hole in the state budget. In January,
Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, and House Speaker Kris
Steele, R-Shawnee, both predicted large,
multi-million budget gaps.
Fallin said she would not raise taxes to
balance the budget.
“This budget will reflect my priorities
for spending,” the governor said. “Public
safety, education and areas of government
that address the health and welfare of our
citizens. This budget will reflect shared
sacrifices of our different agencies.”
Fallin, the state’s first female governor,
also hinted that she would seek to consolidate some state agencies and eliminate
what she described as a duplication of services in state government. Returning to her
campaign theme of making the state more
business friendly, she said she would push
for additional changes in the state’s workers compensation and torts systems.
“I believe we can be the state where
people want to bring jobs and where they
want to raise their families,” she said. “In
order to create that better business climate I’ll be asking the legislature to work
with me on further workers compensation
reform and we’ll also be looking at ways to
reduce our legal costs in the state of Oklahoma on business and individuals.”
Speaking about the Jan. 31 blizzard,
which dumped more than a foot of snow
on the state, Fallin said she met with state
emergency management director Albert
Ashwood in preparation for the storm.
“We decided we would get ahead of the
curve and do an emergency declaration in
all 77 counties,” she said. “It’s a little bit
risky, but we wanted to protect our state
and be prepared for what we were told
would be a tremendous storm.”
Fallin said her emergency declaration
had been approved by the White House,
allowing the state to qualify for federal
disaster aid funds. Those funds will cover
75 percent of the cost of the state’s disaster
cleanup effort. State and municipal government funds will cover the remaining
25 percent.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to get reimbursed for some of the cost that has been
incurred for our state,” she said.
Fallin said she would work to provide “some additional funds” for previous
disaster recovery efforts. At present, state
government owes many cities and towns
several million dollars in disaster recovery
funds. Fallin said those bills were “about
two years behind” and said she would
work to begin repaying the money.
“It’s not something we can do at once,
but we will work to repay some of those
funds,” she said.
Last year several state lawmakers –
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including Rush Springs Democrat Joe
Dorman – called on officials to repay the
disaster funds. Many communities, Dorman said, continue to struggle to cover
the cost of disasters that happened several
years before.
“There will be numbers in my budget
to help the cities and counties get whole
again,” Fallin said. “It may take us a while,
because they are two years behind. We do
need to work toward making them whole
as soon as we can, but it’s not going to be
an overnight process.”
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Toll-Free in Oklahoma: 1-888-815-2672
28
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2010 SWEEPSTAKES CONTEST WINNERS
2010 Column Winner:
2010 Editorial Winner:
TED STREULI
KIM POINDEXTER
2010 COLUMN SWEEPSTAKES WINNER TED
EXCERPTS FROM
STREULI, The Journal Record (December 2010)
Unanswered cries for help
In the silence of the cellblock, you hear the screaming of
tortured souls.
A pair of ghostly eyes peered through a narrow window in
the cell’s steel door, vanished, then reappeared. Whatever he was
thinking while looking at our group of 49 Leadership Oklahoma
participants remains as mysterious as the look in his eyes: partly
bafflement, partly anger, primarily vacant.
The Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester is the maximum-security home of 977 offenders who spend 23 hours per
day in cells. Each gets one hour, alone in a cage, for exercising. Half suffer from serious mental illnesses such as bipolar
disorder, schizophrenia or multiple personalities. The most
disturbed are housed in a unit that allows doctors, guards and
visitors to stand alone on a polished cement floor and catch
glimpses of abandoned eyes that randomly appear in the 12- by
24-inch windows. There is an antiseptic, fearful smell, and the
2010 EDITORIAL SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
EXCERPTS FROM
voices muffled behind the steel are nothing more than sporadic,
unintelligible moans.
Standing there, watching the eyes come and go, I was overwhelmed with dread because the boy I adopted 20 years ago
is likely to end up here, or a place like it, peering out a slit of
reinforced glass.
Four psychiatrists have diagnosed him and prescribed
psychotropic medications. Two diagnosed him with bipolar
disorder; the other two said he was schizophrenic. All agreed he
was paranoid. I asked one of the doctors how people with severe
mental illnesses like Colby’s fare in the world, what a parent
should expect.
Dante’s last three circles of Hell were violence, fraud and
treachery. They exist at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in every
cell, the modern asylum where illness and evil co-mingle. I
cannot abandon hope for Colby. But after a few hours in the
cellblock, I am terrified for him.
Enter and Win a
$100 Check from ONG!
Judge for the 2010 Sweepstakes Contest was
Jack Willis, journalism instructor at
Oklahoma State University
1.
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.
2.
Include the author’s name, name of publication, date of
publication and category entered (column or editorial).
3.
Only ONE editorial and/or ONE column per writer per
month will be accepted.
4.
All entries for the previous month must be at the OPA
office by the 15th of the current month.
5.
Winning entries will be reproduced on the OPA Web site
at www.OkPress.com.
KIM POINDEXTER, Tahlequah Daily Press (April 2010)
Elected officials should suffer, too
For anyone who’s up to snuff on current events, it’s a real
challenge to deny the hypocrisy running rampant at the Oklahoma
statehouse.
This week, officials announced that Cherokee County, among
others, will be losing a valuable asset with the closure of its Child
Guidance Center. Furloughs are being taken left and right, and
many of the same Oklahomans who last month were rallying for
tax cuts are now realizing some cherished service or another their
families depended on is being eliminated or slashed. About the
only thing to be said in this regard: Be careful what you wish for,
you might get it.
The state Senate earlier this week finally offered its own
version of “sacrifice,” by announcing its employees will be taking
12 unpaid furlough days between July and December. Considering
that furloughs have become commonplace in the public sector,
this is not unusual, and given the current circumstances, it’s not
unfair.
What’s repulsive in the extreme is the fact that the senators
themselves, and other elected officials, will not suffer one iota
during the economic crisis that has plagued the rest of us.
Though Senate leaders were all too willing to slice into the
pay of their employees, they have not volunteered to cut their own
salaries.
Oklahomans didn’t feel the pain of the economic meltdown
as quickly as their counterparts in other parts of the country, but
now the hurt is upon us, full-bore and across the board.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Cherokee County’s
legislative contingent is a diamond in the rough. We only wish
voters in the rest of the counties would wise up and plant welldeserved boots in the posteriors of the greedy, out-of-touch
representatives they’ve foisted upon the rest of us.
We need people at the statehouse who are like us, and who
share our pain as well as our hopes and dreams. And with a few
notable exceptions, we ain’t got that.
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 Web site: www.OkPress.com (Under Contests)

Six members, six inventive ideas

Transcription

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