warning: writing is hard work By Bob G. Burke, 2003 Inductee I was a junior at the University of Oklahoma in 1969 when I met Jack Bickham. It was his first year as an assistant professor in the widely acclaimed Professional Writing Program in the H.H. Herbert School of Journalism. But Bickham was hardly a […]
from small moments to a legacy By Sue Hale, 2005 Inductee As city editor of The Oklahoman, I was at my desk, editing frantically to make deadline. It was a winter’s night in 1986. Suddenly I realized someone was standing next to me. Edith Gaylord had been attending a concert downtown. “That series you wrote […]
cup of coffee may have saved him By Ralph Schaefer, 2017 Inductee A Cup of coffee probably saved David Page from serious injury when his editor’s office inside The Journal Record was extensively damaged April 19, 1995. The target was the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, but surrounding buildings were badly damaged, and many were […]
the father-son bond By Linda Cavanaugh, 1998 Inductee It was a daily ritual in our newsroom. A special moment between father and son. Every time Bob Barry, Jr. (BBJ) came in for his shift, he’d make his way over to his legendary sportscasting dad and give him a big, messy kiss on the cheek. They’d […]
the Hall of Famers who fearlessly worked to expose wrongdoing By Mary Hargrove, 2018 Inductee I was 24 years old when the Tulsa Tribune hired me in the fall of 1974. I insisted I wanted to be an investigative reporter. President Richard Nixon had resigned six months earlier, following two years of dogged reporting by […]
just so you know the rest of the story By John Durkee, 2017 Inductee No one knows who delivered the first radio news broadcast in Tulsa. Most likely it was on station WLAL. The original owner said the call letters stood for “We Laugh A Little.” The station signed on in October of 1923. The […]
time to celebrate, appreciate, and reflect on the Eagle By David Goodwin In 2003, I was named editor of The Middletown Journal in Ohio. It was an occasion to celebrate, to appreciate, and to reflect. Celebrate: I was a rarity in daily newspaper leadership. I was one of only eleven African- American journalists as an […]
Dyers lead with six Hall of Fame members By Ray Dyer & Andy Rieger, 2010 Inductees Oklahoma newspaper pioneers simultaneously built their hometowns while collectively lifting their young state. Families were and are the cornerstone of the state’s weekly and daily publications. They had well-known Oklahoma names, such as Gaylord, Lorton, Jones, Livermore, Mayo, Dyer, […]
family dynasties, broadcast pioneers, northeast Oklahomans, and changes in the Hall of Fame The fifth decade of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame kicked off with dynasties and broadcast pioneers. Three more Dyers were added during the decade. Brothers and community publishers Ray and Sean Dyer were both inducted in 2010. Kelly Dyer Fry, who […]
speaking the state’s language By Berry Tramel, 2018 Inductee I walked into the Shawnee High School football press box in 1980 as a 19-year-old Reporter who didn’t know a deadline from a dateline. I met the old guy covering the Shawnee Wolves. Roy Angel. I didn’t know I was in the presence of a legend. […]