OPUBCO / Oklahoman Business Practices

[WheelerD Guy]

He used to have the Tuesday column, but he writes a lot less these days.

Is he mainly doing the weekly chat?

[cindycat]

I took a quick look at today's Oklahoman and counted the articles that were written locally vs. those from wires, USAToday, etc.

Of 65 articles, only 18 were written by Oklahoman writers, and that includes briefs that are just transcribed press releases. That is less than 28% of their content.

Of those 18, 11 were in the sports section.

In the main news section, only 4 of 20 were written locally.

The 3/23/21 edition - I guess they didn't have enough huge ads to fill the "local news" space, so they ran an article about Covid cases on Mt Everest...twice. Once in Sports and again in Business.
And on a silly side note: In an article about the Osage movie, the print edition shows a photo of a man from Pawnshop. Hmmm

[Pete]

Received this email today:

**************

We are thrilled to share this news with you!

Beginning June 1st, we are replacing the EXTRA section in The Oklahoman e-Edition with the USA TODAY edition. You will now have access to one of the country’s most read newspapers and get more than 90 additional pages of content a week. An innovator of news and information, USA TODAY reflects the pulse of the nation and serves as the host of the American conversation, especially on key topics like news, sports, travel, entertainment and personal finance.

The USA TODAY edition will be available Monday through Friday every week and will appear right inside your current e-Edition which you can access at digital.newsok.com/Olive/ODN/Oklahoman/default.aspx.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Received this email today:

**************

We are thrilled to share this news with you!

Beginning June 1st, we are replacing the EXTRA section in The Oklahoman e-Edition with the USA TODAY edition. You will now have access to one of the country’s most read newspapers and get more than 90 additional pages of content a week. An innovator of news and information, USA TODAY reflects the pulse of the nation and serves as the host of the American conversation, especially on key topics like news, sports, travel, entertainment and personal finance.

The USA TODAY edition will be available Monday through Friday every week and will appear right inside your current e-Edition which you can access at digital.newsok.com/Olive/ODN/Oklahoman/default.aspx.

We are thrilled! Enjoy even less local news!

[unfundedrick]

We are thrilled! Enjoy even less local news!

The EXTRA section had no local news so no local news is being deleted or replaced.

[OkiePoke]

The 3/23/21 edition - I guess they didn't have enough huge ads to fill the "local news" space, so they ran an article about Covid cases on Mt Everest...twice. Once in Sports and again in Business.
And on a silly side note: In an article about the Osage movie, the print edition shows a photo of a man from Pawnshop. Hmmm

I didn't read the article, but there is a mother/daughter team from OKC that is climbing Everest and just got turned back because they had a Covid outbreak in their team. It may be releated.

[Pete]

Not like their food 'reviews' were ever anything other than blind cheerleading, but they have very subtly crossed a journalistic line.

Dave Cathey is doing an entire series on wings and it was barely mentioned in the first article that Buffalo Wild Wings is sponsoring it.

They just posted a video about BWW and didn't mention the sponsorship there.


You ALWAYS should mention when you are doing paid content -- which you shouldn't be doing at all apart from maybe some clearly identified social media posts.

Otherwise, there is no distinction between advertisement and legitimate authored content.


FWIW, I don't even like going to tastings and soft openings where you are given things for free. I'd much rather go opening day, support the business with my money, then not feel beholden to them in any way. I did this at Rendezvous and now will forever be their first-ever paying customer.

[king183]

I’ve noticed this happening more often in local tv news as well. They will have businesses on to talk about the services they offer, but frame it as a new story instead of an ad. It’s awful. This morning News9 had a moving company on for a segment to “give people advice” on how to pack for a move, but it was clearly just an ill-disguised ad for their company. Journalism from the traditional sources is dying in this state—if it hadn’t died already.

[mugofbeer]

I’ve noticed this happening more often in local tv news as well. They will have businesses on to talk about the services they offer, but frame it as a new story instead of an ad. It’s awful. This morning News9 had a moving company on for a segment to “give people advice” on how to pack for a move, but it was clearly just an ill-disguised ad for their company. Journalism from the traditional sources is dying in this state—if it hadn’t died already.

They do the same thing in Denver with mortgage companies, a window manufacturer and a leafless gutter company. It's not just OKC.

[Pete]

A certain alt-weekly in OKC started paid content 'articles' the first issue after I left.

In 40 years, not only was that never done, there was a great effort to put up a wall between editorial and sales -- figuratively and literally. So much so, sales never knew in advance what was going to be covered.

So many legacy publications use the excuse of struggle (all of their own making) to throw virtually any sense of ethics out the window.

[Pete]

They do the same thing in Denver with mortgage companies, a window manufacturer and a leafless gutter company. It's not just OKC.

How do you know? Do they identify it as paid advertising?

If so, that makes it slightly less repugnant.

[mugofbeer]

(Oh, law firm's, too) They are repeating segment with actors sitting at folding tables anwering 1970s black telephones. They are basically like 2-3 minute infomercials.

[Ginkasa]

Seems relevant to the current conversation, particularly considering The Oklahoman's ownership:

Did USA Today Run a ‘Front Page’ Ad With Fake Stories About Hybrid Babies? (Snopes.com)

[Pete]

This is the key point:

The Society for Professional Journalists code of ethics holds that ethical advertising should “distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.”

[TheTravellers]

A certain alt-weekly in OKC started paid content 'articles' the first issue after I left....

That explains the sh!t Sonic Seltzer "story", then...

[mugofbeer]

This is the key point:

The Society for Professional Journalists code of ethics holds that ethical advertising should “distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.”

I'm going to carefully watch these adds l talked about to see exactly how they are presented and send the quote if they aren't distinguished as advertisements. Thanks for this.

[Pete]

If you ever wonder the degree to which the Oklahoman bows down to big local companies like Devon, read this 'article' from today's paper. This is not news in any way shape or form, it's flat-out PR that almost certainly came from Devon's PR department.

Reminder that Jack Money (the author here) and Steve Lackmeyer co-wrote a book on Devon Tower called Operation Scissortail. I know for a fact that Devon approached them to write it in order to get the story published.

It contains this gem, which is absolutely incorrect. Devon insisted the tax revenue that was to be generated by its new complex be taken from the general fund that would largely go to public education and spend it to improve streets (the infamous Project 180) and the Myriad Gardens which would be outside their front door:

A tax increment financing district created to provide Devon with funds to help it complete its project raised about $156 million that the oil and gas operator signed over to city officials

Devon Energy's impact on Oklahoma City, state towers tall after 50 years

[Midtowner]

Wow.. yup..

But that's essentially what the Oklahoman has always been since foudning--a cheerleader/mouthpiece for the Chamber folks. There is virtually zero public knowledge as to how TIFs work and how they are legally robbing money from public education. How much could OKCPS have done with an extra $180MM? Clearly, lots.

[BoulderSooner]

Wow.. yup..

But that's essentially what the Oklahoman has always been since foudning--a cheerleader/mouthpiece for the Chamber folks. There is virtually zero public knowledge as to how TIFs work and how they are legally robbing money from public education. How much could OKCPS have done with an extra $180MM?

as with most things this is not that black and white .......

[Midtowner]

as with most things this is not that black and white .......

Devon was building their tower regardless of TIF financing for the surrounding area.

The TIF is paid off mostly by dollars which would have gone to public schools.

Is it not fair to respond to a puff piece about the good Devon does in the community by pointing out that they took well north of $100MM out of our public schools to beautify their campus?

[BoulderSooner]

Devon was building their tower regardless of TIF financing for the surrounding area.

this is not something that is provable ..


just as i can say that the city would have given Devon the same TIF deal even if they spend every dime on their building and property and not spend any of it on P180 or the MGB (i can't prove that but it seems likely)

so then that brings the question are we better off that devon wanted to make down town (around their building) a better place ?

[king183]

I took a look at the Norman Transcript for the first time in years and was shocked to see they are also operating with similar practices. In this case, they simply printed a press release from a politician as if it were a legitimate news story ("Pittman’s Legislation helps Boost Oklahoma’s Economy"). It's borderline propaganda. It's sad Oklahoma's largest and third largest city papers can't be trusted to provide unvarnished journalism.

[Midtowner]

this is not something that is provable ..

Oh goodie then, so what you're suggesting is that you think that Devon held the city hostage for $180MM from public schools or it would have taken its business elsewhere? That is not a better look.

[Pete]

Oh goodie then, so what you're suggesting is that you think that Devon held the city hostage for $180MM from public schools or it would have taken its business elsewhere? That is not a better look.

They pretty much said that; that they would consider moving to Houston if the city didn't agree to their terms.

[Urbanized]

Oh goodie then, so what you're suggesting is that you think that Devon held the city hostage for $180MM from public schools or it would have taken its business elsewhere? That is not a better look.

They pretty much said that; that they would consider moving to Houston if the city didn't agree to their terms.

I'm sorry, these are also incomplete retellings.

The TIF instrument and overlay already existed for downtown prior to the Devon TIF. If they had not worked with the City to create a separate TIF the money still would have been collected, and still would have been utilized for downtown economic development. And the TIF district overlay was negotiated with all parties affected, including the schools. They LITERALLY had to sign off on it prior to passage. The reasoning was that a high tide lifts all boats, and that general base collections would ALSO go up in the surrounding area, which they most certainly have.

What the Devon TIF did was earmark the NEW money generated from the new assessments generated by Devon tower above the then-existing benchmark, which took the property values on that site from roughly zero (essentially surface parking with some subsurface) to in the neighborhood of $750 million. Meaning value that pre-existed was still directed to the same taxing entities at the same level, but anything OVER the baseline went to the Devon TIF.

So now, instead of the excess generated funds going to the general TIF - which typically funds public infrastructure improvements adjacent to new development at a rate of the expected new tax to be generated by said development over a proscribed period of time - it went into a fund that Devon specified, which included all of Project 180 AND a roughly $30 million renovation of Myriad Botanical Gardens (which shortly after completion won national awards).

Now, it's fair to criticize the incomplete nature of P180 or whatever, but Devon COULD have insisted that the monies generated from the new TIF be spent immediately adjacent to their campus, and instead they asked to have it spent downtown-wide AND at MBG. Or, they could have left it alone and the monies STILL would have gone into a TIF district.

Also would really like to see any evidence where Devon threatened to leave for Houston if the Devon TIF wasn't passed. I saw the proposal document and they put on a full dog and pony show for OCURA and everyone else involved that honestly came off a bit hat in hand. As if they had to work to convince these people that they had value (this was when Chesapeake was doing really splashy things and getting all of the good headlines).

What I do remember is Larry Nichols admitting pretty publicly AFTER MAPS was getting traction that they had been really thankful when it was passed because quality of life investments had been key strategy for luring job seekers who otherwise would not have even considered OKC previously. He said that MAPS had probably saved Devon for OKC, and had it not passed (again, past tense) that they may have been forced to relocate to Houston like so many other Oklahoma-based energy companies. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's certainly how I recall all of it.