See a snapshot of Oklahoma in 2010 with the Outlook page
The biggest newspaper of the year came out on Sunday. It was our annual ‘Outlook’ section that takes a strong look at where we are as a community and where we are going as a state.
It’s always a fun read and a terrific snapshot of Oklahoma City and the surrounding state.
We always have a page that houses the entire ‘Outlook’ section. This year is no different, and Outlook 2010 is better than ever.
One reason the online outlook section so good this year is the virtual scavenger hunt quiz, where you look at a close up of a photo and identify the location of those images. I chose correctly on 10 of the 12 images. That’s almost an A-m but I’m pretty happy with my B.
Check out all the stories and the fun interactive elements in our annual Outlook 2010 section. And if you want, you can even click back to the 2009 section to see a snapshot of exactly one year ago.
The depth of NewsOK — it’s a passion
I tweeted this morning.
That’s what happens when I’m overcome with enthusiasm.
Amazing depth of coverage from @newsoksports. NFL Draft: http://newsok.com/sports/nfl OKC Thunder: http://newsok.com/sports/thunder #newsok
The tweet pretty much says it all. It says how I feel in 140 characters (I used every character available — that’s how passionate I was).
But here’s the truth: When you go through NewsOK.com and look beyond the home page, you see unmatched depth on so many topics. It’s really amazing to take a step back and look at all the coverage.
I just mentioned two deep coverage pages in my tweet today simply because those were creating the buzz this morning. But go ahead and click around, and you’ll see depth everywhere you look.
It’s just something that needs to be said every so often. It shows the great pride of the people who create, produce and display all the information we present on NewsOK. That much work from a limited number of people can’t be faked. They have to care about what they’re doing.
That’s something to be proud of.
An evening of breaking news in Edmond
I sat quietly at the Edmond Soccer Club field yesterday evening, awaiting the end of my 9-year-old’s soccer practice. The coach was talking to the team and about to release them. I sat on nearby bleachers watching my 5-year-old jump from bleacher to bleacher and waiting for him to fall and injure himself again.
Then, my cell phone buzzed.
7:16 p.m.: NewsOK.com Breaking News: Search under way in north Edmond for woman believed armed.
It was a text message from NewsOK’s breaking news team. That’s interesting, I thought, I’m sitting in North Edmond with two children in my care. Knowing that I could be affected, I clicked on the provided link in the text message and learned that police were searching for a woman a couple of miles from where I currently was.
I stored the knowledge away.
As we drove away from the fields, we pulled over as two fire trucks raced by. As I turned north … another buzz on my phone.
7:27 p.m.: NewsOK.com Breaking News: Edmond authorities in standoff negotiations with armed woman.
Wow! At a stoplight next to Lowe’s near Kelly Ave., and Covell Road in Edmond, I clicked on the link and learned that the woman was on the train tracks about a half-mile east of me.
A I approached Covell Road, I saw the previously mentioned fire trucks parked just east of Kelly, apparently (I concluded) to help set up a perimeter and keep people away.
I learned more of the story when I returned home, later learning that it ended peacefully enough.
But I realized two things as I arrived home.
- I am attached to my mobile device. I need my mobile device. My mobile device allows me to know things quickly at all times. Frankly, how did anyone ever get along without a smart phone?
- NewsOK is great at keeping me informed. Granted, I may not have clicked on that story if the original text message said something about being in southeast Oklahoma City. But I would have when I used to live there just to years ago. The point is, the information was timely. I was receiving a text alert from NewsOK as I drove past the event. The fire trucks had just gotten there. It was fast. It was accurate. I was informed.
I was a satisfied news consumer.
Just being an every day news consumer is good for me. I know all the people that work so hard to make NewsOK a quality product – both from a technological and from a journalistic standpoint. I think they all do a great job. And I know how much they care. I’m not an impartial observer.
But when I am using NewsOK as an every-day news consumer, that’s when I realize the power behind our work.
A night of journalism awards (and work)
I was lucky enough to attend the 2009 Carl Rogan Awards banquet Saturday night in Tulsa.
It was a nice drive, a nice dinner and some nice conversations with colleagues.
I even sat at the table with Ken 2.0 (and, yes, he was still eating reasonable portions).
But the honors made the night truly memorable.
- NewsOK.com won for Best Web Site.
- The Oklahoman won for best newspaper.
- Reporter Nolan Clay won the sweepstakes award, given for the best entry of ALL the award-winning entries for writing. He won for his role in the Dying Too Young series.
- Photojournalist John Clanton won the sweepstakes awards for the best entry of ALL the award-winning entries for photography.
It was a good night for NewsOK and The Oklahoman; we won 40 individual awards.
It was a good night for a dedicated group of journalists who truly aim to deliver quality products to our audience.
And if you want proof of that final statement (the one about truly aiming to deliver for our audience), try this:
Nolan was driving along I-44 on his way to Tulsa for the banquet, when he was diverted to cover the breaking news of the shooting at the mall in Muskogee. He had a choice: Receive a great honor in front of hundreds of colleagues … or cover a gang-shooting.
He chose our audience.
I think he made that choice based on his dedication to his craft. But perhaps the idea spending a night with a roomful of journalists sent him yearning for a gang-shooting. We’re still not sure.
Regardless, Nolan’s updates to the breaking news story appeared on NewsOK before I finished dessert.
And no, Ken 2.0 did not partake in dessert.
Public records dispute can be seen on one NewsOK page
The Oklahoman is sitting in the middle of a controversy.
It’s been there for weeks — actually, months.
The debate centers around the availability of public records, something journalists generally feel strongly about. They (or at least the ones in our newsroom) are passionate about the issue for one reason: They honestly believe in doing good journalistic work that serves the public at large.
We’ve covered the issue between the Oklahoma Public Employees Association and The Oklahoman pretty extensively.
The disagreement centers around the availability of birth dates of state employees. And it’s not simply an issue in Oklahoma; this debate about open records for American citizens is happening across the country.
Last week, NewsOK.com editors put together a page that provides the history of this specific issue, dating back to last August. You can read all the past stories, and even see the latest coverage from this weekend, including The Oklahoman editor Ed Kelley’s piece on why the issue is significant and the investigation about the state of Oklahoma selling the same personal data that is being currently debated.
Kelley’s final paragraph effectively summarizes the opinion of the editor:
We at The Oklahoman take very seriously the traditional watchdog role of the press in modern American life. At the heart of that role is journalistic oversight of government, particularly at the local and state level. Open records — of which dates of birth are a key component — and open meetings laws allow us to do our job on behalf of our readers and online audiences. We believe you’ve come to expect that from us through the years, and we intend to continue to meet your expectations in the future.
Join Ken Raymond on his trip from fat to fit
Last week, we started a new project on NewsOK.com.
It’s called “Ken 2.0: From Fat to Fit,” starring our own reporter Ken Raymond.
Ken is an outstanding writer and a first-class journalist. But that much was clear well before this project began.
What we didn’t necessarily know was the extent of Ken’s bravery.
Think about it. How many times have you embarked on a lifestyle change?
Any kind of lifestyle change … Dieting? Exercising? Quitting smoking? Going back to school? … anything. When you take on something like that, you are challenging yourself. And, likely, there’s some doubt in your own mind.
These kinds of things are hard — and you can often fail. Sometimes, you don’t even tell your loved ones for fear that it will put more pressure on succeeding in your personal challenge.
Now think about Ken. He’s blogging about it every day. He’s taking a video camera with him on his journey. He’s writing about it in The Oklahoman. He’s on Facebook. He’s on Twitter.
He has told the entire world. And he wants the entire world to go on the journey with him. He’ll document the trip, whether he succeeds or not.
Ken has told some amazing stories in the past. The stack of awards is proof of his talent. His last long-term project with us was the Jim Chastain: ‘Life is Real’ series as he detailed Jim’s battle with terminal cancer. In that project, Ken’s used his talents to shine light on the remarkable bravery of Jim Chastain and his family as they went down the path of ‘writing the final chapters’ of Jim’s life.
Now we see Ken becoming the subject of one of his stories. We hope you will join him.
