Inducted: 2008
WILLIAM P. BLEAKLEY (1943- ) grew up in Bethany and graduated from OU in political science on a Navy ROTC scholarship. He began his journalism career in the Navy during Vietnam, moonlighting for The Guam Daily News as night editor and a columnist. Returning to OU, he earned his law degree. A lifelong advocate of education, he represented the Oklahoma City school board, three educational foundations, and was a co-founder of the MAPS for Kids project. He founded The Oklahoma Gazette in 1979 to promote neighborhood conservation, and the paper has grown into Oklahoma’s largest general-circulation weekly. He sold his law firm in 2003, acquired OKC Business and formed Tierra Media Group, which includes magazine, online and wireless publishing.
