How we got here: In 2022, a steering committee of local journalism, community, philanthropy and business leaders worked with the American Journalism Project to conduct a comprehensive research study about local news needs in Tulsa.
Working with 11 community listening ambassadors representing a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, we conducted surveys, interviews and focus groups in three languages and heard from nearly 350 residents. Respondents said they needed a greater volume of reporting, better representation, and a closer community connection. They wanted journalism with high ethical standards, with public service at its core, that is free to access.
Out of those findings, a coalition of Tulsa organizations and philanthropists raised nearly $14 million to launch the Tulsa Local News Initiative.
Our plans: The Initiative will begin publishing The Oklahoma Eagle, a historic, award-winning Black-owned newspaper that has served Tulsans for over a century. The Oklahoma Eagle will expand, quadrupling its news gathering capacity and join a broader, newly launched newsroom. The new newsroom will be dedicated to ensuring all residents of Tulsa have access to the local news and information they need. In addition to producing high quality original reporting, the newsroom will launch a local affiliate of the Documenters Network by City Bureau, which trains and pays residents to cover public meetings.
The initiative will also invest in more journalism capacity for four local newsrooms, including The Frontier, an investigative newsroom in Tulsa; KOSU, a public radio station operated by Oklahoma State University; La Semana, a Tulsa-based bilingual Spanish-English newspaper serving Latino communities in the state; and Focus: Black Oklahoma, a radio program on issues relevant to BIPOC, rural, and marginalized communities statewide.
Together with the new initiative newsroom and other partners including Tulsa World, KOTV, owned by Griffin Media, TulsaPeople Magazine of Langdon Publishing, The University of Tulsa, and the Tulsa Press Club, these organizations form a growing coalition of partners who have agreed to collaborate to make the most of journalism resources in the city and beyond. All information produced by the Tulsa Local News Initiative will be free to access and available for republishing.
We’re building a growing coalition of partners and supporters to help ensure that all Tulsans have access to free, high quality, non-partisan news and information that will help them navigate their daily lives, connect to their communities, and make informed choices about the issues that matter to them, no matter who they are and where they live.
In addition to launching a new news organization, we are facilitating investments to add reporting resources in the region, and rallying philanthropy to advance local news as a mechanism for the improved health and vibrancy of Tulsa and its many communities. We are also fostering collaboration among partners, coordinating free content sharing, and providing shared resources that will help existing news outlets in Tulsa do more reporting and bring more journalism to more people.
To join our coalition, email partnerships@localnewsfortulsa.org
We are building a team to lead an ambitious, innovative, yet-to-be-named newsroom that superserves Tulsa communities. Our founding executive editor is Gary Lee, a twice Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist with a career spanning more than 30 years including at the Washington Post and Time Magazine who most recently was managing editor at The Oklahoma Eagle. We have kicked off a search for our founding CEO, who will be hired through a public process shepherded by a search committee that represents local and national expertise in journalism, community and nonprofit, and will include community input.
Additionally, we are hiring reporters, editors, an art director, an audience and membership director and more.
Executive Editor
Attorney and owner of The Oklahoma Eagle
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Executive Director, Leadership Tulsa
Former Tulsa mayor
Managing Director, Build in Tulsa; former journalist
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Managing Partner and CEO, COMSTAR Advisors
Journalist and philanthropist
Journalist and educator
Chief Investment Officer, American Journalism Project
We’re partnering with a group of local leaders with deep connections across Tulsa to help ensure our community-focused journalism remains rooted in community priorities.
Proprietor Chef, Meal Prep Tulsa
Executive Director, Casa de la Cultura
Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Black Wall Street Times
Development Administrator, University of Tulsa
Deputy Director, Terence Crutcher Foundation
Academic Counselor, Tulsa Community College
Graphic Designer, Tulsa Global District
The research and community listening that led to the formation of the Tulsa Local News Initiative was led by a group of local civic leaders and organized by the American Journalism Project.
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Owner and Principal, AR Clinton: Communications. Strategies. Content.
CEO, Oasis Fresh Market
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Executive Director, Avanzando Juntos
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CEO, Tulsa Community Foundation
Journalist and philanthropist
Tulsa business leader
Founder & Owner, Fulton Street Books & Coffee
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