The Oklahoman
Samuel W. Small established The Daily Oklahoman in 1894 within the heart of Oklahoma City. A bank eventually seized control of the struggling publication and leased it to Charles F. Barrett. R. Q. Blakeney took over operations before Roy E. Stafford and W. T. Parker purchased the paper in 1900. Edward K. Gaylord acquired ownership in 1903, beginning a seventy-one year reign that would define the newspaper's identity. Gaylord expanded his influence by purchasing Oklahoma's first radio station WKY in 1928. He later launched the state's first television station WKY-TV, creating a broadcasting empire with six TV stations and five radio stations at its peak. Nearly all broadcasting interests were sold off by 1996, though the paper retained WKY radio until 2002. Gaylord died at age 101 after controlling the newspaper for seven decades. Management passed to his son Edward L. Gaylord who ran the operation from 1974 to 2003. Christy Gaylord Everest served as chairwoman and CEO until the company was sold to Philip Anschutz in 2011.
On the 15th of September 2011, officials announced that all assets of Oklahoma Publishing Company including The Oklahoman would be sold to Denver-based businessman Philip Anschutz. The sale closed in October 2011 while OPUBCO remained independent in operation. In 2018, Anschutz sold The Oklahoman Media Company portion of OPUBCO to GateHouse Media for $12.5 million. This transaction included NewsOK.com, BigWing, and The Oklahoman Direct marking the first time the newspaper was owned by a publicly traded company. On the 11th of November 2019, GateHouse Media and Gannett announced a merger where GateHouse would acquire Gannett and take its name. The corporate merger finalized on the 19th of November 2019. The issue dated the 20th of November 2019 became the first to show Gannett as the copyright owner reflecting the rebranding of GateHouse Media. Copies are currently sold for two dollars daily or four dollars on Sundays and Thanksgiving Day with higher prices outside Oklahoma County and adjacent counties. The newspaper is now published by Gannett which is owned by Fortress Investment Group and Softbank since the 1st of October 2018.
The Oklahomans offices occupy 100 W. Main inside the Century Center office building connected to the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. Until 1991, the Oklahoma Publishing Company headquarters sat at N.W. 4th Street and Broadway in downtown Oklahoma City. In 1991, OPUBCO moved to a twelve-story tower located at Broadway Extension and Britton Road in the northern part of the city. That building was sold to American Fidelity Assurance in 2012. Office space was then leased back to OPUBCO until plans were finalized for the company to move its headquarters again. After a twenty-three year absence from downtown Oklahoma City, staff members moved to their current location in early 2015. In 2016, printing and production shifted to The Tulsa World causing the Oklahoman facility to close. As part of the closure, one hundred thirty employees were laid off while pre-production and layout services were sourced to the GateHouse Media-owned Center for News and Design in Austin Texas. The former production plant at Broadway Extension and Britton Road was razed by the site's new owner. In 2021, The Oklahomans staff vacated the newsroom for renovations after KWTV-DT News9 took over the space as Griffin Communications.
In October 2003, The Daily Oklahoman was renamed The Oklahoman with OPUBCO retaining registered trademarks of The Sunday Oklahoman and The Oklahoma City Times. In November 2008, the newspaper announced it was reducing its circulation area to cover approximately the western two-thirds of the state rather than statewide. This shift halted delivery in Tulsa which reduced the paper's circulation by about seven thousand homes. In January 2009, The Oklahoman and the Tulsa World announced a content-sharing agreement where each paper would carry some content created by the other. In 2010, The Oklahoman introduced the first iPad app for a newspaper or multimedia company of its size in the United States. NewsOK was originally launched on the 19th of August 2001 as a joint venture between KWTV-DT and The Oklahoman before OPUBCO obtained full control in 2008. The Oklahoman announced it would retire the NewsOK brand and redirect all URLs to Oklahoman.com on the 22nd of May 2019. In March 2022, The Oklahoman moved to a six day printing schedule eliminating its printed Saturday edition. Look At OKC was launched in 2006 as a weekly alt magazine distributed in free racks throughout the Oklahoma City metro area until quietly discontinued with the final issue published on the 28th of June 2018.
A 1998 American Journalism Review survey characterized the paper as suffering from understaffing uninspired content and political bias despite acknowledging positive contributions as a corporate citizen. In 1999, the Columbia Journalism Review published an article calling The Oklahoman the Worst Newspaper in America citing conformance to right-wing political views alleged racist hiring practices and high costs of ads. On the 1st of May 2014, the sports section ran the headline Mr. Unreliable in reference to Kevin Durant's performance against the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2014 NBA Playoffs. Sports Director Mike Sherman later issued an apology for the national criticism drawn by that headline. On the 3rd of June 2020, the editorial board published an opinion piece about the George Floyd protests with the word thuggish in the headline. After considerable backlash, the editorial board issued an apology for the inflammatory language used regarding the protests. Despite these controversies, OPUBCO Communications Group has won numerous awards for innovations newspaper redesign First Amendment coverage sports coverage breaking news and in-depth multimedia projects.
In 1939, Charles George Werner a rookie political cartoonist at the newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. The winning cartoon titled Nomination for 1938 depicted the Nobel Peace Prize resting on a grave marked Czechoslovakia 1919, 1938. Published on the 6th of October 1938, the cartoon bit at the recently concluded Munich Agreement which transferred the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. Another notable cartoonist for the paper was Jim Lange who worked for the paper for fifty-eight years and produced over nineteen thousand cartoons. Lange took early retirement after his long tenure ending in December 2008. The paper continues to honor this legacy through its commitment to editorial excellence despite facing criticism from external reviewers. Management of the newspaper passed to Edward L. Gaylord who managed it from 1974 to 2003 before Christy Gaylord Everest took over until 2011. Current executive editor Ray Rivera oversees Gannett's Sunbelt region encompassing some forty-two daily and weekly newspapers across Oklahoma Texas New Mexico and Colorado.
The 2013 Heartland Regional Emmy Award recognized Thunder Coverage Pictures in Motion as Commercial Single Spot winner. Multiple ADDY Bronze Awards were granted in 2013 for Sales Promotion Newspaper campaigns including Devon Energy/The Oklahoman School Archive Campaign and Devon Tower Promotion. Silver awards went to Television The Oklahoman Thunder Animated Photography and Digital Advertising projects featuring Braums Ice Cream and Dairy Stores plus Tony's Tree Plantation. In 2012, Nine Telly Awards were won by The Video Department with two Silver and seven Bronze awards in the annual international contest. Sarah Phipps finished third in Still Photography/Sports Feature at the 2012 Best of Photojournalism competition. Bryan Painter won first place in Business for his drought series under SABEW Best in Business honors. Five Top 10s were awarded to Daily Section Sunday Section Special Section and Multimedia by APSE while Berry Tramel finished third in Columns. Jenni Carlson and Sarah Phipps were named finalists by NABJ for Raising Barry Sanders and Yvette Walker for Finding a Forever Family. Pat Gilliland placed third in Headlines under ACES rules while Darnell Mayberry won first place from PBWA for his profile on Russell Westbrook.
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Common questions
Who founded The Oklahoman newspaper and when was it established?
Samuel W. Small established The Daily Oklahoman in 1894 within the heart of Oklahoma City.
When did Philip Anschutz acquire ownership of The Oklahoman?
Officials announced that all assets of Oklahoma Publishing Company including The Oklahoman would be sold to Denver-based businessman Philip Anschutz on the 15th of September 2011 with the sale closing in October 2011.
Where are The Oklahoman offices located today?
The Oklahomans offices occupy 100 W. Main inside the Century Center office building connected to the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City after staff members moved there in early 2015 following a twenty-three year absence from downtown.
What happened to The Oklahoman circulation area in November 2008?
In November 2008, the newspaper announced it was reducing its circulation area to cover approximately the western two-thirds of the state rather than statewide which halted delivery in Tulsa and reduced the paper's circulation by about seven thousand homes.
Who won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning while working at The Oklahoman?
Charles George Werner a rookie political cartoonist at the newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1939 for his winning cartoon titled Nomination for 1938 published on the 6th of October 1938.
Which company currently owns The Oklahoman newspaper as of 2018?
The newspaper is now published by Gannett which is owned by Fortress Investment Group and Softbank since the 1st of October 2018.