with one-liners and off-beat style, he roped in a generation and beyond By Joseph H. Carter, Sr., 1992 Inductee Will Rogers was born in 1879 on a sprawling Cherokee ranch near Oologah, Indian Territory. After working cattle and riding the range, Will Rogers circumnavigated the globe three times. He launched his show business career as […]
home with the most powerful in Washington By Vivian Vahlberg, 1983 Inductee Everyone in my seventh-grade carpool to Oklahoma City’s Taft Junior High School wanted to try out for the school newspaper. I didn’t. I had no interest in getting my hands dirty with printers’ ink. When I learned that being on newspaper staff meant […]
story behind Pulitzer Prize photo By Lindel Hutson, 2008 Inductee It is three hours after a bomb ripped open the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, and The Associated Press bureau in Oklahoma City is in a frenzy. Our phones ringing nonstop. Reporters call in dictation. Photographers hustle to transmit images. Every executive in New York […]
‘The Hanoi Hilton’ and the day of tragedy in my own hometown By Linda Cavanaugh, 1998 Inductee From the air, it was a beautiful sight. Our plane had begun the descent to land in Vietnam, and I marveled at the number of small blue lakes that dotted the countryside. Former Vietnam prisoner of war and […]
Henry Bellmon and me By John Greiner, 1993 inductee When Henry Bellmon left the U.S. Senate, he was appointed by Governor George Nigh to head the Department of Human Services, also known as the Welfare Department. Bellmon wasted no time in developing a reorganization plan for the massive agency. When he was ready to present […]
respect for the founder, and don’t call him Ray By Joe Hight, 2013 Inductee Ray Tassin demanded the same respect in the classroom as he did as a Naval Reserve commander. The World War II veteran, chairman of the Central State University Journalism Department, founder of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, and member since […]
unspeakable honor of that day By Billie Rodely, 2003 Inductee It wasn’t writer’s block or a simple loss for words. That day 25 years ago the only word I could conjure was “unspeakable.” a Reporter for radio is to paint word pictures for listeners, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to turn on the tape […]
the persistence to keep digging By Joe Hight, 2013 Inductee WEWOKA—Keep digging. Keep asking questions. Those words could be good advice for any journalist. But they were among the hallmarks of Vance H. Trimble’s journalism and writing career that spanned for more than 85 years. A career that included a Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting; […]
and their passion for the American West By Lindel Hutson, 2008 inductee They were great storytellers with a passion for the American West. All famous writers, their works can be found on bookshelves around the globe. These members of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame include Tony Hillerman, David Dary, Eric Allen, Dr. Stan Hoig, […]
William P. Ross: the ‘founding father of Oklahoma journalism’ By Emily Siddiqui, Student Editor William Potter Ross left a legacy of loyalty and service for his country and his people. As the first newspaper editor in Indian Territory, he would come to be known as the founding father of Oklahoma journalism. Ross was born in […]