OPUBCO / Oklahoman Business Practices

[TheTravellers]

Only thing I go there for is Lackmeyer's chat on Fridays, there's some actual useful information there (when he doesn't answer "I'll check into it", that is).

[barrettd]

Only thing I go there for is Lackmeyer's chat on Fridays, there's some actual useful information there (when he doesn't answer "I'll check into it", that is).

I suppose, but if I'm ever curious about something around town, I message Pete and he's usually already got an answer for it. I don't think Steve has the market cornered on future plans for OKC anymore, if he ever did.

[TheTravellers]

I suppose, but if I'm ever curious about something around town, I message Pete and he's usually already got an answer for it. I don't think Steve has the market cornered on future plans for OKC anymore, if he ever did.

Nope, he doesn't, but he has posted things that haven't been posted here yet, and it's interesting to see what the other chat participants have to say since some of them are pretty knowledgeable and some others are city employees.

[barrettd]

Nope, he doesn't, but he has posted things that haven't been posted here yet, and it's interesting to see what the other chat participants have to say since some of them are pretty knowledgeable and some others are city employees.

Very true. When I think of it, I do occasionally read the chat transcripts. This site is just a lot easier to navigate and keep up with, for me.

[cindycat]

How can I get a response when I ask a question about the content on oklahoma.com? The weather page used to open with the current temperature and 7-day forecast. Now, nothing. If I click on any of the options, a little note in the bottom left corner says java script: (0); If I click on the map, I get a new screen with an error message. I've tried three people (guessing, because there's no address for Weather or Online Content) with no reply.

[Anonymous.]

How can I get a response when I ask a question about the content on oklahoma.com? The weather page used to open with the current temperature and 7-day forecast. Now, nothing. If I click on any of the options, a little note in the bottom left corner says java script: (0); If I click on the map, I get a new screen with an error message. I've tried three people (guessing, because there's no address for Weather or Online Content) with no reply.

Do yourself a favor and just use the Mesonet.

https://www.mesonet.org/index.php/fo...l_and_regional

[Swake]

It's only been a month since Gatehouse and Gannett merged. I would expect in the coming months that The Oklahoman website will be converted to the Gannett standard website, all of Gannett's local papers look the same, it's a bit like how USA Today looks.

As they merge websites and billing systems the existing systems likely will not to not be maintained well, sometimes not at all. I would also hope their reporting to get more professional.

A couple of examples of Gannett papers:
https://www.desmoinesregister.com
https://www.indystar.com

And then of course USA Today:
https://www.usatoday.com

[Mr. Blue Sky]

It's only been a month since Gatehouse and Gannett merged. I would expect in the coming months that The Oklahoman website will be converted to the Gannett standard website, all of Gannett's local papers look the same, it's a bit like how USA Today looks.

As they merge websites and billing systems the existing systems likely will not to not be maintained well, sometimes not at all. I would also hope their reporting to get more professional.

A couple of examples of Gannett papers:
https://www.desmoinesregister.com
https://www.indystar.com

And then of course USA Today:
https://www.usatoday.com

Swake, I see it all as nothing but a disaster. The key is that it was Gatehouse that acquired Gannett, not the other way around. Gatehouse Media ceased to exist as they absorbed Gannett by way of a huge $1 Billion+ loan at 11% interest. They chose the Gannett brand over Gatehouse by naming the new company Gannett. The CEO is Mike Reed (the Gatehouse CEO). He is to journalists as "Chainsaw" Al Dunlap was to factory workers. Reed's big promise to stockholders is to cut some $300,000,000.00 in operating costs by way of the merger and "strategic cost cuts." Some think it will mean up to 5,000 jobs over the next two years. The first round of layoffs a couple of weeks ago was peanuts compared to what's to come in 2020.

[okatty]

^I guess it’s a pipe dream to expect George Schroeder (USA Today) to land on the sports staff of the Oklahoman. I saw he was caught up in staff reductions at USA Today.

[BoulderSooner]

^I guess it’s a pipe dream to expect George Schroeder (USA Today) to land on the sports staff of the Oklahoman. I saw he was caught up in staff reductions at USA Today.

george will land somewhere great ... he is very talented ..

[okatty]

george will land somewhere great ... he is very talented ..

He really is. Also enjoy him on radio.

[Rover]

He really is. Also enjoy him on radio.

Hey... maybe he could replace Trabor.

[The Shadow]

Perhaps I missed it, but why am I not surprised "the paper" has yet to do a story on the Casady graduate charged with first degree murder? Hmmm

[chuck5815]

Perhaps I missed it, but why am I not surprised "the paper" has yet to do a story on the Casady graduate charged with first degree murder? Hmmm

It sounds like she graduated from Casady, but ultimately turned out to be a very Bad Mujer.

[Rover]

Perhaps I missed it, but why am I not surprised "the paper" has yet to do a story on the Casady graduate charged with first degree murder? Hmmm

Who are you talking about?

I know what you are insinuating, but bad people come from all walks of life. To imply that OPUBCO is covering up a murder because of someone's high school, social status, or anything else is just wrong.

[barrettd]

Perhaps I missed it, but why am I not surprised "the paper" has yet to do a story on the Casady graduate charged with first degree murder? Hmmm

I would say it has less to do with the student and more to do with the general lack of reporting on the paper's part on pretty much anything. Add to that most of the site is now behind a paywall, and the site is a horrible mess on a good day, and it's no surprise that 1. they didn't report on the story at all or 2. they did report on it but it's impossible to find on that site.

The TV stations all carried it on the news. The accused is a former student of my wife so she was following it all when it broke.

[Dob Hooligan]

It hasn’t been a week. Seems like they put a couple crime stories on page 4 or 5, and they are more concerned about ad layout than timeliness. I’m guessing it will run in the Sunday edition.

[CloudDeckMedia]

OCPD issued a release on this incident through their Twitter & FB accounts. The 10:00 p.m. local TV news is where you’ll find “police blotter” info, a la “If it bleeds it leads.”

[The Shadow]

OCPD issued a release on this incident through their Twitter & FB accounts. The 10:00 p.m. local TV news is where you’ll find “police blotter” info, a la “If it bleeds it leads.”

Exactly, I'd say the reason the story ran on Channel 4, 5 ,9 and 25 is because it's a very juicy news story and that spells ratings. The more people who watch your 10pm news slot, the more you can charge for advertising. I noticed locally owned channel 9 actually teased the story in the earlier newscasts to get the viewer to tune in at 10pm. And yes, when they teased the story they actually said the words "former Casady student in OK county jail for murder." You realize that is a lot more enticing to the viewer than something like "former John Marshall student in OK county jail for murder." And thats why they do it.

I'd say the reason you have yet to see the story run in the Oklahoman also has to do with advertising. If you take the print edition of the paper, you'll notice Casady is an advertiser. Any idea what a half page ad in the Sunday edition costs? It's not cheap, but they do it because the paper is one of the easiest ways in town to expose your business to affluent consumers. You'll also notice that Casady's athletic programs get a lot of publicity in the paper, and they're not even members of the OSSAA. Considering the crime involves a former Casady athlete being held without bond for a gruesome murder, that might have a little something to do with it.

Eventually they will have to run the story, which is what they did involving the other two murder cases involving Casady alums over the last two decades. The difference is, in both of those cases the alum was the murder victim and not the perpetrator. Both of those cases involved drug transactions.

[CloudDeckMedia]

I'd say the reason you have yet to see the story run in the Oklahoman also has to do with advertising. If you take the print edition of the paper, you'll notice Casady is an advertiser.

That's a bold claim. Would you mind sharing your data on murder suspects who have graduated from Oklahoman advertisers versus those who haven't?

[The Shadow]

^Cloud Deck, this is unique in that the advertiser is a school, and the only schools which would ever advertise in the paper are private. To my knowledge, there has never been a Casady, Heritage or McGuinness alum charged with 1st degree murder in OK Co. That's why I think this case kind of sticks out. Not to mention, the paper seems to sometimes be a little selective when reporting about their advertisers when they get in trouble....Chesapeake, Teemco, Epic Charter School, Farmers Bank etc...

[Dob Hooligan]

^Cloud Deck, this is unique in that the advertiser is a school, and the only schools which would ever advertise in the paper are private. To my knowledge, there has never been a Casady, Heritage or McGuinness alum charged with 1st degree murder in OK Co. That's why I think this case kind of sticks out. Not to mention, the paper seems to sometimes be a little selective when reporting about their advertisers when they get in trouble....Chesapeake, Teemco, Epic Charter School, Farmers Bank etc...

If I were to question your reasoning, I would suggest that the local ownership of KWTV 9 are probably Casady (or Heritage Hall) families, and the Oklahoman is owned by nationwide company GateHouse Media (name changing to Gannett). And the local company would be more afraid of heartburn from covering the story.

[Pete]

Gannett -- the monster conglomerate that owns the Oklahoman -- is forcing all employees to do the following based on a column by Berry Tramel:

One week a month for three months, everyone who works for Gannett must take off, unpaid.

[keyboard]

Maybe they are "auditioning" to see who is missed the least workwise during the unpaid furlough, in the ever-ending quest to whittle down the number of "essential" employees and save/make money.

[mugofbeer]

I find that a lot more moral a thing to do than, as the mortgage bust was taking hold, my old employer cut employee pay 40% then never reinstated it long after the company's financial fortunes had recovered.