December 2012 Oklahoma Publisher

Transcription

The Oklahoma Publisher
Official Publication of the Oklahoma Press Association
www.OkPress.com
www.Facebook.com/okpress
INSIDE
EXECUTIVE
PRIVILEGE: Gov. Mary
Fallin fights the release of
emails related to her refusal
to create a state health care
exchange.
Vol. 83, No. 12
20 Pages • December 2012
Merry Christmas &
Happy New Year!
from your friends at the
OKLAHOMA PRESS
ASSOCIATION
PAGE 3
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AG RULES MUG SHOTS ARE PUBLIC RECORDS
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt released an
opinion on Nov. 13 saying mug
shots of people arrested by
law enforcement agencies are
open records under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
These records must be
released to the media or any
citizen upon request, the opinion states.
State Sens. Ron Justice and
Jim Halligan requested the
opinion, asking if mug shots
are open records and whether
they must be released in an
electronic format.
Pruitt’s answer to both was
yes.
David Reid, publisher of
OK Jailbaords, pushed for the
opinion after he had trouble
getting mug shots from sheriffs in some cases, the Tulsa
World reported.
“They’re wonderful human
beings and in most cases
they’ve been very cooperative,
and I think most of them would
have been cooperative regardless,” Reid said.
OK Jailbirds publishes mug
shots of all prisoners arrested
in 55 rural Oklahoma counties. Reid said the publication
is available in 850 locations
around the state.
Halligan said he was pleased
with the attorney general’s
opinion. “The public pays for
these mug shots,” he said.
“They ought to have access to
the mug shots.”
The Open Records Act
states that a physical description of the arrestee is considered a record that must be
released if requested.
“The inclusion of a picture
within the term description
has long been recognized by
law,” the opinion states. “In
the case of a person’s physical appearance, a mug shot
provides not only a description
but one of the most accurate
descriptions of an arrestee’s
physical features. Because a
mug shot is one of the best
physical descriptions on an
arrestee, it is a type of record
that must be disclosed.”
Justice and Halligan also
asked whether releasing mug
shots would be an invasion of
privacy. Pruitt said the only
time that could happen is if the
records are released in a way
that implies guilt.
The opinion also said that
if mug shots are kept in electronic format, they must be
released electronically on
request.
Mark Thomas, executive
vice president of the Oklahoma Press Association, said
police mug shots have always
been public records and he
thinks public sentiment is on
the side of keeping them that
way.
Newspaper route
driver alerts
family to fire
A substitute route driver
for the Enid News & Eagle
helped saved the lives of a
family in Garber on Nov. 19.
Frank Hakel, who has
held a number of positions
in the paper’s circulation
department over the past
eight years or so, spotted
the fire at about 12:30 a.m.
as he was driving newspaper bundles to rural carriers.
“I was just coming into
Garber and saw what
looked like a bright light
off to the east of Highway
74,” Hakel said.
That light was a burning house on Main Street,
which was completely
engulfed by flames, and
hot cinders were blowing
toward the next house.
Although Hakel didn’t
Continued on page 2
2
The Oklahoma Publisher // December 2012
VIRGINIA, your little friends are
wrong. They have been affected by the
skepticism of a skeptical age. They do
not believe except [what] they see.
They think that nothing can be
which is not comprehensible by their
little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little.
In this great universe of ours man
is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect,
as compared with the boundless world
about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole
of truth and knowledge.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa
Claus. He exists certainly as love and
generosity and devotion exist, and you
know that they abound and give to your
life its highest beauty and joy.
Alas! How dreary would be the
world if there were no Santa Claus! It
would be as dreary as if there were no
VIRGINIAS.
There would be no childlike faith
then, no poetry, no romance to make
tolerable this existence. We should
have no enjoyment, except in sense and
sight. The eternal light which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You
might as well not believe in fairies! You
might get your papa to hire men to
watch in all the chimneys on Christmas
Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if
they did not see Santa Claus coming
down, what would that prove?
Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that
is no sign that there is no Santa Claus.
The most real things in the world are
those that neither children nor men
can see.
Did you ever see fairies dancing on
the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no
proof that they are not there. Nobody
can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable
in the world.
You tear apart the baby’s rattle and
see what makes the noise inside, but
there is a veil covering the unseen
world, which not the strongest man,
nor even the united strength of all the
strongest man that ever lived, could
tear apart.
Only faith, fancy, poetr y, love,
romance can push aside that curtain
and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond.
Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all
this world there is nothing else real
and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank
GOD! He lives, and he lives forever.
A thousand years from now, nay, ten
times ten thousand years from now, he
will continue to make glad the heart of
childhood.
boys. Once I got them awake, their dad
moved their van over by my car and
they sat in the van. All over the sides
and top of the van, you could see ash
where the fire had been blowing hot
ashes on the van.”
That fire was the first of two fires
on the same city block, said Garfield
County Undersheriff Jerry Niles.
Brad Nulph, circulation manager for
the News & Eagle, said he is proud of
Hakel’s fast thinking during the fire.
“The grandmother of the family next
door called us and wanted Frank to
know the family really appreciated his
quick actions,” Nulph said.
“She wanted to express her heartfelt
thanks.”
UP, UP AND
AWAY!
23$35(6,'(17·6&2/801
&HOHEUDWLQJ1HZVSDSHU+HURHV3DVW3UHVHQW
By Jeff Shultz, Garvin County News Star
Francis Church was a veteran editorial writer. His editorials on city government and the big bosses of the day
sometimes had a bite in them.
He was a veteran newspaperman
and was known in New York for his
hard-nose reporting.
He and his brother, William Conant
Church, had established the The Army
and Navy Journal in 1863 and Galaxy
magazine in 1866.
Francis later became the editorial
writer for his brother’s newspaper, the
New York Sun.
He also had served as a war correspondent during the Civil War.
So, when a little girl’s Letter to the
Editor asked “Is there a Santa Claus?”
Church became the editor of choice
to author a reply when no other editor
wanted to tackle the subject.
Church also huffed at the idea, his
managing editor Edward P. Mitchell
recalled. But he took the assignment
back to his desk and began to write.
At the time Church was 58 years
old and he and his wife had never had
children.
His 500-word response to Virginia
O’Hanlon’s question was an instant
Christmas classic.
While the letter and Church’s reply
have become holiday literary classics,
many people don’t realize both were
printed in the New York Sun in September of 1897 – nowhere close to the
holiday season.
Also, the editorial appeared buried
on the front page among other editorials and news stories such as British
ships found in American waters, problems with Connecticut’s election laws
Fire Continued from Page 1
know if anyone was in the house, he
didn’t take any chances.
“I didn’t know if anyone lived there,
but I went and knocked on the door,”
Hakel said. “The family had four kids
at home – a little girl and three little
and how the chainless bicycle was
going to be unveiled in the next year.
It wasn’t until after his death in 1906
that it became publicly known that
Francis Church had written the editorial reply to Virginia O’Hanlon’s 1897
letter.
Nanette and I want to wish all of
our fellow newspaper publishers and
owners a Very Merry Christmas with
a reprint of possibly the most famous
editorial ever written.
Is There A Santa Claus?
We take pleasure in answering at
once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the
same time our great gratification that
its faithful author is numbered among
the friends of THE SUN:
“DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
“Some of my little friends say there is no
Santa Claus.
“Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN
it’s so.’
“Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa
Claus?
“VIRGINIA O’HANLON.
“115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.”
OPA CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
Complete Listing of Events at
www.OkPress.com
FRI., JAN. 11
ONF – APPLY TO
HOST AN INTERN
Get connected with a student who wants
to work at an Oklahoma newspaper this
year. Host newspaper applications to
the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
internship program are due Jan. 11. At least
19 newspapers will receive funding to host
a journalism student for eight to 10 weeks
in summer 2013. For more information and
to download an application, go to OkPress.
com/internships.
MON., FEB. 4
OPA – DEADLINE FOR
ANNUAL CONTEST ENTRIES
Contest entries must be postmarked
by Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, for the Better
Newspaper Contest, Website Contest, Print
Quality Contest and the Outdoor Writer of
the Year Award. For more information, visit
www.okpress.com/awards.
FRI., FEB. 15
ONF – APPLY FOR
AN INTERNSHIP OR
SCHOLARSHIP
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
awards several internships and three
$1,500 scholarships to Oklahoma
journalism students each year. Applications
for the 2012-13 school year are due by
Feb. 15. University of Oklahoma students
are also eligible to apply for the Breeden
scholarship. View eligibility requirements
and download all applications at OkPress.
com/ONF.
JUNE 13-15, MIDWEST CITY
OPA ANNUAL CONVENTION
The OPA annual convention will be held
June 13-15, 2013, at the Sheraton and
Reed Center in Midwest City.
For more information on upcoming events,
visit the OPA website at www.OkPress.com
or contact Member Services Director Lisa
Potts at (405) 499-0026, 1-888-815-2672
or email [email protected].
Open government advocates criticize
Gov. Fallin’s ‘executive privilege’ claim
Although Gov. Mary Fallin’s office
stated they would comply with The
Oklahoman’s open records request for
emails regarding her decision to reject
the creation of a state health insurance
exchange, the governor defended her
“executive privilege” to withhold certain documents.
The request will include more documents than all other records requests
combined filed at Fallin’s office since
she began her term in 2010, said Fallin’s spokesman Alex Weintz.
The email records will be reviewed
individually by Fallin’s legal advisers,
but the governor will have final say as
to which documents will be considered
privileged and which will be opened for
review, said Weintz.
Fallin’s office previously refused to
publicly release emails that could shed
light on her decision to change her
mind on creating a state health insurance exchange.
In 2011, Fallin accepted $54 million
from the federal government to set up a
state health insurance exchange.
She later rejected the money after
receiving criticism from her Republican
colleagues.
On Nov. 19, Fallin said she would not
set up the state exchange, meaning the
federal government will set one up for
the state.
In response to The Oklahoman’s
records request, Fallin’s general counsel, Steve Mullins, said the emails
involve the governor’s decision-making
process and would not be released.
Hinton Record
editor retires
The Hinton Record’s editor of seven
years has retired.
Susie Boling, who joined The Record
in August 2005, retired on Nov. 7, 2012.
“It’s been a great pleasure to work
with a professional as wonderful as
Susie,” said Brett Wesner, owner of
the Hinton Record. “She’s an excellent
writer and editor and her love for the
community has made her an invaluable
asset to the newspaper. She will be
missed.”
The governor’s office has been criticized for its open records policy.
“Your legal advisers have claimed
that records requested by various
media outlets are protected by privileges that far exceed what the state
Legislature and the state Supreme
Court have granted government officials,” Lindel Hutson, president of FOI
Oklahoma Inc., wrote in a letter to the
governor.
Other open records advocates say
that there is no exemption in the state
Open Records Act for these emails.
Mullins also cited executive privilege and attorney-client privilege as
reasons to not release the documents,
saying that electronic communications
that pertain to state deliberations on
public policy decisions could hurt policymakers’ abilities to have productive
internal discussions.
Weintz said Fallin did not believe
the act was meant to allow access
to “conversations between executive
branch employees working on draft
documents, brainstorming on public
policy ideas, offering advice and counsel to the governor, or otherwise acting
in an advisory role.”
A 2009 opinion from the Oklahoma attorney general’s office seems to
counter this reasoning saying, “Emails,
text messages, and other electronic
communications made or received in
connection with the transaction of public business, the expenditure of public
funds or the administration of public
property are subject to the Oklahoma
Open Records Act.”
Mullins cited federal law and U.S.
Supreme Court decisions in explaining his rejection. He also said certain
verbiage in the act allows exemption for
attorney-client communications.
“The privileges that are in litigation
in Oklahoma are no different from the
privileges that are in litigation in the
federal courts,” said Mullins.
Critics of Mullin’s decision say that
the state Open Records Act does not
allow for executive privilege as an
exemption under the law.
“Our statute is very clear: If there’s
not a state statute that applies directly
to those records, then it’s open,” said
Joey Senat, media law professor at
Oklahoma Sate University.
Senat also claims that Fallin’s policy
would shift the burden of proving the
record is exempt from disclosure from
the record holder to record requester.
Mark Thomas, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Press Association, is concerned by the rejection.
“Historically, when legal counsel
throws up a phalanx of privileges to
protect the executive branch, there is
something amiss,” said Thomas. “We
would think, knowing the financial ramifications of the health care exchange,
that she would be pushing out every
scrap of information, factual and deliberative, to help the public understand
why she is right on this issue.”
The
Oklahoma
Publisher
ISSN 1526-811X
Official Publication of the
Oklahoma Press Association
PUBLISHER
Mark Thomas
[email protected]
EDITOR
Jennifer Gilliland
[email protected]
OPA OFFICERS
Jeff Shultz, President
The Garvin County News Star
Jeff Mayo, Vice President
Sequoyah County Times
Gracie Montgomery, Treasurer
The Purcell Register
Mark Thomas,
Executive Vice President,
Oklahoma City
OPA DIRECTORS
Rusty Ferguson, Past President
The Cleveland American
Jeff Funk, Enid News & Eagle
Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman
Dayva Spitzer, Sayre Record &
Beckham County Democrat
Brian Blansett, Shawnee News-Star
Mike Brown, Neighbor News
Ted Streuli, The Journal Record
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499
(405) 499-0020
Toll-Free in Oklahoma: (888) 815-2672
www.OkPress.com
[email protected]
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3
4
Muskogee DA named in lawsuit
OPA Executive Director Mark Thomas, right, congratulates U.S. Rep. James
Lankford on his election as Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee
for the 113th Congress. Thomas met with Lankford in his Washington D.C. office
on Dec. 4 during the Newspaper Association Manager’s Legislative Conference.
Thomas and Lankford also discussed the status of the United States Postal Service
and their efforts to compete directly with newspapers through a negotiated
service agreement with direct mailer Valassis.
Muskogee County’s chief prosecutor was recently named in a lawsuit
alleging he and his office violated the
Open Records Act.
The lawsuit was filed by Leif Wright,
who operates MuskogeeNOW.com, an
online news service.
Wright filed a records request seeking internal communications regarding
courthouse security and surveillance.
The request was filed by lawyers
representing Wright after the Muskogee County Bar Association filed a
complaint against District Attorney
Larry Moore. The complaint alleges
that Moore and others in his office had
access to live audio and video feeds of
courtrooms while defense lawyers consulted with clients.
In Wright’s petition, he alleged
Moore initially denied the existence
of the requested records. Two weeks
later, Moore provided some of the documents.
Wright alleges that Moore is withholding more documents regarding the
matter.
“We are looking for anything that
was recorded in some way, related to
the courthouse security and surveillance issue,” Wright said. “We know for
a fact he held out because he turned
over emails he had said didn’t exist.”
Muskogee County Bar Association
members have expressed concern that
prosecutors could have eavesdropped
on attorney-client conversations in the
Muskogee County courthouse.
Moore says his office never engaged
in anything illegal or unethical. He
has requested an OSBI investigation
to uncover any wrongdoing. The FBI
is also looking into the possibility of
federal violations.
OSBI releases records in Seminole case
The Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation has released documents
they previously refused to make public
regarding the Nov. 9 arrest of a Seminole teenager charged with murder.
Jonathan Weaver, 15, is charged with
the stabbing death of Nick Tilley, 16.
Seminole Police Lt. Branon Bowen said
investigators believe the incident might
have been gang related.
OSBI Director Stan Florence said
he is looking into possible solutions
to a dispute over open records that
began when the agency’s general counsel refused to release records about the
arrest of Weaver.
The OSBI took over the investigation at the request of Seminole police.
After a judge sealed an arrest affi-
davit in the case, The Oklahoman
requested those records. The judge
cited concerns that witnesses named
in the document had been threatened.
OSBI General Counsel Jimmy Bunn
denied The Oklahoman’s request. Bunn
argued that a law making records related to OSBI investigations confidential
exempted the agency from the Open
Records Act’s requirement to release
records containing facts concerning an
arrest and other basic information.
Open government advocates said
Bunn’s interpretation of the law goes
against the foundation of the state’s
openness laws and that it would allow
the agency to arrest people without telling the public who they arrest or why.
City of Beaver to be audited by state
State Auditor and Inspector Gary
Jones recently confirmed that the town
of Beaver will be audited by the state.
The auditor and inspector’s office
received a petition with 110 verified
signatures asking for the audit. Only 90
verified signatures were necessary for
the audit to be performed.
The petition sites six items the
citizens would like audited: possible
irregularities in city purchasing policies and procedures; possible irregularities and a review of costs associated
with the Beaver Public Works Author-
ity’s operation of a local recreational
area; possible irregularities and/or
misuse of public funds and review of
costs associated with the Beaver Public
Works Authority’s water billing practices, operations and usage reporting;
possible irregularities and violations
of the Oklahoma Open Records Act;
possible irregularities and violations
of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act;
and possible misappropriation of public
property, equipment and/or resources
for personal use.
Beaver will have to pay for the audit.
PROMOTIONS, NEW HIRES
OKLAHOMAN PROMOTES
BUNYAN, MECOY
Clytie Bunyan, The Oklahoman’s
business editor, has been promoted to
director of business and lifestyles.
Finance reporter Don Mecoy will
take over as business editor.
Bunyan joined The Oklahoman as a
metro reporter in 1989.
She later moved to the business
beat and has covered real estate, small
business and retail.
Bunyan was named business editor
in 2003.
“Bunyan is a demonstrated leader
in this newsroom,” said Kelly Dyer
Fry, editor of The Oklahoman and vice
president of news and information for
OPUBCO Communications Group.
“She has led with a calm, assertive
resolve that inspires confidence in
those around her. She’s a champion
for journalistic integrity. I think she
will bring a wealth of talent to this
position.”
Mecoy is an award-winning reporter who has worked for The Oklahoman for 26 years. He has won awards
for features, news and business stories
and for headline writing. Mecoy has
covered Oklahoma’s financial industry
and public companies for the past 11
years. He will continue to cover financial matters.
“Mecoy has previously served as
city editor for us. He’s a proven leader
with solid news judgment and a firm
grasp of business and finance,” Fry
said.
LAWTON CONSTITUTION NAMES
KIM DODDS AS AD DIRECTOR
Kim Dodds, a Lawton native with
years of media experience, has joined
the Lawton Constitution as advertising
director.
Dodds is a graduate of Lawton High
School and earned a business degree
from Cameron University in Lawton.
This is not her first time in the
newspaper business. During her last
semester in college, Dodds interned
with the paper.
After school she worked in sales
for local radio stations KLAW, Z94 and
My107.3. She was later named sales
manager and served as general manager for the stations for 13 years.
Dodds took several months off after
leaving the radio world before deciding to try the newspaper industry.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to work for an institution that
has such a legacy in Southwest Oklahoma,” she said.
Although her professional experience is in radio, she believes that experience will transfer to a new format.
“You want to help your clients develop the best advertising plan that’s
going to work for them,” she said. “It’s
all a matter of knowing your client
and knowing what their needs are and
helping them meet their needs.”
DUNCAN BANNER NAMES
MEGAN BRISTOW AS REPORTER
The Duncan Banner has added a
new reporter to its staff.
Megan Bristow, a Cameron University graduate, comes to the paper from
The Lawton Constitution where she
covered Arts & Entertainment.
“She comes highly recommended
and has already been out in the community covering Main Street events
and has met several of our local leaders,” said Tony Hopper, Banner interim managing editor. “We know she
will make a significant contribution
not only to The Banner, but the community as well.”
Bristow will also write stories for
“Duncan…the magazine” and will
assist Hopper with online duties for
duncanbanner.com.
ART LAWLER JOINS STAFF AT
ADA NEWS AS REPORTER
A 42-year newspaper veteran has
joined The Ada News as a reporter.
Art Lawler, who has experience in
papers in Texas and Idaho, is rejoining his former editor, Gene Lehmann.
Lehmann, who is managing editor at
The News, and Lawler both worked
together at the Athens (Texas) Daily
Review in 2004-2005.
Lawler has worked as either a
reporter or editor for the Abilene
Reporter-News, the Plano Star Courier, the Idaho Statesman in Boise, the
Garland News, The Dallas Morning
News, the Athens Daily Review and
the Longview News Journal.
He has won numerous Associated
Press first-place awards and other
awards from the Texas Press Association and the Texas Sportswriters
Association.
“Not only is Art a great investigative journalist and writer, he’s one of
the best columnists I’ve had the pleasure to work with,” Lehmann said. “It
is certainly a pleasure to have Art on
staff doing what he does best – telling
and writing stories that engage readers.”
MIAMI NEWS-RECORD NAMES
PATRICK MULLIKIN AS EDITOR
Patrick Mullikin has been named as
editor of the Miami News-Record.
Mullikin will oversee the writing
staff at the News-Record as well as
some of its sister publications, said
Publisher Cheryl Franklin.
Mullikin is a 1982 graduate of the
University of Missouri-Columbia
School of Journalism. He is a former
U.S. Navy journalist and has worked
in newsrooms in California, Indiana,
Nevada, Utah and Vermont.
“I look forward to working with the
staffs of these great publications and
meeting members of the community,”
said Mullikin. “And I do have a connection with Oklahoma: My father was
born in Tulsa in 1909.”
OU’S DAILY HAS NEW EDITOR
The University of Oklahoma’s student-run newspaper, The Oklahoma
Daily, has a new editor-in-chief.
The Student Media Publications
board announced that Mary Stanfield
would replace current editor Laney
Ellisor, who recently retired for health
reasons.
Stanfield started working at The
Daily in 2009 as a columnist. She
spent the next three semesters as a
columnist and copy editor. In the fall
she began work as the opinion editor,
a position she still holds.
Does your newspaper have new staff members or have current staff members been promoted?
Let us know by emailing information to [email protected].
5
OPA receives
applications for
membership
The Eastern Times Register has
applied for a business membership in
the Oklahoma Press Association and
the Cherokee Phoenix has applied for a
sustaining membership.
The Eastern Times Register, a weekly newspaper published in Sequoyah
County, lists Jeff Mayo as publisher.
The Register’s periodical mailing permit has been in effect since March 24,
2010, according to the application.
The application lists the Eastern
Times Register’s address as 100-B
Davis Lane in Roland, Okla; phone
(918) 427-3636 and email as news@
bigbasinllc.com.
The Cherokee Phoenix is seeking to
renew its sustaining membership. Its
past membership lapsed due to budgetary constraints, said Bryan Pollard,
Phoenix executive editor.
The Phoenix lists its address as
P.O. Box 948, Tahlequah, Okla.; phone
(918) 453-5269 and email as editor@
cherokee.org.
The Oklahoma Press Association
Board of Directors will vote on the business application of the Eastern Times
Register and the sustaining membership application of the Cherokee Phoenix at their next meeting on Jan. 17,
2013. Any current member wishing to
object to either application must do so
in writing to the OPA at 3601 N. Lincoln
Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5499,
by Jan. 7, 2013.
Shopping in Shidler
If you stop by The Review’s office in
Shidler, Okla., spend a little time shopping.
Housed in the newspaper office is
owner and publisher Sheila Wilhelm’s
retail store, She’s All That.
Wilhelm created the one-of-a-kind
retail shop to serve Shidler and the surrounding area. She encouraged local
crafters and artisans in the area to
place their goods in her retail space on
consignment.
The result is a boutique-style retail
shop offering unique baby gifts and
novelty toys as well as stylish purses,
wallets, bags and jewelry.
6
Anschutz buys
Colorado paper;
Hight named editor
Phillip Anschutz, owner of the Oklahoma Publishing Co. (OPUBCO),
recently purchased the Colorado
Springs Gazette.
Joe Hight, a veteran reporter and
editor for The Oklahoman, was named
The Gazette’s new editor after the
acquisition.
The Gazette is the second largest
daily newspaper in Colorado with a
daily circulation of 74,172.
Hight led efforts at The Oklahoman
that include the “Know It” online communities, as well as the award winning
“Your Right to Know” projects.
In 1995, Hight served as team leader
for victim coverage after the Oklahoma City bombing. The coverage won
two Society of Professional Journalists awards, a national Dart Award for
Excellence in Coverage of Violence and
several other awards.
He also served two terms as president of the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, an international organization based at Columbia University.
There he authored and co-authored
print and online booklets and columns
that are still in use today.
“Joe has been a tremendous asset to
us. We will miss him, but we are thrilled
with this new opportunity,” said Kelly
Dyer Fry, editor of The Oklahoman
and vice president of news for OPUBCO Communications Group. “We are
looking forward to working with The
Gazette’s newsroom under Joe’s leadership. It also opens up career advancement and mobility opportunities for our
staff that we have not had in the past.
Having three newspapers within the
same family will afford myriad partnership possibilities.”
PLAYER PROFILE
Name:
VICKIE LEE HOGAN, Owner, GARBER-BILLINGS NEWS
EDUCATION: ITT Business Institute
SPOUSE/CHILDREN: Husband - Matthew Hogan, Painter at Ditch Witch; son - Bobby
Hogan, attorney for NOAA; daughter - Kimmi Hogan, oral surgery assistant
NEWSPAPER BACKGROUND: Garber-Billings News, owner/editor since 1993
Each month, The Publisher will profile a newspaper executive in this space. Learn more about your peers from all
corners of the state. To request the questionnaire for your Player Profile, email [email protected].
Q:
A:
Q:
Q:
A:
What’s something most people don’t
know about you?
I love hearing old stories from senior
citizens.
Q:
What’s the best/most unusual part of
your job?
A:
Hearing how excited the kids are when
they see themselves in the paper.
Q:
A:
What civic activities are you involved in?
All.
A:
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
Who’s had the biggest influence on your
career?
My family.
What would you describe as the three
most important responsibilities of your
job?
Honesty.
What about newspaper publishing gets
you out of bed in the morning? What
makes you want to stay in bed?
The deadline and the deadline.
What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve
overcome in your career?
Self-confidence
What are you most proud of?
My family.
Q:
A:
Q:
What are your hobbies?
A:
Q:
Keeping community informed.
A:
Q:
Oldest business (110-years) in town.
A:
Q:
The economy.
A:
The school.
Spending time with family.
How does your newspaper play an
important part in the community?
In what ways has the newspaper
positively impacted your community?
What challenges are facing your
newspaper today and in the future?
What are some area attractions in your
community visitors shouldn’t miss?
Three Oklahoma journalists receive state honors
LIBERTY BELL AWARD
Tulsa World reporter Ginnie Graham was honored in November with
the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award.
The award is presented annually to a
non-lawyer or lay organization for promoting or publicizing matters regarding the legal system.
Graham was recognized for her
series of investigative articles titled
“Oklahoma Crisis: Child Abuse and
Neglect,” which documented Oklahoma’s efforts to identify and treat the
state’s abused and neglected children.
The series ran in the World from April
to August this year.
Graham has been a reporter at the
World for 18 years, covering education,
criminal justice and social issues.
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Kelly Dyer Fry, editor of The Oklahoman and vice president of news for
OPUBCO Communications Group, was
one of the top 10 women named in OKC
Friday’s “Most Powerful Women” poll.
Christy Gaylord Everest, former
CEO of OPUBCO, also was among the
top ten on the list.
The poll dealt specifically with the
greater Oklahoma City area. This is
the first year that OKC Friday has done
the poll.
The paper mailed more than 350 ballots to prominent and informed leaders
in business, education, finance, government, media and civic organizations.
The ballots had 110 names of prominent women to choose from as well as
space to write in names.
PATHMAKER AWARD
Anthony Shadid has become the
youngest Oklahoman ever to be named
Pathmaker of Oklahoma City/County
by the Oklahoma City/County Historical Society.
The award was given “In recognition
of outstanding service in the field of
journalism and the documentation of
his rich family heritage in Oklahoma.”
The late Pulitzer Prize winning journalist had worked at the New York
Times, Washington Post, Associated
Press and Boston Globe.
He was posthumously awarded the
honor in November of this year.
Papers urge readers to Shop Small
Several Oklahoma newspapers promoted “Shop Small Saturday,” an event
created by American Express in 2010 to
help small businesses get more exposure during one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year.
The event is held the Saturday after
Thanksgiving.
The logo for Shop Small was spotted in the pages of the Oologah Lake
Leader in 2x2 ads that promoted “Small
Facts,” such as “Mustang Fitness in
Oologah is open seven days a week,
24 hours a day.” Oologah also ran sig
pages with ads promoting Shop Small.
It also listed Shop Small Saturday on
the paper’s Community Calendar, along
with other upcoming events.
Publisher Faith Wylie promoted
Shop Small in her Reflections column
on Nov. 15. In that column, Wylie said
she had been posting to Facebook
about shopping at local businesses and
urged her readers to “give our local
businesses an early Christmas gift and
get some buzz going.”
In conclusion, Wylie urged readers
to “do something big. Shop Small, and
spread the word to your friends. It may
seem like a little thing, but it makes a
big difference for our community.”
Also promoting Shop Small Saturday were the Guthrie News-Leader
and Blackwell Journal-Tribune. Both
papers ran a story about the event on
page one.
The Norman Transcript ran some
ads offering 20 percent off on Black
Friday and Shop Small Saturday.
DEATHS
JEROME A. ‘JERRY:
LAIZURE, an award-
winning news and
sports photojournalist and senior staff
photographer for The
Norman Transcript,
died Dec. 3, 2012. He
was 59.
Laizure was born Nov. 13, 1953, in
Oklahoma City. He grew up in Bartlesville and began working for the local
newspaper at age 14. He later worked
for newspapers in Pawhuska, Norman,
Oklahoma City and Noble. His sports
ANN KELLEY WEAVER,
a longtime
Oklahoma journalist
and reporter at The
Oklahoman, died Nov.
28, 2012. She was 41.
Weaver was born in
Dos Palos, Calif. She
was a graduate of Fresno State University and East Central University and
worked as a social worker and legal
assistant before beginning her career
in journalism.
Weaver was a reporter at The Ada
Evening News and The Shawnee News-
photography was widely published and
won numerous awards.
He attended the University of Oklahoma School of Journalism and worked
for the student newspaper for many
years. He married Peggy Nelson on
Feb. 11, 1972.
Laizure was co-founder and co-publisher of the Cleveland County Record,
a weekly newspaper in Noble. The Norman Transcript purchased the Record
in 1989 and retained Laizure as the
newspaper’s editor.
Laizure was The Transcript’s senior
photographer at the time of his death.
His photos have been honored with
awards from the Associated Press,
Society of Professional Journalists and
Oklahoma Press Association.
Survivors include his wife Peggy of
the home; daughter, Jennifer Laizure
and her husband Richard of Edmond;
sons Phillip Laizure and his wife Kao
of Norman, and Jackson and his wife
Amy of Norman; seven grandchildren;
three brothers, John Laizure and his
wife Debi of Broken Arrow, Joe Laizure
and his wife Marjie of Mankato, Minn.,
and Tony Laizure and his wife Brenda
of Tulsa; and a sister, Linda Laizure of
Tulsa.
Star before she began her career at The
Oklahoman in 2002.
Throughout her journalism career
Weaver won numerous awards for
breaking news, investigative and government reporting.
In 1999, she was an Associated Press
sweepstakes winner for her stories
about two wrongfully convicted men.
Her work is featured in John Grisham’s
book “The Innocent Man” and was also
used as a source in “Actual Innocence,”
a book co-authored by the founder of
the Innocent Project, Berry Scheck.
Weaver was part of a team of reporters from The Oklahoman and Tulsa
World that won a Great Plains Journalism Award for their project about group
homes. That project also won awards
from the Associated Press/Oklahoma
News Executives and the Society of
Professional Journalists.
She is survived by her husband, Bob,
of the home; children, Austin Weaver,
Molly Weaver Forsythe and husband
Colt, Bobby Weaver and wife Kristen;
parents Victor Barron II and Georgia
Uremovic; sister Courtney Bullen and
husband Brian; brother Victor Barron
III and wife Kandi; grandmother MaryLou Bertoloti; and five grandchildren.
In memory of our Friends and Colleagues
Dec. 10, 2011 – Mandell Matheson
Dec. 18, 2011 – Robert H. ‘Bob’ Scully
Jan. 1, 2012 – Roberta Jean Parker
Jan. 6, 2012 – Verner John Salamone
Jan. 6, 2012 – Betty Watson
DONATE
TO ONF
A donation to the Oklahoma
Newspaper Foundation will
support its efforts to improve
the state’s newspaper industry
and quality of journalism.
ONF’s programs include
training and education for
professional journalists,
scholarship and internship
programs for journalism
students, and Newspaper in
Education efforts.
ONF relies on donations and
memorial contributions to fund
these programs.
If you would like to make a
donation, please send a check
to:
OKLAHOMA
NEWSPAPER
FOUNDATION
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
7
8
EXPLAIN POLLS TO YOUR READERS
Clark’s Critique
by Terry Clark
Journalism Professor,
University of Central Oklahoma,
[email protected]
Because of their polling, Mitt Romney, his family and campaign people
were confident of victory and then literally stunned and shell-shocked as the
election night results rolled in.
http://www.tnr.com/blog/plank/110597/exclusivethe-polls-made-mitt-romney-think-hed-win#
This link explains why they were so
wrong. What they really needed was
this Prof’s Primer on Polling, especially
this editor’s checklist for evaluating
polling, or any research.
Americans are justifiably suspicious
of polling, and not just for political
reasons. Some of the fault lies with
newspapers and broadcast that have
reported off-beat “research” to try to
snag audience. Last month I referred
to USA Today once carrying a Women’s
Day poll of its readers showing they
wouldn’t marry the same man. That
poll was loaded with faults, and the
media failed to point them out. Then
Fox picked up the myth in September
and continued with it. That’s just one
example.
So below is this editor’s checklist for
evaluating polls. I think this should also
be every American’s checklist, too.
This month, Oklahoma newspapers covered the new open carry law, veterans, local politics and more. Featured this month are The
Claremore Daily Progress, Muskogee Phoenix, The Bethany Tribune, Weatherford Daily News, El Reno Tribune, Daily Elk Citian and The
Countywide & Sun.
If you’re an editor and can’t answer
those questions satisfactorily, you
shouldn’t print the story, unless you
explain the faults to your readers.
A few of the faults of the Women’s
Day poll and article: 1. It’s not random for all women in America, only
subscribers. 2. Women’s Day has more
than one million subscribers. About
100,000 responded. 3. The results were
clipped out of the magazine and sent in
(pre-Internet). 4. Once the magazine
got the results, some of them were not
counted.
Bottom line: Reporting misleading
CLARK’S CHECKLIST FOR EVALUATING POLLS
1.
2.
3.
Who sponsored the polling? Is there
a conflict of interest? Political polling
is especially suspect if it’s loaded with
distrust for the other side. Beware any
polling done by a PR firm for a client.
I understand the Republicans with their
distrust of the so-called “liberal media”
wanting to conduct their own polls. But
they fell victim to the same faults they
suspected from the other side.
Who was included in the polling? If you
poll certain age groups or geographic
areas or don’t reach likely voters, your
results will not be valid. See number
three.
How were the people chosen? Was it a
true “random” sample? If not, the results
will be skewed (as with Romney’s polling).
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
How many people were in the sample?
If the poll has fewer than 1,100 respondents, your margin of error is going to be
more than three percent.
What was the response rate? If your
sample was 1,000 and only 400
answered, you get results like the Women’s Day article, which threw out more
than it counted. Don’t seriously consider
any response rate less than 60 percent.
How accurate are the results? Always
compute the margin of error – if results
were within it, then “it’s too close to call.”
Who were the interviewers? Were they
professionally trained and neutral? If
not, prejudice, inflection of the voice and
other factors can affect results.
How was the polling conducted? Robocall? In person? If it was a call in or send
in, the results are worthless because
they’re not random.
9. When was the poll conducted? Results
can change overnight.
10. What were the actual questions asked?
Wording can influence results, and can
lead to opposite results on the same
matter, depending on wording.
11. Are the results cause and effect or just
correlation? I saw a headlined story
once: “Want to live a longer life? Marry
yourself a younger wife.” The poll found
that men with younger wives lived longer. But – this might not be cause and
effect because there are many other
factors involved – health, wealth, etc.
12. Does the headline match the polling
results?
polls misleads your readers, and hurts
credibility of the newspaper.
So, a responsible newspaper reporting polling results should include an
explanatory item with every story. It
should be written along these lines:
“The Daily Geezer poll of 1,200 registered voters in Geezer County was
conducted Oct. 31, 2012, and asked two
questions: ‘Will you vote Nov. 6?’ and
‘Which presidential candidate will you
vote for?’ The results have a margin of
error of plus and minus three percent.”
A final note: Newspapers have an
obligation to explain all this to their
readers – no other media is doing it.
Feel free to take last month’s column
and this one and make them into a nifty
two-part commentary piece on your
editorial pages. All I ask is a byline.
LOOKIN’EM OVER:
Have you done a
story on “open carry” yet? Michael Cox
of the Cherokee Messenger & Republican interviewed the police chief. Head:
“Chief says open carry about attitude.”
Todd Brooks of the Marlow Review
found not much had changed locally.
The Daily Elk Citian and The Tribune in
Bethany also carried stories.
Pearl Harbor gets less coverage as
Continued on Page 9
Clark’s Critique Continued from Page 8
the years go by, But the Seminole Producer, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise,
Eddie A. Owens at Clayton Today, Kingfisher Times & Free Press, Hominy News
Progress and The Eakly Country Connection carried stories. Wendy Burton
of the Muskogee Phoenix talked to local
vets.
Several papers carried veteran’s stories. The Chelsea Reporter carried a
story by the Vinita Daily Journal’s Denton Thomason about a local vet on the
honor flights. Headline: “It’s never too
late to welcome a WWII veteran home.”
But it will be too late if you don’t do
the stories now. Ben Fenwick of the
Oklahoma Gazette reports that WWII
vets in Oklahoma are dying at the rate
of 740 a day. Headline: “Twilight’s Last
Gleaming.” Jeanne Grimes of The Purcell Register photographed and reported on a veteran’s day assembly.
At The Countywide & Sun, here’s
Johnna Ray’s excellent lead on “PTSD
– the lasting cloud of combat”: “The
four-lane highway quickly narrowed to
two as red and white lights from front
and rear illuminated an otherwise black
night. / “Thick, solid concrete barriers on either side amplified the heavy
feel of rapid compression, tightening
muscles that pressed the brake pedal
and gripped the wheel for control. /
“Suddenly, as if in a dream, Mark Conley was no longer passing through a
construction zone on a safe American
highway. As he fought to steady his
breathing, in his mind he was again
trapped in the middle of a security
check in Iraq, hoping he could escape
but feeling closed in from every angle
– a sitting duck. / “It had been almost
four years since he last touched desert
soil but in that instant, it was as if he
never had left the Middle East. / “That
initial thought of ‘I’m in America, I’m
safe,’ gets pushed to the back… .”
If you need guaranteed readership,
do what Carmen Bourlon of the Shawnee News-Star did. Under the headline
“Marriage Debate,” she interviewed
locals about the upcoming Supreme
Court case on gay marriage. Jenna
Mariani of the Weatherford Daily News
interviewed people getting ready for
the predicted doomsday. Everett Brazil
III of the Hollis News wrote about state
efforts to encourage adoption under
“Families grow with adoption.”
A tip of the editor’s hat to Claremore
Daily Progress editor Randy Cowling
and reporter Salesha Wilken for having the guts to cover a hostile county
commission in reporting and editorials.
Headline: “Helm, Thacker: Caught and
Warned.” And that allowed neighbor
John M. Wylie II at the Oologah Lake
Leader to get ‘flatulence” in a headline.
It’s great to see collaboration between
journalists – on this, or as at Chelsea
and Vinita.
Another such instance is at Madill
and Marietta. Mark Codner of the
Madill Record investigates a story of
statewide significance – the decline of
Lake Texoma because of silting and
nutrients, showing maps of change in
just the past eight years. Headline:
“Sustaining Texoma – Sedimentation
– water becomes land.” Marietta Moni-
tor carries it on page one,
too. Headline, “Trouble at
Texoma?”
Nothing like good writing. Rose Lane at OKC Friday: “What constitutes a pothole just got smaller in The
Village. / “The City Council
has approved a revision… .”
Headline: “Potholes, potties,
pinpointed under re-codification.”
The Hennessey Clipper:
“The Hennessey Board of
Education spent 2 hours and
15 minutes in closed session
Monday night to discuss the
rehiring of the superintendent, but who was counting the hours? / “Supt. Joe
McCulley. / “He was rehired
in open session in a 3-2 vote
on a three-year contract... .”
Russell Hixson of the Stillwater NewsPress, headlined,
“Man on the move”: “It’s hard to imagine how Bob Johnson finds time to run.
In addition to being mayor of Perkins,
Johnson pastors church, volunteers as
a reserve police officer and does other
odd jobs around the city. / “But when
he does run, few can catch up. / “At
the Oklahoma City Marathon in July,
the 76-year-old ran a half marathon….”
Ray Lokey of the Johnston County
Capital-Democrat in a front page column about hometown country music
star Miranda Lambert opening a Pink
Pistol restaurant in town, which included a page on pink newsprint: “In previous years, Tishomingo has turned
into a ghost town during Thanksgiving
weekend as folks headed for the woods
to deer hunt, are gone to grandma’s
Looking for a Complete
house, or skipped town to do some
early Christmas shopping. / “Not this
year. / “Instead of Tishomingo being
a place to leave behind, it became a
destination.”
Finally, disturbing news that affects
us all from the Guthrie News-Leader
reporting that the Oklahoma State Capital Publishing Museum is shut down.
Why? The state can’t afford to replace
a $150,000 boiler.
HEAD’EM UP AWARDS. First place, tie:
Okarche Chieftain, on a Matt Montgomery story about a vineyard owner:
Dow turns water into wine
Oologah Lake Leader on a John M.
Wylie II news analysis of the Claremore
Daily Progress battle with county commissioners:
Thacker says The Progress
spews ‘written flatulence’
Second place, The Bigheart Times, on
a Louise Red Corn story about a blood
splatter analysis course:
The Bloody Truth
Third place, Eufaula Indian Journal
on a Jerry Fink story localizing the
federal threat to cutback school lunch
programs, and quoting Oliver Twist:
‘Give me more,’ hungry students plead.
Honorable mentions not mentioned
or pictured earlier: Woodward News,
on photo of Christmas light vandalism,
“Bah humbug”; Weekly Express, on a
John Morse story, “Shoot a gun, go
to jail”: Spiro Graphic, on a Jim Fienup
story, “Escape artist faces charges –
Drives off in sheriff’s unit”; Chickasha Express-Star, on Lauren Carter’s
story about a new casino, “Gambling
in Grady.”
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THE OGE PHOTO CONTEST
Alva Middle School students and teachers show off their anti-bullying t-shirts Wednesday morning. Students seated on the floor form the letters “STOP BULLYING”
Photo by LYNN MARTIN, Alva Review-Courier, Oct.. 19, 2012
OCTOBER 2012 WEEKLY WINNER:
LYNN MARTIN
Alva Review-Courier
OCTOBER 2012 DAILY WINNER:
KYLE PHILLIPS
The Norman Transcript
The October 2012 contest
was judged by a member of the
Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
ENTER AND WIN A $100 CHECK FROM
OGE ENERGY CORP.
View contest rules and
all winning photos at
www.OkPress.com/OGE-Photo-Contest
Moore High’s Hannah Lynch (19) dives for home as she tries to avoid being tagged out Friday during the
Lions’ game against Broken Arrow during the 6A state softball tournament at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Photo by KYLE PHILLIPS,The Norman Transcript, Oct. 13, 2012
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11
SPONSOR A GIANT POSTCARD AT THE STATE CAPITOL
A visual history told through postcards awaits visitors to the Oklahoma
State Capitol who enter through the
west corridor.
Awaiting them are giant 40x60 inch
(3.5x5 foot), high resolution, digitally
copied and printed postcards from original 1920s to 1950s Linen Era cards.
The cards are on display for at least
two years and then are replaced with
newly sponsored cards, said Stu Ostler,
Legislative Service Bureau photo division manager at the Capitol.
“The original cards are from my personal collection that I started about 10
years ago,” Ostler said.
The “Linen Era” postcards were produced on paper with a high rag content,
which gave them a fabric-type look and
feel. The technique allowed for very
vibrant ink colors and were less expensive to produce.
Friends of the Capitol, which is
devoted to providing private funds to
maintain and improve the beauty of the
Capitol building and its works of art,
started the exhibit in 2005.
The project is now starting its Sec-
ond Edition and is looking for sponsors
for the new cards that will be displayed.
Ostler said there is space for as many
as 34 big postcards along the west corridor.
Postcard sponsors can choose from
over 175 cards from many parts of
the state. The $425 donation for each
postcard includes the cost of printing,
mounting and hanging the card. Each
sponsor is acknowledged by printing
their name in the lower edge of the
card.
The collection contains postcards
from Altus, Antlers, Alva, Ardmore,
Bartlesville, Chickasha, Claremore,
Clinton, Cushing, Davis, Durant, El
Reno, Enid, Fort Sill, Guthrie, Hobart,
Hugo, Kingfisher, Lawton, Miami,
Muskogee, Newkirk, Norman, Oklahoma City, Okmulgee, Ponca City, Shawnee, Sulphur, Tahlequah, Tulsa and
Vinita, as well as others.
For more information about the
State Capitol Big Postcard Project, contact Ostler at (405) 521-4071 or email
[email protected].
The Oklahoma State Capitol Big Postcard Collection project is embarking on its second
edition. For a donation of $425, you can sponsor a giant 40x60 inch postacard that will
hang in the west corridor of the Capitol.
OPA board reviews membership survey at November meeting
Board of Directors met Nov. 15 in Oklahoma City.
Officers attending were President Jeff Shultz, The Garvin County
News Star; Vice President Jeff Mayo,
Sequoyah County Times; and Treasurer Gracie Montgomery, The Purcell
Register.
Directors attending were past president Rusty Ferguson, The Cleveland
American; Dayva Spitzer, Sayre Record
& Beckham County Democrat; Robby
Trammell, The Oklahoman; Brian Blansett, Shawnee News-Star; Mike Brown,
Neighbor News; and Ted Streuli, The
Journal Record. Jeff Funk, Enid News
& Eagle, was absent.
Also attending were OPA staff members Mark Thomas, executive vice
president/secretary, and Lisa Potts,
member services director.
After calling the meeting to order,
Shultz asked the board to review minutes of the Sept. 20, 2012, meeting.
The board approved the minutes as
presented.
OPA and LSP financial statements
for the period ending Oct. 31, 2012,
were reviewed and the board acknowledged receipt of the statements. The
board also reviewed and acknowledged
receipt of OPA and LSP investment
reports for the period ending Oct. 31.
The board approved the proposed OPA
and LSP budgets for 2012-13.
DAMAGE CLAIM TO BE FILED
In other business, Thomas recommended the OPA file a claim against
the City of Oklahoma City to replace
the front driveway at the OPA building,
which was damaged when a water pipe
burst under the city-owned sidewalk
on July 3, 2012, and caused cavities in
the soil under the driveway. The board
unanimously authorized Thomas to file
the property damage claim.
MEMBERSHIP SURVEY
On Oct. 16, an online survey was distributed to all OPA business members
to determine their satisfaction with
OPA services, inquire about topics for
training and determine the need for
industry promotion. Sixty-two responses were received. The survey determined the following eight items on
which to focus and consider possible
changes:
1. Promote/advocate for newspapers
2. Promote/advocate for newspaper
advertising
3. Promote idea sharing between
members
4. Promote Online Media Campus
webinars and other affordable,
industry webinars
5. Workshop topics for Education
Committee’s consideration: Advertising sales, digital strategies, social
media efforts, circulation tactics
6. Analysis of website redesign options
7. Find balance between materials
mailed and emailed to members
8. Promote content exchange signup
again
OPS BOARD MEETING
At the OPS board meeting, board
members approved the minutes of the
Sept. 20, 2012, meeting as presented.
The board reviewed OPS financial
statements for the period ending Oct.
31, 2012, and acknowledged receipt of
the statements.
Board members also discussed
the proposed OPS budget for 201213, which includes a salary for a new
OCAN/2x2 salesperson beginning in
2013. The budget also includes plans
to produce the 18th edition of the Open
Meetings and Records book in the summer of 2013 after the conclusion of the
legislative session. The board approved
the proposed budget as presented.
Following the management review,
Shultz said the board was pleased with
results of the membership survey
and the action items the staff plans
to review and adopt. The board also
expressed appreciation for the preparation Thomas has made for the coming
legislative session.
Thomas reported that the Texas
Daily Newspaper Association has
decided to cease operation and that its
members are joining the Texas Press
Association.
12
O K L A H O M A
P R E S S
A S S O C I A T I O N
Past Presidents Report
NOVEMBER 2012
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
compiles this annual
Past Presidents Report
as a way of recognizing
and keeping in touch
with those who dedicated
their time and efforts
to serve the press association.
1959 – ED & MELBA LIVERMORE
Ed and Melba celebrated the birth
of their sixth great grandchild, Hudson
Camack Altwise, this year. They recommend life at Inverness Village in Tulsa, and
see their family often.
“We are blessed with a loving family who
visit often and have a strong allegiance for
each other,” they wrote.
“We have always looked forward to this
dinner and the opportunity to greet old
newspaper compatriots and meet new members. We do keep current by avidly reading
The Oklahoma Publisher,” they wrote.
Ed attended the dinner with his son,
Ed Jr.
1972 – HELEN (D. JO) FERGUSON
Helen celebrated her 90th birthday in
April with a big community party at the
Christian Church in Pawnee, where she still
plays the organ.
“I gained two new great-grandsons and
had two granddaughters get married, otherwise things are pretty calm in Pawnee,”
she said. “I do miss seeing our old friends.”
Helen was unable to attend this year’s
dinner.
1974 – MARIBETH (JIM) PATE
Since losing Jim last year, Maribeth has
been spending time with family. She’s also
in outpatient therapy after she suffered two
falls, fracturing her right arm and dislocating her left elbow.
“I feel like a football player,” she wrote.
She traveled from Dallas to Norman with
her son Bill and his family – Kathe, Emily
and Catie – to see some actual football players in the OU-Iowa state game. She visited
Oklahoma City for the holidays as well. Her
grandson James Gallardo, son of Marti Pate
Gallardo and Armando Gallardo in New
York, joined the ranks of Pate newsmen. He
graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2011 and is now a market analyst
for Barron’s magazine.
Maribeth wrote, “Spending time besides
family visits at usual interests: music choir,
chimes, leading sing-alongs, Big Brothers
Big Sisters, and now my first art class! All
at our Grace Presbyterian Village Center.
Many new (old) friends.”
Maribeth regrets she could not attend
this year’s dinner.
1975 – DICK & RHONDA HEFTON
Dick and Rhonda are well and keeping
busy. Dick has been able to mentor a thirdgrader and still find time for plenty of golf.
Dick wrote, “In February I drove to
Savannah, stopping for visits with old pilot
pals and a modicum of genealogy. From
there, I pulled a trailer with two Porsche
356s for a car show in Lakeland, Fla., and
stayed in a restored boutique Terrace hotel.
“In March, I got involved in the purchase and development of a restaurant,
‘Gabriella’s,’ on the site known in early OKC
as The Kentucky Club and more recently
County Line BBQ. Gabby’s is an operation
of offspring of an old Krebs, Okla., Italian
restaurant family who had been serving the
South Padre Island clientele for years and
wanted to ‘come home.’ As of this date the
plan seems to be successful. I purchased a
Condo at Waterford, which is under restoration. Haven’t decided what to do with it
as yet, live-in, sell or rent? I met Rhonda in
NYC for a few days later in the month. Then
we both flew to Boston for the Association
of Community College Trustees meeting,
preparing for the search for a new president
at Rose State College this coming year.
“Not much else new in this dull world,
except in the past two weeks I broke my
record for overnight stays in the hospital.
Former record was one night! Was held
some 8 of 10 days alternately at Mercy and
OK Heart Hospital. Doing fine but certainly
received much deserved ‘comeuppance!’”
The Heftons enjoyed seeing everyone at
the dinner.
1977 – PAT (JACK) DYER
Pat wrote, “The Tribune moved after 63
years in one location. If you don’t need it
and it can’t be of use, get rid of it. Hard work
but worth the effort.
“Geoff, my oldest grandson, and his wife,
Holly, are expecting their third child, a boy
due in March. He will be my 17th greatgrandchild.”
Pat attended this year’s dinner.
1979 – KEN & PHYLLIS REID
The Reids are well and staying busy.
Phyllis recently published her book,
“She Was a Good Mommy While She Lasted,” a collection of quotes from children.
The Reids still travel to their cabin on Lake
Ouchita in Arkansas, and Ken took his 22nd
trip to Alaska this year. They also went elk
hunting with son-in-law Joe Colley in northwest Colorado.
Eight of their 12 grandchildren have
graduated from college. One grandchild, a
high school senior, plans to major in music
(pipe organ) at Rice University.
Ken sent this message to fellow past
presidents: “We are confident newspapers
fulfill a major role in our society providing
we are willing to work hard, provide leadership and give of ourselves to the communities we serve. PROFIT comes from doing a
good job.”
The Reids weren’t able to attend this
year.
1980 – TOM McCURDY
Tom lives in Norman but travels to Purcell to visit his children and grandchildren a
few times a week. He went to his grandson
Brian Bajema’s wedding in Las Vegas in
March.
“First time to Vegas in a number of years
and the growth/changes are tremendous,”
he wrote. “Still fun, despite not winning in
the casinos.” Tom has two grandchildren
at OU. Jake Sheehy is a sophomore and his
sister Kaitlyn is a freshman who is a member of the President’s Leadership Class and
a sorority.
Tom wrote, “I’ve turned the clock back
50 years as I have reconnected to two
Army buddies from my months in 1962-63
at Fort Benning, Ga. Howard McAlister of
Weatherford and Gary Vance of Pawnee
are distinguished medal winners for their
service as pilots in Vietnam. Howard was a
helicopter pilot shot down twice, wounded.
He’s now on oxygen 24/7 as a result of the
wounds to his lungs. Gary was a fixed-wing
pilot and flew over 800 missions in his three
tours in Vietnam. Following his military
service, Gary became a career pilot with
Delta Airlines.”
The three friends plan to meet in Weatherford or Oklahoma City soon, but first Tom
looks forward to attending the presidents’
dinner.
“Sure will be great to see my OPA
friends that are so special to me.”
1981 – JIM & LOUISE BELLATTI
Jim and Louise wrote that their children
and grandchildren are doing well. Jim lost
his brother, Lawrence ‘Chub’ Bellati, on
Oct. 3.
Jim still enjoys being executive presbyter for Cimarron Presbyter, which is
composed of 14 Presbyterian churches in
northern Oklahoma.
Jim and Louise were unable to attend
1982 – MARY (BILL) RETHERFORD
Mary’s grandson William Retherford
recently got married after graduating from
Oral Roberts University. She regrets she
was not able to attend this year’s dinner.
Attending the annual Past Presidents Dinner on Nov. 15 at the Waterford Marriott
in Oklahoma City were (front row) Ed Livermore Jr.; Ben Blackstock; Ed Livermore
Sr.; J. Leland Gourley; Joe Hancock; Gracie Montgomery; Barb Walter and Gloria
1984 – DON & SALLY FERRELL
Don and Sally have been walking for
exercise. Then Don “lost his head” and
signed up for the half marathon with the
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. Six
other members of his family ran the 13.1
mile race. Don was in the 75 to 99 year
class. Out of 29,000 participants, there was
only one man older than him. Don said
if it had been a hundred yards longer he
wouldn’t have made it.
Sally is a new member of an old club in
Chandler, Grandma’s Trunk Antique Club.
She is giving the program next month on
how to shine copper and brass. Don is still
messing with old cars. They took a fall foliage trip up the Talimena Trail with 50 other
Model A Fords. In September, they hosted
a trip to Lincoln County for the Horseless
Carriage Club of OKC.
Sally is still working with Miss Fay’s
Historical Marionette Theater to teach
Oklahoma history to 3rd and 4th grade
students from Lincoln and Pottawatomie
county schools. They just finished a month
of puppet plays and artist-in-residence sessions with area schools.
Don is a buck private in The Salvation
Army and represents Lincoln County on
the advisory board for TSA in Shawnee. He
took the disaster services course, but the
local unit was not called to the Gulf Coast
for the last hurricane. He was all ready
and trained to pour coffee and hand out
sandwiches.
Don has an office and hobby shop near
the newspaper in Chandler and welcomes
any newspaper friend traveling the turnpike, or Highway 66, to come by.
Don and Sally enjoyed seeing their
friends at this year’s dinner.
1985 – DONN DODD
Donn regrets he will not be able to
attend this year’s dinner.
1986 – JIM & BECKY MAYO
Asked about life changes, Jim wrote,
“We went through the change of life several years ago. At 70, we aren’t interested in
going through it again.”
“Becky’s high school class had a big
birthday party to celebrate their 70th birthdays. I’m younger than her, so I didn’t go,”
Jim continued.
“Our annual trip to visit children and
grandchildren in Seattle was fun once we
got there after almost being snowed in
at the Denver airport, again. This year,
we’re going through Houston to avoid bad
weather. Thanksgiving is easier since we
celebrate at Jeff and Beth’s, which is about a
mile from our house over flat ground.
“Becky’s skill at parenting our two boys
has paid off again. Older son, Jack, was
named one of four award winners for outstanding career achievement by his college,
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. Jack
works for Microsoft. We look forward to
Jeff’s term as OPA president next year.”
Jim and Becky enjoyed seeing everyone
at this year’s dinner.
1987 – JOE & CAROLYN McBRIDE
Last June, Carolyn had seven hours
of lower back surgery to fuse the fourth
and fifth vertebrae. A week later, she had
another surgery to adjust the first. A week
after that, she had a pacemaker installed,
13
Trotter. Back: Jim Mayo; Steve Booher; Jeff Shultz; Joe Worley; Rod Serfoss; John D.
Montgomery; Tom Muchmore; Dick Hefton; Rusty Ferguson; Sean Dyer; Don Ferrell
and Wayne Trotter.
Joe wrote. She is still recovering and hopes
to be well in six months to a year.
“We can’t come this year, enjoy,” Joe
wrote.
1988 – J. LELAND & VICKI GOURLEY
“The Gourleys are up and running in
2012 with Leland’s new knees,” Vicki wrote.
She and Leland still work at OKC Friday
every day.
They spent February in Hawaii with
friends Carol Engleman and Gary Sander.
At Easter, Leland and Vicki hosted 18 for
brunch and met son Jay’s girlfriend from
D.C.
“Her name is Sudeen Kelly, a hot-shot
lawyer with Patton-Boggs and a former
Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner,”
Vicki wrote. “She served for eight years,
appointed by Clinton and Bush. Kelly Clark
is getting married for the first time (at age
45) on March 30 to Jennifer Starsovich
Easton. They dated in high school and
reconnected at a party a couple of years
ago. We love both Jennifer and Sudeen and
are so happy for our guys.”
In June, Leland and Vicki traveled to
Africa for almost a month, again with Carol
and Gary. They stayed at Victoria Falls,
Zimbabwe; Johannesburg, Sabi Sands and
Capetown, South Africa, before traveling to
Namibia to visit Dr. Laurie Marker at the
Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). They
had four cheetahs in their backyard! Vicki
is now on the CCF-USA Board of Trustees
with the editor of National Geographic and
several famous scientists.
“After the Sanders left, we continued on
to the Namib Desert on the Atlantic Coast
on our own. Red sand dunes a thousand
feet tall! Magnificent,” Vicki wrote. “Back at
work through the long hot summer, we are
trying to make a few bucks with the Christmas season upon us and you can find us at
the office every day.”
Leland and Vicki enjoyed seeing everyone at the Past Presidents Dinner.
1989 – NANCY (TED) PHILLIPS
Nancy wrote she still loves her condo
in Port Aransas, especially the view of the
lighthouse. She’s also working with a local
organization.
“Right now I’m president of our local
historical group, which has received some
widespread (some national) publicity on
our newly opened Farley Boat Works. The
Farley brothers built boats in this building
in the early part of the last century. We have
acquired the building and have turned the
front half into a boat museum. The back half
is a working wooden boat building facility.”
The group found an expert in building wooden boats to train the Farley Boat
Works crew. The crew now teaches people
to build their own boats. “Everyone is having so much fun and the boats are beautiful,” she wrote. “You must come visit.”
Nancy said her children and grandchildren are well. “My son Stu, I’m sure you’re
keeping up with as he’s involved with the
OPA. I am so proud of him, as was his dad.
My son Ted Steven and his wife are still living in Reston, Va., where their two children
are in school. The older one is in college,
the younger one in grade school. They are
such a great family and I am proud of all of
them, too!”
Nancy has no travel plans due to her
Continued on Page 14
14
PAST PRESIDENTS
Continued from Page 13
worsening rheumatoid arthritis, and regrets
she was not be able to attend this year’s dinner.
1991 – JOE & NEVILLE HANCOCK
Joe and Neville say there are no major
changes, they’re just another year older.
They are excitedly waiting to become greatgrandparents – son Todd is a grandfatherto-be.
They traveled to Dallas for the OU-Texas
game and enjoyed this year’s Past Presidents Dinner.
1992 & 2005 –
JOHN D. & GRACIE MONTGOMERY
John D. and Gracie kept up their tradition of attending OU football games this
year and traveled to the Cotton Bowl for the
OU-Texas game.
They visited with Gracie’s parents, Richard and Ruth Evans, and entertained six of
Matt’s friends from Boston. Maribeth Pate’s
grandchildren, James and Jessica Gallardo
of New York City, also visited. John and Gracie are enjoying their new grandson, Jack.
“His favorite song is Boomer Sooner,”
they wrote. “At 17 months old, already
brainwashed. He claps and dances when
it’s playing.”
John and Gracie enjoyed the Past Presidents Dinner.
1993 – ED & MARCIA LIVERMORE
Last year, Ed and Marcia said 2011 was
the year of Texas’ Dreadful Drought. On
that point, 2012 is much improved. Rainfall
is almost average, which makes life pleasant.
Ed wrote,“The old farmer’s lament that
‘if it ain’t the hogs, it’s the windmill’ should
have included drought! For now, we’re doin’
betta! Marcia and I are in good health, and
this year has allowed a goodly amount of
travel. We go up to Oklahoma often to see
mom and dad, always fun.”
Ed and Marcia have also visited California this year, and spent several days in
Yosemite hiking and enjoying incredible
views and thundering waterfalls in May.
“Leaving Yosemite, we visited Bishop,
Calif., in the Owens Valley on the east side
of the Sierras. It’s a quite remote town and
scenically wonderful,” Ed wrote.
They spent three weeks traveling from
Texas up to Wyoming and then west to
Seattle, Vancouver Island and San Juan
Island in the Puget Sound. Ed and Marcia
also went down to Oregon to visit the Evergreen Flight Museum in McMinnville and
then on to the Pacific coast.
“A few days later, we continued on south
to Santa Rosa, Calif., to visit Marcia’s sister,
had a hike in the Redwoods, and from there
flew back to Kerrville. It was an exhilarating trip, and we enjoyed a great deal of
America’s natural beauty,” Ed wrote.
“Our grandchildren remain a joy. Jake,
Will, Kaylee, Brock and Chloe are always
fun, and we wish we could see them more.
All are healthy and doing well.”
Son-in-law Paul Jagodik now works with
a chip design company in Silicon Valley. He
and Christy live in Austin, and Paul commutes to Santa Clara every other week,
working from home in between. Son John
Livermore is a software designer in the
Dallas area.
“In these hard economic times, these
fellows, engineers both, have always had
challenging, productive employment and
numerous companies seeking their services. We are most thankful,” Ed wrote. “Christy has gone to half time as a counselor in
the Leander school system near Austin.
She and Paul have a number of rental houses in Lakeway which she manages along
with raising her daughters. Daughter-in-law
Christi, in Dallas, continues as a wonderful
mom and homemaker dedicated to the raising of her three young men.
“My passion with general aviation continues. Last month, I logged my 5,000th
hour in the air, all single engine. With
three parents enjoying life in Oklahoma,
our small plane cuts the journey north from
eight hours to less than two.
“We miss the newspaper business from
time to time, particularly during election
years. It would’ve been exciting to see this
one from across the editor’s desk once
again. Marcia and I continue to believe in
newspapers and are avid readers. We wish
all our former colleagues in the OPA much
success in 2013.”
Ed attended the dinner with his father,
Ed Sr.
1996 – LINUS & LEE WILLIAMS
Linus wrote, “Lee and I are still involved
in the business daily, but receive more and
more help from my son and his wife Kelly.
My son has helped expand our printing
business so that now printing (web and digital), graphic services, direct mail services
and mail room services are the overwhelming part of our business.
“We continue to enjoy traveling a few
times a year but also enjoy spending time
with our grandchildren who visit us regularly. We hope everyone is in good health
and doing well.”
Linus and Lee were not able to attend
1997 – TOM & SHERRY MUCHMORE
Tom wrote that Gov. Mary Fallin recently appointed Sherry to the board of directors of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Sherry also took over presenting the annual
Herb Festival, which had 15,000 in attendance this year.
Tom has kept busy as well. He hired a
managing editor for the Tonkawa News,
and still spends several days each week
working there.
The Muchmores attended their niece’s
wedding in Atlanta in June. They wrote
about the Muchmore family, “We had our
eighth grandchild in January. Daughter
Laura welcomed her fourth child, son Grayson. Her oldest child graduated from Colorado State University. Our daughter Shannon has won several awards for excellence
in reporting while working at the Tulsa
World. Our beloved aunt, JoAnn Muchmore, died last November.”
Tom and Sherry had a good time at this
year’s dinner.
1999 & 2009 –
WAYNE & GLORIA TROTTER
It’s been a pretty great year for the Trotters, all things considered. Gloria wrote,
“Of course, the previous year was pretty
terrible, so it’s all relative.” Wayne and
Gloria moved to their new office and celebrated with a community-wide open house
in December. Mark Thomas and past president Rusty Ferguson visited the new office
on their “Scouting Report” road trips.
Wayne’s nerve problem that disabled his
right hand for more than a year is almost
completely well, but now he has developed
some small ulcers and an acid problem.
Gloria said she is in relatively good
shape except that her hearing is getting
worse. “Please speak up when you see me.
Isn’t getting old grand?”
They took an end-of-the-year trip to their
favorite place, New Orleans, in late December and had a great time except for Wayne
cutting his hand and Gloria’s feet hurting so
badly she had trouble getting around.
Son Greg continues to live in Tecumseh
and help out with the newspaper computers. He’s still running the computers at the
National Severe Storm Lab in Norman. The
family’s beloved cats, Mr. Black and Miss
Patches, continue to entertain.
“So we’re gearing up for a post-election
trip to a Mexican resort with Bill and Barb
Walter in a few weeks to celebrate and rest,
but not before we see all of our ‘family’ at
the Past Presidents Dinner, our favorite
OPA event.”
2000 – JERRY & CAROL QUINN
Unfortunately, we did not hear from
Jerry and Carol this year.
2001 – SEAN & DONNA DYER
“I highly recommend that everyone
move at least once every 63 years,” Sean
wrote. “We are in our new Tribune home,
102 E. Wade Street. Things have settled
down and we are adjusting to the new
location. Tribune staff did a great job in
transitioning.
“Our children are healthy and our six
grandsons are growing up much too fast.
We still find ourselves in the bleachers
watching grandsons play ball.
“We are looking forward to attending the
OPA Past Presidents Dinner.”
2002 – BARB & BILL WALTER
Bill and Barb are planning on taking an
entire week off after Thanksgiving and are
going to Puerto Vallarta with the Trotters.
“With any luck, we won’t get kidnapped
by banditos, or if we do, that we’ll get back
to the USA intact and can write about it,”
Barb wrote.
“We will be there and will love, love, love
to visit with old friends and tell and retell
stories at the Past Presidents Dinner. Can’t
wait. We need a day off.”
2003 – RAY & JENNY LOKEY
Not a whole lot has changed since a year
ago. Ray is still slugging away at the paper
and Jenny continues to do the bookkeeping. Probably the biggest change at the
office is that they have joined other state
newspapers in offering an online edition of
the paper.
“I’ve been kicking and screaming for
years trying to put it off, but it’s time,” Ray
said.
Ray continues to enjoy stamp collecting
and has renewed an old friendship with one
of his buddies from his days as a student at
the University of Oklahoma who now owns
a cabin on Lake Texoma and needs a fishing
partner. “I hope not to let him down in the
years ahead,” Ray said.
Jenny spends most of her time at home,
but enjoys getting out to get her hair done
and visit with friends.
“Our four-legged ‘kids’ continue to keep
us busy, including four mutts at the house
and a cat at the office that spends most of
its time hogging my keyboard while I’m
trying to work on the paper,” Ray said. In
other family news, brother Tom’s son Alex
is living in Kyoto, Japan, for the next year
as an international student through the
University of Oklahoma.
“Seems like a long way to travel to learn
Japanese, but he is having a wonderful
time,” Ray said. “I will really miss seeing my
old friends at the Past Presidents Dinner as
we have another conflict that will keep us
from attending. Wishing everyone a great
year!”
2004 – JOE & MYRA WORLEY
The newspaper business has been exciting in this election year and keeping Joe
busy. Myra has been riding herd on the
dog crew that comes and goes through the
house.
Joe and Myra are both working with Pets
Helping People, which trains female felons
to groom pets so the women have jobs after
they’ve been released.
Joe and Myra enjoyed this year’s dinner.
2006 – DAVID & SAUNDRA STRINGER
David wrote, “I was named Regional
Publisher for GateHouse Media and take
care of three different locations. Due to
that, plus my dad being diagnosed with cancer and subsequently passing away, we’ve
spent an unbelievable amount of time on
the road.
“In fact, we haven’t been at home two
consecutive weekends since mid-June.
Saundra also works for GateHouse as a
regional ad director and has worked in at
least a half-dozen locations this year. We
were able to squeeze in a cruise to Cabo San
Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. It was a great
trip and some well-needed rest. Of course
the trip to Dallas to see OU thump Texas
was a highlight all its own.
“We have a beautiful house in the trees
adjacent to a golf course (which we never
get to play because we’re gone), but enjoy
time on the deck watching the deer, raccoons, bats and getting buzzed by the hummingbirds as we’re obviously in their flight
path. It’s a true oasis at the end of a long
newspaper day.
“We’re sorry we won’t be able to attend
the dinner. There’s just been way too much
time on the road and home’s looking like
the best vacation ever.”
2007 – STU & CHERYL PHILLIPS
Unfortunately, we did not hear from Stu
and Cheryl this year.
2008 – STEVE & SONYA BOOHER
The Boohers have been working hard
since last year’s dinner.
“Sonya has retired for the second time
– this time without any pension – from the
newspaper,” Steve wrote. “I hired her to
work 10 to 15 hours and she was putting in
25 to 40. She just didn’t think that schedule worked out well with her retirement
duties.”
Steve and Sonya weren’t able to go on
their usual trip to Red River, N.M., this
year. “I can’t seem to find any help and the
oil boom – God bless the oilees – has kept
us hopping.”
Renovations on the Booher home just
finished. Steve joked, “I guess any hope of
retirement was lost in the form of checks to
the carpenter, plumber and flooring store.”
Steve and Sonya enjoyed seeing everyone at this year’s dinner.
2010 – ROD AND JODY SERFOSS
Rod said, “Jody and I are looking forward to being with our friends at this year’s
dinner.”
2011 – RUSTY & DEANA FERGUSON
Shortly after the OPA summer convention, immediate past president Rusty Ferguson and his wife, Deana, took a few days of
R&R and traveled to the Shenandoah Valley
area of Virginia.
Since then, life in Cleveland, Okla., has
pretty much returned to normal for the
Fergusons.
Rusty wrote, “Sons Lincoln, Landon and
Layne continue to love life as Sooners at
the University of Oklahoma where they are
actively involved on campus. Lincoln is a
journalism senior and the twins are sophomores. As OPA’s representative on the OU
Publications Board, I use my monthly trip
to OU to check up on the boys, take them
to lunch...and leave with an empty wallet!”
After teaching three years in the Oklahoma City area, the Fergusons’ oldest, daughter Libby and son-in-law Sol, surprised their
15
parents when they announced they were
moving home. Seems they wanted to be
closer so their first child could enjoy his
grandparents!
Sullivan Bayouth (Sully) was born Oct.
31 at 1:23 a.m. He was 7 pounds 11 ounces,
21” long.
To say Rusty and Deana are excited
about their first grandchild would be an
understatement. It’s anticipated that visitors
to Deana’s gift and flower shop or to The
Cleveland American may be surprised to
find a cradle or play pen added to the mix!
Rusty and Deana had a good time at this
year’s dinner.
OPA RETIRED EXECUTIVE VP
BEN & BONNIE BLACKSTOCK
Both Ben and Bonnie have reached 87.
Bonnie is well, and Ben is in treatment for
skin cancers on his right leg.
“None of my family had cancer, now I’ve
had four, but they are healing,” Ben wrote.
“There are some things about growing old
that hurt, but the memories feel good.”
Ben and Bonnie were able to attend this
year’s dinner.
ONF board discusses education, internships at November meeting
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation board of trustees met Nov. 15,
2012, in Oklahoma City.
Attending were President Steve
Booher, Cherokee Messenger &
Republican, and Treasurer Gracie
Montgomery, The Purcell Register.
Trustees attending were Terry Clark,
University of Central Oklahoma; Rusty
Ferguson, Cleveland American; John
Hruby, Marlow Review; Derek Manning, Daily Elk Citian; John D. Montgomery, Purcell Register; Tom Muchmore, Ponca City News; Mike Strain,
Tulsa World; Wayne Trotter, Countywide & Sun; Barbara Vice, Drumright Gusher; Barb Walter, Hennessey
Clipper; Joe Worley, Tulsa World; Jeff
Shultz, Garvin County News Star; and
Jeff Mayo, Sequoyah County Times.
Staff attending was Executive Vice
President-Secretary Mark Thomas;
Member Services Director Lisa Potts
and Accounting Manager Robert Wallar. CPA Carol Oliver, external auditor,
was a guest at the meeting.
Absent from the meeting were Ray
Lokey, Vice President, Johnston County Capital-Democrat; Sean Dyer, El
Reno Tribune; Carolyn Estes, Oologah
Lake Leader; Kim Lehenbauer, Norman Transcript; Stu Phillips, Seminole
Producer; and Jerry Quinn.
Booher called the meeting to order
and asked the board to review minutes
of the June 7, 2012, meeting. A motion
to suspend reading and approve the
minutes as presented passed unanimously.
Board members reviewed and
acknowledged receipt of the ONF profit and loss statement, expense summaries, investment report and donation
reporting for the period ending Oct.
31, 2012.
Oliver reviewed the ONF audit
at the meeting. The financial statements fairly represented the financial
position of the Oklahoma Newspaper
Foundation on June 30, 2012, said
Oliver. Board members acknowledged
receipt of the audit as presented.
Board members also reviewed the
proposed ONF budget for 2012-13,
which includes a $50,000 grant from
the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation for the 2013 internship
program; donations from the fundraising campaign for Will Rogers prints;
and Pages for Tomorrow ad sales. The
board unanimously approved the proposed budget.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
Trustees reviewed a calendar of
completed and pending workshops
planned by the education committee
as well as materials and registration
numbers for several workshops held
between July and October 2012. Twenty-four people from 10 state colleges
attended a college newspaper meeting
on July 17, which included both advisers and student editors for the first
time.
Staff members from Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s office conducted six
regional seminars this fall on the Open
Meeting and Records Acts.
Multiple workshops are being
planned for the first half of 2013.
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Grants from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation funded 18 internship positions in 2012 and
2013.
Trustees reviewed student interns’
columns and best clips as well as evaluations completed by the host newspapers and interns that participated in
the 2012 program. Applications for the
2013 summer program were mailed
to state colleges and student newspapers in October. Host newspaper
applications are due Jan. 11, 2013.
Student applications are due Feb. 15.
Potts said the Ethics and Excellence in
Journalism Foundation requested that
multimedia training be included in all
interns’ newspaper experiences.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation awards three $1,500 scholarships
each year. Scholarship applications
were mailed to all Oklahoma colleges
with internship applications. Applications for the Bob and Marion Breeden
University of Oklahoma Journalism
Student Aid Fund Scholarship were
mailed to the OU newspaper, advising
and career services offices. Its award
amount is $1,000. The deadline for all
scholarship applications is Feb. 15,
2013.
WILL ROGERS PAINTING
At the previous meeting, trustees
decided to order 200 prints of the Will
Rogers painting by Charles Banks Wilson, which is owned by OPA. The print
size will be 16x20 on 20x24 paper.
Donations of $100 to $499 will
receive one print; donations of $500
or more will receive one framed print.
Trustees reviewed a donation/order
form that will be distributed to all OPA
members and friends of the foundation.
The next scheduled meeting of the
ONF Board of Trustees is June 13,
2013, before the annual OPA Convention at the Reed Center in Midwest
City.
16
Holiday gift ideas for the computers in your office
Computer Notes
from the road
by Wilma Melot
[email protected]
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope
the new year brings much joy to your
life and money to your coffers.
If you’re looking for something that
makes that new device in your life work
better with your old equipment, I’ve
found a good source for doodads. Point
your browser to www.cyberguys.com
to find things that make old technology
work with new technology.
At cyberguys.com, you’ll also find a
great selection of stands for iPads and
other tablets plus good prices on 1000base T switches. And if there’s a kid on
your list who likes to take computers
apart, they have every imaginable tool
for the job.
Another good place to look for cool
items to fill those Christmas stockings hanging by the fireplace is at
www.thinkgeek.com.
How about a USB 2.0 16-port hub
for all that USB mess in your office?
I see all kinds of USB devices lying
around on desks or
stuffed in drawers.
This little hub cleans
up that mess. It lets
you share devices –
such as a USB printer or external backup
drive – between two
computers. Although
it doesn’t allow both
computers to use the device at the
same time, this probably wouldn’t be a
problem in small offices. The 16-port
hub sells for $79.99 at thinkgeek.
com. Just think of all the things
you can plug into one station to
recharge every day – with no
lost cords – including iPods,
iPads, tablets and printers. It
even has a built-in 22.5 watt
power supply to keep your USB
hubs from being overloaded.
While you’re out shopping,
don’t forget to pick up some
new surge protectors for the
office.
I’ve discovered many
crashed
computers
plugged into very old or
not working at all surge
protectors. Even a surge
protector with low voltage protection is better than no voltage protection at all.
Although you may think this is an
unnecessary expense, it’s cheaper than
having to replace your computer or its
hard drive or the router and modem.
Put a bow on a surge protector and let
your computer know you love it.
STOP TRACKING IN FIREFOX
Online privacy isn’t just
about keeping others from
knowing what sites you’ve been
to on your computer. It’s also
about trying to block hackers,
who seem to be bringing us lots
more viruses.
And it’s about stopping those
ads they try to force-feed you so
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Serving the Newspaper Industry Since 1966
When the time comes to explore the
sale of your community newspaper,
you can count on us. We offer
decades of experience and a record
of success in community newspaper
sales.
Community newspapers still have
good value. If you’re ready to sell, call
us for a confidential discussion.
THOMAS C. BOLITHO
P.O. Box 849, Ada, OK 74821
(580) 421-9600 • [email protected]
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P.O. Box 2001, Branson, MO 65616
(417) 336-3457 • [email protected]
NATIONAL EDIA
A SSOC IATES
www.nationalmediasales.com
they can track you. Maybe you enjoy
the ads, but it slows down browsers in
a big way. Often someone will tell me
their computer is slow, when what
they really mean is
that their browser is slow.
Marsha
Tucker at the
Cherokee Messenger & Republican found a good
tool to stop some
of that ad tracking.
If Firefox is the web
browser of choice in
your office, look for a
plug-in called “DoNotTrackMe.”
To find it go to Tools
> Add on’s. You’ll know
you’re in the right
place if you see “Get Add-ons” to
the left. To find the tool, type “DoNotTrackMe” in the search bar at the
top of the window. This brings up the
plug-in. Click the install button and
it will download. When you restart
Firefox, a window will come up and
explain the new plug-in. This will help
your browser run faster by stopping
little programs used to give feedback
to other sites.
If you want to go one step further, go
to Firefox menu > Preferences, then click
on the Privacy tab. In this window you
can clean up cookies, which are small
files stored on your computer, and set
your settings to clear lots of things that
Firefox tracks every time you use it.
Look for the “Settings...” button on the
lower left. Here you can tell Firefox
to automatically clear all the data it
tracks each time you quit the program.
Firefox stores some passwords in the
cookies so make sure you know them
all before you delete all cookies.
MORE WINDOWS 8 TIPS
Windows 8 tips for this month are all
about how to make it your own.
Don’t forget that with this new operating system, right clicking makes
everything easier.
Let’s start by making a shortcut on
the new start screen.
1. Go to the normal desktop (Windows + D) and right click to bring up the
menu, then >New>Shortcut.
2. Hit the browse button and go,
for instance, to Network. Locate the
network folder you use the most and
choose it. Hit next and finish.
3. Then right click the shortcut you
just created and choose Pin to the start
menu. Now it shows up in the Windows
8 start menu. Any program or folder
can be added in this manner, but not
single files.
To make the icons move to better
locations, right click the new icon in
the Windows 8 window and drag it to
where you would like it to appear on
the start screen. If you have a touch
screen computer or tablet, hold down
on the icon and then you can move it.
Now that I’m able to customize Windows 8, I’m starting to like it a little
better. Customization gives you a quick
way to access files and programs.
Click the ‘minus’ icon in the bottom right corner of the start screen to
zoom out and you’ll now find you can
drag and drop the new group around
as a block. When you right click on the
block and then on the lower left, you
can give the group a name like Network Folders or Shared Files.
Right-click in the bottom left corner
where the windows tiled start screen
is (or hold down the Windows key and
press X) for a text-based menu that provides easy access to Device Manager,
Control Panel, Desktop, the search
dialog and lots of others. This is almost
as good as the start menu.
To find most of the applications on
your computer hold down the Windows
key and press Q. You can also rightclick an empty part of the Start screen
and select ‘All Apps’ to reveal a scrolling list of all your installed applications.
Most of these tips are under the
Help menu, but getting to that or the
shutdown button takes another couple
of steps. Drag your cursor over to the
right side of the screen and a bar pops
up with icons on it, called charms. If
you choose Setting > it will take you to
the shutdown icon. This is also where
you’ll find the help menu, as well as wifi
and printer settings.
With the help of shortcuts you can
get back to most of your old ways of
working while trying to adapt to the
new way of things.
OPA Computer Consultant Wilma Melot’s column is brought to you by the Oklahoma Advertising Network (OAN). For more information on
the OAN program, contact Oklahoma Press
Service at (405) 499-0020.
OPA postal consultant to retire in January
After more than 14 years of service
to newspapers, Bill Newell, OPA’s postal guru road warrior, is retiring.
Before taking the postal consultant
position at OPA, Bill spent years working in quality control for the United
States Postal Service’s Oklahoma district. He retired from USPS in January
1999 and ended up at the OPA, almost
by chance.
At that time, Bill’s wife, Sue, worked
at the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commissioner. Bill happened to ask one
the commissioners if the OPA had any
programs to help its members mail
their papers.
“He said they didn’t know so he took
me down and introduced me to Mark
(Thomas),” said Newell. “We (Newell
and the commissioner) were kinda talking about maybe trying to start a job
like this and come to find out they were
looking to start a job like this. I walked
into it blindly.”
Since then, Bill and Sue have logged
more than 150,000 miles traveling
around the state helping newspapers
navigate through the postal system so
they can get their papers out to readers.
“I’ve really enjoyed meeting with
them and visiting with them so much
and getting the satisfaction of having
helped them get their papers out,” said
Newell. “I’m not gonna miss having
to deal with the post office and what
by Michael Minnis
OPA Attorney
Much of the current media attention
on records requests concerns Governor Mary Fallin’s invocation of “Executive Privilege” to deny access to public
records under the governor’s custody
and control.
Most evidentiary privileges are created by statute. (See 12 O.S. §§ 25012510.1.) Oklahoma has no statute that
creates an “Executive Privilege”. The
phrase “executive privilege” is not mentioned in the Oklahoma Constitution or
in any reported Oklahoma case law.
When the phrase “executive privi-
Adieu from Bill
Postal Notes
by Bill Newell
OPA Postal consultant
[email protected]
For the past 14 years, Bill Newell has served as the Oklahoma Press Association’s
postal consultant. His wife, Sue, has traveled with Bill to every corner of the state. Bill
has saved many newspapers hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars by showing them
ways to cut postal costs. His last day with OPA will be Jan. 6.
they’re doing to the postal system. That
just doesn’t sit well with me.”
With all of his new free time, Bill
hopes to get some projects done around
his house and maybe get back out on
the golf course.
While Bill is leaving the newspaper
business, the newspaper business has
left an impact on Bill.
“One of the things that has impressed
me the most is the dedication that small
town newspaper people have toward
providing the news to their citizens.
They have to jump through hoops to
get their newspaper delivered but they
still try to do it. With all the odds stacking up on them, they are still working
hard to do it. I couldn’t have asked to
have met a finer group of people than
the people in Oklahoma’s newspapers.”
Bill’s last day with OPA will be Jan.
6, 2013.
Does governor have executive privilege?
Legal Notes
17
lege” was invoked during the Nixon
presidency, Raoul Berger, a noted legal
scholar, wrote a book called “Executive
Privilege: Constitutional Myth”. After
371 pages of analysis, Berger concluded that “Executive Privilege” “needs to
be lifted from the field of legal esoteric
and viewed in terms of underlying reality; as a shield for executive unaccountability.”
In reaching this conclusion, he quoted James Iredell, “if the officers of the
government – the President included
– are the ‘servants and agents of the
people,’ it is contradiction in terms to
conclude that the agent may dole out
information to his principal.”
The claim of “Executive Privilege”
is usually asserted by the executive
when receiving document requests
from the legislature. The present Oklahoma controversy arises from citizen
requests for access to governor-controlled documents.
These requests arise under the
Oklahoma Open Records Act, which
does not include “Executive Privilege”
among the list of privileges recognized
as valid reasons for denying access to
public documents. 51 O.S. § 24A.5(1)
(a) (“state evidentiary privilege, such as
the attorney-client privilege, the work
product immunity from discovery, and
the identify of lawyer privileges”).
In any event, the “Executive Privilege” issue will not be determined
unless and until a suit is brought challenging the refusal of the governor to
release the requested documents.
It’s time I bring my time of working for or dealing with the Post
Office to a close.
It has been an amazing 53 years
in which I have made many friends
and would like to think that I have
contributed in a positive way.
The past 14 years I have had an
amazing opportunity to work with
people that are truly dedicated to
their trade, journalism. I have been
challenged many times and the trust
the newspaper people have placed in
me has made it all worthwhile.
My time with OPA I would not
trade for anything. It is an experience that can’t be matched.
A community newspaper family
is, I have found, just that – a family.
They will reach out and help their fellow publishers in some pretty stressful times. I want to thank this family
for taking me in and showing confidence in me to help them address
the many obstacles that have been
placed before them.
This is my final writing for the
Oklahoma Publisher. Effective January 6, 2013, I will be one that will
look forward to receiving my newspaper by mail and by my front door.
It has been a great experience and I
want to thank all of you for making it
so.
Bill Newell
LEND US
YOUR ERRS
Seen any bloopers in
your newspaper –
or someone else’s?
Send us a copy! Share the fun
at the annual Grand Blooper Award show at
the Annual Convention.
E-MAIL PDFS OF BLOOPERS TO:
[email protected]
or send tearsheets or photocopies to:
GRAND BLOOPER AWARD
c/o Oklahoma Press Association
Oklahoma City, OK73105-5499
18
ADVENTURES IN
PART 5
… it’s a bird …it’s a plane …
it’s OPA President Jeff Shultz visiting superheroes at Oklahoma newspapers.
On Nov. 8 and 9, I was able to visit
some papers in the Stillwater area.
Here is my report.
DAVID REID –
CUSHING CITIZEN
David Reid, owner and publisher of
the Cushing Citizen, was raised in the
newspaper business. His father, Ken
Reid, was the publisher of the Pauls
Valley Daily Democrat when the Democrat became the first daily newspaper in
Oklahoma to go offset.
David said his father is still his mentor.
“When I do something at the paper
or in the community I’m always asking
myself, ‘Would Dad be proud of me?’
To this day he’s still my mentor,” Reid
said.
Finding other revenue sources is
the goal of many newspapers today.
Sometimes it’s tough just relying on
newspaper income alone.
Many newspapers across our state
also dabble in job printing or publish
several special sections throughout the
year to gain more revenue in a struggling economy.
For David, he’s come upon a unique
and unconventional revenue source – a
publication know as Jailbirds.
Jailbirds is delivered to most of the
state and showcases the mug shots of
people who have been arrested for various criminal activity.
What makes it unique is that each
issue is specific to each county Jailbirds
is delivered to.
David is the co-owner and co-publisher of Jailbirds and he admits it is, at
times, a logistical challenge.
“It’s sometimes a nightmare,” he
said. “Having to collect all of that data
in a short amount of time and get
each county’s publication delivered to
the convenience stores can be a huge
undertaking. But so far it’s worked out
for us.”
David said, for the most part, the
various county sheriffs in the state have
been working with him.
When he started the Jailbirds project
his goal, he said, was not to compete
with other papers in the areas Jailbirds
is sold in.
“It was never our intention to be a
competitor to any newspaper. We just
saw this as a viable business venture
and took the opportunity to do something different,” he said.
He and his business partner also
seriously considered whom they would
let advertise in the new publication.
“We won’t let strip clubs, bars or
gambling casinos advertise in it. Those
are considered enablers and that’s not
what we are about.
“We will let the casinos advertise
their entertainment venues but not the
gambling. We also offer law enforcement organizations such as Crime Stoppers free ads in Jailbirds,” he said.
Knowing Jailbirds could be somewhat controversial, David said he’s
always kept one goal in mind.
“No matter what we do, whether it’s
Jailbirds or the Citizen,” he said, “we
LEGAL ADVICE
is just one of the benefits of being a member of the Oklahoma Press
Association’s Legal Services Plan. Remove the worry of needing
professional advice by enrolling today. For more information contact:
OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION’S
LEGAL SERVICES PLAN
1-888-815-2672 or 405-499-0020
Barbara Vice, left, is owner and publisher of the Drumright Gusher. Helping her put
out the weekly newspaper is her assistant, Tara Boswell.
want to be part of the solution, not the
problem.”
BARBARA VICE –
DRUMRIGHT GUSHER
Barbara Vice, owner and publisher
of the Drumright Gusher, takes her role
in the community seriously.
Barbara won much acclaim from
her peers, and more importantly her
community, for her valiant coverage of
a couple of major grass fires that threatened area homeowners.
Barbara was helping some family
members at their school uniform store
in Tulsa when she heard about the fires
last August.
“This is a school uniform store and it
was tax free weekend, which was right
before school starting,” she recalled.
She had her laptop with her and
began giving her readers updates on
the fires on the Gusher’s Facebook
page.
“That day I was on Facebook till
about two a.m.,” she said. “I couldn’t
get to Drumright because the roads
were all closed due to the fires.”
She began monitoring the Gusher’s
email, which was getting updates from
the Creek County Emergency Management Office. She would then post the
updated information on the Gusher’s
Facebook site.
“I was also monitoring other Facebook sites just to compile every bit of
information I could get to keep our
readers informed where the fires were
and what direction they were heading,”
she said.
She finally made it back to Drumright around 2 or 3 the next morning. She was still on Facebook trying to keep the residents and readers
informed when she received a message
from a woman who lived in the area.
“She asked me if I would tell her
where the fires were at. She was home
alone with her two children and could
see the glow from the fire and she
could smell the smoke but couldn’t get
any information from anyone on where
the fires were at and where they were
headed in relation to her location.
“She was scared to death,” Barbara
said.
Barbara went to the fire station and
inquired about the fires. Fortunately,
the fire department told her the woman
was safe, that the fires were moving
away from her.
She gladly messaged the woman
back, telling her she had nothing to
worry about.
The Drumright Gusher may be a
small, hometown newspaper but acted
Continued on page 19
ADVENTURES
Continued from page 18
like a large metro paper when it counted.
Barbara’s mother started the Gusher
in 1989 after the longtime Drumright
paper at the time was going out of business.
Barbara’s mother, who was a CPA in
Drumright at that time, decided Drumright couldn’t be without a newspaper
and set her sights on starting a new
paper.
“The last week the former paper
published a paper was the first week
the Gusher was published,” Barbara
recalled.
Then in 1998. Barbara took over the
management of the paper and has been
the paper’s publisher and editor since.
Barbara heavily credits the OPA for
giving her the training and education
she needed to take over the paper.
“I started here in August of 1996,
knowing nothing about newspapers.
Shortly after that I got involved with the
OPA,” she recalls.
“I went to every workshop, training
session and convention the OPA was
offering at that time. I read every edition of the Publisher and learned even
more about the newspaper industry
from it.
“If it wasn’t for the OPA, I wouldn’t
be doing this today.”
Today her employee Tara Boswell
aids Barbara each week.
“I’ve often said if she leaves me then
the paper is up for sale,” she said with
a hearty laugh.
Like most small town newspaper
publishers, one of Barbara’s biggest
challenges is to be fair and honest in
her news coverage – no matter whom
it may offend.
ADMINISTRATION
MARK THOMAS
Executive Vice President
[email protected]
(405) 499-0033
ROBERT WALLAR
Accounting Manager
[email protected]
(405) 499-0027
SCOTT WILKERSON
Front Office/Building Mgr.
[email protected]
(405) 499-0020
“There are some business people in
town that I can’t go into their business
because of something I’ve printed about
them or a family member. That’s rough
sometimes, especially when you’re a
fourth generation Drumrighter,” she
said.
Barbara recalled a column a former
employee had written several years
ago.
“She said in that column that our job
as a newspaper is the fair, factual and
fearless. And that’s what I strive to do
each week.”
DAVID AND KITTY LEBOW –
THE PHOENIX (YALE)
Taking over a paper that was already
somewhat controversial in the community while overcoming your own
controversial past was the challenge of
David Lebow, owner of The Phoenix in
Yale.
“Several years ago I started a little
weekly paper here in Yale and I didn’t
hold any punches, so to speak, on my
editorials,” David said.
He later stopped his little newspaper
venture and had decided his newspaper
career was over.
“I was ready to take it easy,” he said.
Then last year the owner of the Yale
News called him and wanted him to buy
the paper. She was ready to call it quits
and wanted David to carry the paper
on.
“I told her in an email that my paper
days were over. I’m sitting by the lake
fishing and didn’t want to be a newspaper publisher again,” he recalled.
The only problem, he said, was, “I
didn’t hit send.”
That’s when his wife, Kitty, talked
him into taking the offer.
“He needed it,” she said.
However, David said there were still
MEMBER
SERVICES
LISA POTTS
Member Services
Director
[email protected]
(405) 499-0026
ELI NICHOLS
Member Services
Coordinator
[email protected]
(405) 499-0040
some people in town who didn’t care for
him and his opinions from the earlier
newspaper venture and the Yale News,
under its former owner, had also left a
bad taste in many people’s mouths.
“So I had two things going against
me right off the bat,” he said.
But David and Kitty had a passion
for Yale and, despite the past differences between them and some in the
community, took over the Yale News.
“The first thing we did was change
the name of the paper,” David said. “We
felt the paper needed a facelift and that
would be a good start.”
In January of this year they introduced The Phoenix.
Since then they’ve managed to make
some improvements to the paper.
“We started out with about 200 subscribers, now we have a little over 500,”
he said.
Another hurdle they had to overcome was simply getting people to send
them news.
“There are some people in the
schools who won’t work with us
because of our past with the school
board and the old Yale News’ past,” said
Kitty.
“However, several parents are turning stuff into us now. We’ve had to find
ways to go around some of the school
officials to get school news,” she said.
The Lebows give a lot of credit to
the OPA in helping them get a fresh
start in Yale.
“There at the first it seemed like I
was calling Mark (Thomas) on a daily
basis. He really helped me through
some tough times then,” David said.
Kitty adds that Wilma Melot and Bill
Newell also gave them valuable advice
and training in dealing with computer
and postal issues.
“I’d have to say without the OPA’s
OPA STAFF DIRECTORY
ADVERTISING
CINDY SHEA
Media Manager
[email protected]
(405) 499-0023
LANDON COBB
Account Executive
[email protected]
(405) 499-0022
COURTNI SPOON
Advertising Assistant &
OCAN/2X2 Contact
[email protected]
(405) 499-0035
CREATIVE
SERVICES
COMPUTER
ADVICE
JENNIFER GILLILAND
WILMA MELOT
Creative Services Director
[email protected]
(405) 499-0028
Computer Consultant
[email protected]
(405) 499-0031
MORGAN BROWNE
POSTAL
ADVICE
Creative Assistant
[email protected]
(405) 499-0029
BILL NEWELL
Postal Consultant
[email protected]
(405) 499-0020
19
help we wouldn’t have last this long,”
David noted.
REX MAYNARD –
STILLWATER NEWSPRESS
Rex has been with the NewsPress for
a little over a year now and has worked
for Community Newspaper Holdings,
Inc., the parent company of the NewsPress, for 13 years.
Rex said the biggest challenge he
faces managing a paper that is corporately owned is the general public
perception the paper isn’t a local newspaper.
“What people don’t realize is that we
have a local payroll here of almost a
million dollars per year and just about
everyone in this building, with the
exception of a couple of people, are
local people who have lived in Stillwater
all of their lives,” he said.
Rex said his rule is to have his front
page filled each day with local news –
no wire copy at all.
Though the NewsPress is corporate
owned, Rex said he appreciates the
OPA and the continued educational
opportunities the OPA and ONF provide.
“We’ve sent several members of our
staff to the workshops and training sessions offered by the OPA. They have
really been helpful,” he said.
Rex said that despite the new technology our industry is facing today, he
feels there will always be a need for a
regular, hard copy newspaper.
“I’ve always said, ‘We’re a newspaper
today and a history book tomorrow.’
Doing away with the hard copy of
the paper scares me because so much
could happen to a digital image these
days.
“I think we’ll always have a need for
a hard copy of the paper,” he said.
OPEN
(DIGITAL CLIPPING)
KEITH BURGIN
OPEN Manager
[email protected]
(405) 499-0024
KYLE GRANT
Digital Clipping Dept.
[email protected]
(405) 499-0032
OPEN (CONT’D)
NELSON SOLOMON
[email protected]
(405) 499-0045
CRYSTAL FOREMAN
[email protected]
(405) 499-0030
GENERAL INQUIRIES
(405) 499-0020 • Fax: (405) 499-0048
Toll-free in OK: 1-888-815-2672
20
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE OCTOBER 2012 CONTEST WINNERS
Column:
Editorial:
PATTI
MARSHALL
ZANE
THOMAS
The Countywide & Sun
OCTOBER 2012 COLUMN WINNER PATTI
Wagoner Tribune
MARSHALL, THE COUNTYWIDE & SUN
Karaoke machine, video finally convince her
At one time I could dance, but lack of practice
and 30 plus years (and pounds) has created a
lumbering graceless image of my former self.
Unfortunately, this painful realization was made
after my husband videotaped my public terpsichorean attempt, and then privately replayed
it for me before I let it go to my head. I don’t
dance anymore.
You’d think I would have learned my lesson,
but no, I’m back out there attempting another
guilty pleasure that I really cannot do. The first
time someone hinted that I could not sing was in
fourth grade chorus. I opened my mouth and all
the other kids went off key. The teacher moved
me further and farther away from the group.
Finally, after placing me in the hall and closing
the door, he decided I was still too close. He
handed me a hall pass and sent me to the school
library on the other side of the building for the
rest of the school year. I still sang the songs, but
the librarian kept shushing me.
Not one to give up easily, I spent half my life
singing in my car, in the shower, at concerts, all
places where I couldn’t be heard by others. I did
sing once in front of my husband right after we
were first married, that delicate time when newlyweds are especially vulnerable of each other’s
words.
“Stop singing,” he told me as I mopped the
kitchen floor of our first dwelling.
“You don’t like the song?” I asked.
“You can’t sing.” He replied, and then added,
“Sorry.”
“I like to sing,” I explained, dipping the mop
into the bucket. “That isn’t singing. It’s screeching.”
“Really?” I smiled and swung the mop. It hit
him full in the chest, drenching him from head
to knees.
A few years ago I joined the choir at church
because I wanted to sing with them at the
Christmas Eve service. They were happy to
have me. No audition necessary. I sat with the
altos, just behind the basses and next to the
tenors. After the first few rehearsals, the tenors
began leaving an ever-widening gap between
me and them. The basses moved forward away
from me, but my fellow altos must have taken
pity because they didn’t move away. They just
stuck fingers in their ears nearest me. I reciprocated the pity and from then on, only mouthed
the words. Christmas Eve they complimented
me on my singing and I never went back. Then
again, they never asked me back either.
Recently, I stood in front a crowd of strangers and sang. It was a courageous choice for
me, but by the time I chose a song and took
the microphone, many others had already sung
before me. The reality is that with the advent
of karaoke, a plethora of tone-deaf people have
marched across a stage in search of just having
fun in song.
I didn’t need all those earlier people in my
life to tell me that I cannot carry a tune. All I
needed was a karaoke machine and my husband
with a video camera – again. I swear, I will never
sing again.
The October 2012 contest
was judged by a member of the
Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame
Enter and Win a
$100 Check from ONG!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Each month, send a tear sheet or
photocopy of your best column and/
or editorial to ONG Contest, c/o OPA,
3601 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City,
OK 73105-5499.
Include the author’s name, name of
publication, date of publication and
category entered (column or editorial).
Only ONE editorial and/or ONE
column per writer per month will be
accepted.
All entries for the previous month must
be at the OPA office by the 15th of the
current month.
Winning entries will be reproduced
on the OPA website at www.OkPress.
com.
Entries must have been previously
published. Contest open to
all OPA member newspapers.
Although Oklahoma Natural Gas Company
selects representative contest winners’ work
for use in this monthly ad, the views expressed
in winning columns and editorials are those
of the writers and don’t necessarily reflect the
Company’s opinions.
Thank you for continued support of “Share The Warmth”
Read the Winning Columns and Editorials on the OPA website: www.OkPress.com (Under Contests)

December 2012 Oklahoma Publisher

Transcription

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