View Full Version : The Oklahoman: Worst newspaper in America



Patrick
06-07-2005, 01:15 PM
I've heard a lot of talk about The Oklahoman recently. I thought it was interesting to bring up a past review of our paper from the Columbia Journalism Review, a review that called it the worst paper in America. I know most of you have seen this, but I just wanted to put it up again. Columbia Journalism Review is a pretty respected organization. I completely agreed with them when they made this assessment about The Oklahoman. If I had all the money in the world, I'd start up a newspaper to compete with The Oklahoma.

http://archives.cjr.org/year/99/1/worst.asp

metro
06-07-2005, 01:17 PM
haha how funny, yet not. maybe the daily disappointment will start to finally take reviews and actually learn from them. i like the new format of the business section with more content except the fact that they took out most of the stocks and bonds and just left a handful of them in there. a big turn off for business people and more so for out of towners

Patrick
06-07-2005, 01:20 PM
The review was actually from back in 1999, and Moshe Tal actually used it as part of his defense...yup, he believed the Oklahoman was conspiring against him too.....he might not have been wrong about that one! lol! Anyways, they have made some small changes since the review, but their tactics haven't changed...except for Steve Lackmeyer......he's the only ray of sunshine over there.

Sooner&RiceGrad
06-07-2005, 01:21 PM
The Jokelahoman is nonsense. It would take to much money to compete with the Gaylords, so Oklahoma journalism will always suck.

Pete
06-07-2005, 01:28 PM
Fortunately, in this day and age there is little reason to rely on the Oklahoman or any single newsource.

Yes, their editorials are ridiculously skewed, but you could say the say thing for the LA Times, they're just coming from a much more liberal perspective.


Here are some very good things about the Oklahoman:

1. Decent coverage of local business news
2. Covers local sports (including HS's) very well
3. Was one of the very first newspapers on the web and present website is good and updated frequently throughout the day
4. Has their entire archives on-line for a fee (although I believe it's free from the OKC libraries)


I use it for only the things I listed above. For everything else, there are thousands of other alternatives.

Patrick
06-07-2005, 01:30 PM
The complaint I have most about the Oklahoman isn't the content of thier product, but more the control that they have on politics in this city, and the methods they use...using their paper to skew articles for their own political gain.

Note this is just an opinion, and I don't have all of the facts to back it up, but I think it's clear from just reading their paper, that they're part of the good ole boy network.

Pete
06-07-2005, 01:37 PM
I agree Patrick but I'd also say their influence will continue to wane due to the Internet and cable/satellite news sources.

The truth, as they say, wants to be free. :)

Luke
06-07-2005, 04:05 PM
Of course the left-leaning Columbia School of Journalism would think the right-leaning Oklahoman the worst paper. As was mentioned, that was 6 years ago. A lot has changed and I'd be interested to see where the Oklahoman ranks now.

soonerguru
06-07-2005, 04:07 PM
Note this is just an opinion, and I don't have all of the facts to back it up, but I think it's clear from just reading their paper, that they're part of the good ole boy network.


You are very judicious in your comments. To say they are a "part" of the good ole boy network is actually understatement. They are at the top of the good ole boy chain.

I know this because I have worked with them on numerous projects over the years, and their water boys. Not everything they do is bad, but almost every key decision made in this city is related to them. It's quite fascinating, really.

I don't think it's necessarily bad for a media organization to play an active role in their community. But the extent to which the Gaylord family has exerted its influence in OKC and the state is beyond that which is ethical in the journalism field. Never mind, though, because it's not going to change anytime soon.

Pete
06-07-2005, 04:28 PM
I assure you the publishers of the LA Times has similar clout in Los Angeles, especially when it comes to politics.

They had a lot to do with the outcome of the recent mayorial election, for example.

Keith
06-07-2005, 05:43 PM
Gee, I like the Oklahoman. Of course, mosty of the time I read it online.

Luke
06-07-2005, 06:33 PM
I wonder if the Oklahoman has any more "power" in Oklahoma than any other state paper has over it's state. I would assume that every state paper across this nation has a certain amount of "power" in city/state decisions and the Oklahoman is no different.

OUman
06-07-2005, 09:09 PM
I don't have any qualms about the Oklahoman other than the lack of good world news coverage. Then again, that's the problem here around the country, not just in Oklahoma.

Sometimes though, the Norman Transcript has better world news coverage than the Oklahoman does.

OUman

okcpulse
06-08-2005, 12:58 AM
The Oklahoman has no doubt made aesthetic changes since the review was released in 1999. There is no guarantee the paper will make any real changes, but when Gaylord passed away, his agenda went to his grave. His family fosters his philosophy, but it's not as cohesive as it was when he was alive. His control over The Oklahoman was no doubt totalitarian, and the Opinion page, then simply known as "Editorial", was closed minded.

Perhaps the birth of a newspaper would be born from this forum. Forming a new paper is not about going up against the Gaylords. It's about meeting the needs of a paper-media starving city. The Oklahoma Gazette provides relief, but it is a weekly.

Oklahoma City Journal... that has a good ring. Make it attractive. Make it open-minded. Make it... our paper. Not the state's paper. It would be nice to have Oklahoma City's name on the face of a newspaper.

Omaha Cowboy
06-08-2005, 03:41 AM
Understand this..

If the Daily Oklahoman is the worst newspaper in America..

The Omaha World-Herald a.k.a. the Omaha Weird-Herald is not far behind..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Pete
06-08-2005, 07:49 AM
Pulse, you must be too young to remember The Oklahoma Journal, which folded in the early 80's I believe.

Unfortunately, newspapers are a dying breed... Even most big cities are down to only one major paper these days.


As I said before, the importance and influence of printed media is fading. Blogs and things like this board are taking it's place.

soonerguru
06-08-2005, 07:56 AM
I have to admit, the editorial page is eminently more readable since E.L.'s passing. I've always admired Ed Kelley as a fairminded newsman. Frankly, I enjoy reading the editorial page now, even when I don't agree with it. It used to give me a major case of acid reflux.

The paper has undoubtedly improved, and for that it deserves kudos, but it is still a shallow rag compared to other big-city papers. They simply don't invest enough in the news product, their business coverage, though improved, is shallow, their feature stories are half-assed, and they seem to lack enterprise. Aesthetically, the paper is light years better than before but it still lacks continuity.

Imagine a paper that a REAL food critic, a REAL film critic, a Weekend section that included encapsulated restaurant reviews, etc. If we had a real food critic in this town the quality of food and restaurants would rise exponentially.

One thing I will give the Oklahoman is their music coverage is pretty darn good. Gene Triplett and George Lang both do an admirable job of keeping up with music. The film coverage and reviews, however, are quite pedestrian.

I was very disappointed in the Oklahoman at the close of the Legislative session. As the self-appointed "paper of record" for the state, they did a lousy job reporting what our elected officials did this session. About the only coverage was on the big-ticket items, such as workers' comp, and the more controversial ones, like the tattoo bill (which was killed by the holier than thou Christian-Republican camp).

I would like to have seen a full rundown of bills passed during the session with a bullet or two outlining the bill's features and effect.

They gave scant coverage to the underage drinking bill, which will affect nearly every restaurant establishment. If I read the bill correctly, happy hours are a thing of the past now. I'm all in favor of making drinking harder for the underage, but the bill also outlaws any liquor advertising on signage, hence, no Budweiser or Tecate neon signs in windows. Not sure how that is going to protect our youth. I'm amazed it passed because the restaurant lobby is pretty powerful.

windowphobe
06-08-2005, 05:26 PM
W. P. Bill Atkinson's Oklahoma Journal was born in 1964 and died in 1980, Atkinson having bailed out a couple of years before.

I wrote a brief history of the Journal back in February.
http://www.dustbury.com/archives/003871.html

travich
06-08-2005, 06:44 PM
I think they're trying to improve their image. I say this based upon all of the radio commercials, etc. that I hear.

Pete
06-08-2005, 06:59 PM
windowphobe, that was a great article!

I greatly appreciate your efforts to chronicle an almost forgotten chapter in OKC journalistic history. Much of what you wrote was new to me.


BTW, Al Eschbach was their main sports columnist and did a darn good job.

soonerguru
06-08-2005, 07:18 PM
Malibu,

Read that link on the Oklahoma Industries Authority. Dirty, dirty dealings by the Gaylord clan. Interesting that Stanton Young and the other good ole boys on the authority are still running things in this absurdly good ole boy town, more than 20 years later.

All of Gaylord's hand-picked henchmen are still running the show. Wonderful!