Inducted: 2017
JAMES BEATY (1952- ), managing editor at the McAlester News-Capital, began there after graduation from East Central University in 1985. His reporting and writing, especially investigative journalism, have won a multitude of awards. He helped report and write a series exposing nepotism and other issues that led to the dismissal of the school superintendent in 2016. It earned six state and national awards, including a national SPJ first place in-depth enterprise reporting award, presented in Washington. He’s twice won AP sweepstakes awards for investigating city hall corruption, leading to the firing and resignation of two city managers. His weekly column, “Rambling Round” is a reader favorite, and has won national and state awards. Beaty was an artist-in-residence for the Oklahoma Arts and Humanities council in poetry and folk music. At East Central, he was editor of the literary magazine and won ECU’s Paul Hughes Award.
