LOCAL NEWS FOR A STRONGER TULSA

We’re building a news organization that serves all Tulsans

TULSA NEEDS MORE LOCAL NEWS

Mirroring national trends–where nearly 60% of newsroom jobs have been lost since 2008–local news in Tulsa faces ongoing challenges and diminishing resources. As a result, residents lack access to the news and information needed to navigate daily life, participate in our communities, and hold power accountable, leading to widespread feelings of distrust, isolation, and disconnection.

THE TULSA LOCAL NEWS INITIATIVE

We’re launching the Tulsa Local News Initiative to revitalize local news, to reimagine how newsrooms engage with and serve Tulsa residents, and to improve quality of life for all Tulsans. With nearly $14 million raised to date, we are adding nearly two dozen local jobs dedicated to serving Tulsans, earning their trust, and working toward a stronger sense of community connection and civic engagement. All information produced by the Tulsa Local News Initiative will be free to access and available for republishing.

Who we are

The L.A. Local News Initiative is a coalition of local leaders in media and philanthropy.

Our goal is to provide free access to high-quality news and information that fosters civic engagement, increases accountability, builds trust, and uplifts our communities. We’re launching a new nonprofit organization that operates community newsrooms, invests in shared region wide accountability reporting by LAist and CalMatters, and fosters collaboration among a growing group of local media and university partners to bring more journalism to more people. Our yet-to-be named newsrooms will add more than three dozen local journalism jobs, incorporating the pioneering Boyle Heights Beat, a bilingual community newsroom offering “noticias por y para la comunidad,” or “news by and for the community,” and replicating their model across the city to increase neighborhood and community level reporting across Los Angeles.

OUR STRATegY

A team of 11 community ambassadors spoke to nearly 350 Tulsans across 49 zip codes through direct interviews, focus groups and surveys. Research revealed a desire for greater depth and nuance in reporting, increased access to information without paywalls, and in languages other than English. It also showed us a vibrant local news ecosystem doing its level best to meet the information needs of Tulsans despite shrinking newsrooms and limited capacity. As a result, our strategy is threefold:

Expand The Oklahoma Eagle

We will publish and expand the 102-year old, historic Tulsa paper, quadrupling its newsgathering capacity.

LAUNCH A NEW NEWSROOM

The Eagle will be part of a broader, newly launched newsroom that serves all Tulsans with a combination of accountability and community-oriented reporting.

INCREASE CAPACITY & COLLABORATE

We’re investing in journalism capacity at The Frontier, KOSU, La Semana, and Focus: Black Oklahoma, and will be fostering collaboration with Tulsa World and others to strengthen our collective reporting for Tulsa.

We're hiring

”We’re building a team of people who are passionate about Tulsa and public service journalism.”
‍
- Gary Lee, Executive Editor

Join executive editor Gary Lee and start creating an immediate impact in Tulsa. We’ve launched a search for a CEO and posted more than a dozen additional positions across the newsroom.

See Open Positions

Our board

James (Jim) Osby Goodwin

James (Jim) Osby Goodwin

Attorney and owner of The Oklahoma Eagle

Marcia Bruno-Todd

Marcia Bruno-Todd

Executive Director, Leadership Tulsa

Prof. Rodger Randle

Prof. Rodger Randle

Former Tulsa mayor

Ashli Sims

Ashli Sims

Managing Director, Build in Tulsa; former journalist

Sam Combs, III

Sam Combs, III

Managing Partner and CEO, COMSTAR Advisors

Emily Kaiser

Emily Kaiser

Journalist and philanthropist

M. David Goodwin

M. David Goodwin

Journalist and educator

Michael Ouimette

Michael Ouimette

Chief Investment Officer, American Journalism Project

Learn more

Well-reported, contextual, and explanatory news and information are vital elements of a healthy community.

About The Tulsa Local News Initiative
MEET OUR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND COALITION OF PARTNERS.
“This is a historic moment for the Eagle and for Tulsa. For over 100 years, the Eagle has held true in its mission to uplift the voices and perspectives of communities traditionally underserved by mainstream media. Joining this nonprofit movement to grow and sustain public service journalism in our communities will ensure the continued longevity of our work, and ensure that Tulsa and Oklahoma have a strong, independent local press that works for the people above all else.”
James (Jim) Osby Goodwin,
Board Member
How to support
Nonprofit local journalism is vital to our communities. We can all play a role in ensuring its success!
Photo: Maxine Wallace
"Responsible journalism brings us together. The credible news that responsible journalists provide becomes a glue that makes society come together and function together in a way that benefits us all… Our success at the local level depends upon us at the local level, individually as citizens participating. And to participate, we've got to know what's happening."
Prof. RoDger Randle,
Board Member
—Sandra Edwards, resident of Fifth Ward, co-founder of Mz Impact
“The Tulsa World is happy to join with the Tulsa Local News Initiative to bring more local journalism to Tulsans. Their work will complement the work of our newsroom. Our goal is the same: A more informed community.”
Jason Collington
Tulsa world Editor, Media Partner
—Sandra Edwards, resident of Fifth Ward, co-founder of Mz Impact
Take our survey

What Tulsans SAY ABOUT local news

People from across Tulsa are telling us what they want from local news.
Here are some of their perspectives:

“This news initiative is an exciting enterprise because it is recovering and restoring Tulsa’s legacy of local journalism and community engagement - with the added vibrance of diverse voices... With Gary Lee at the helm, the reporting is sure to be balanced and objective journalism that informs and engages readers.”

Nancy Owens, Community Advisory Committee

Nancy Owens, Community Advisory Committee

“Most of the time, ethnic communities have no voice to represent them. I am excited that this new initiative will give a voice to the voiceless. It will be a big responsibility, but we will accomplish the task with hard work.”

Francisco Treviño, Community Advisory Committee

Francisco Treviño, Community Advisory Committee

"Strong local journalism is not only vital to our democracy, but it knits the fabric of our community together. The stories we tell each other and the ones we don't define how we view our community. If we want our city to live up to our ideals, we need to support robust journalism that is well-resourced, comprehensive and objective."

Ashli Sims, Managing Director, Build in Tulsa, TLNI Board Member

Ashli Sims, Managing Director, Build in Tulsa, TLNI Board Member

"I wish local news would be more comprehensive. It just highlights a few events and doesn't give a broader view of what is really happening in the community."

Muskogee resident

Muskogee resident

"I wish the local news would be more proactive about exposing corruption in local government and cover more stories involving marginalized people, the kind of things that usually get swept under the rug."

Glenpool resident

Glenpool resident

"Hire more journalists to cover the many stories about our city that are currently not being told."

East Tulsa resident

East Tulsa resident

"Tulsa is more diverse [than people realize]… not just race, gender, socioeconomic status, but also life experiences, political positions, and faith expressions… we do a disservice when we blanket over that."

Midtown resident

Midtown resident

"If we were to have our community portrayed in a better light, then more people might be willing to invest in our community."

North Tulsa resident

North Tulsa resident

"I wish the local news would give more information to us in order to know where to go if we had a problem."

East Tulsa resident

East Tulsa resident

"We need more access to information about what's going on in the community regarding everything: childcare, housing, voting. We just need a way to get information, unbiased information."

North Tulsa resident

North Tulsa resident

“This news initiative is an exciting enterprise because it is recovering and restoring Tulsa’s legacy of local journalism and community engagement - with the added vibrance of diverse voices... With Gary Lee at the helm, the reporting is sure to be balanced and objective journalism that informs and engages readers.”

Nancy Owens, Community Advisory Committee

“Most of the time, ethnic communities have no voice to represent them. I am excited that this new initiative will give a voice to the voiceless. It will be a big responsibility, but we will accomplish the task with hard work.”

Francisco Treviño, Community Advisory Committee

"Strong local journalism is not only vital to our democracy, but it knits the fabric of our community together. The stories we tell each other and the ones we don't define how we view our community. If we want our city to live up to our ideals, we need to support robust journalism that is well-resourced, comprehensive and objective."

Ashli Sims, Managing Director, Build in Tulsa, TLNI Board Member

"I wish local news would be more comprehensive. It just highlights a few events and doesn't give a broader view of what is really happening in the community."

Muskogee resident

"I wish the local news would be more proactive about exposing corruption in local government and cover more stories involving marginalized people, the kind of things that usually get swept under the rug."

Glenpool resident

"Hire more journalists to cover the many stories about our city that are currently not being told."

East Tulsa resident

"Tulsa is more diverse [than people realize]… not just race, gender, socioeconomic status, but also life experiences, political positions, and faith expressions… we do a disservice when we blanket over that."

Midtown resident

"If we were to have our community portrayed in a better light, then more people might be willing to invest in our community."

North Tulsa resident

"I wish the local news would give more information to us in order to know where to go if we had a problem."

East Tulsa resident

"We need more access to information about what's going on in the community regarding everything: childcare, housing, voting. We just need a way to get information, unbiased information."

North Tulsa resident

News and information for a strong, vibrant Tulsa.

Info
How to Support
Jobs
Sign up for updatesDonate
Coming Soon!
Donate
© 2024 Tulsa Local News Initiative. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy
Terms and conditions