Lifetime Awards | The Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame

Explore our gallery of Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame members. Learn about how to make a nomination.

Hall of Fame Honorees

Lifetime Achievement Awards

Drew Edmondson

2022 Lifetime Achievement Award DREW EDMONDSON (1946- ) was Oklahoma Attorney General from 1995-2011. His 58 opinions defending the Open Meeting and Open Records Acts strengthened citizen access to government. He sued the tobacco industry, winning a national...

Dr. Joe Foote

2018 Lifetime Achievement Award DR. JOE FOOTE (1949- ) was Dean of the Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma from 2004 to 2015 and is now Dean Emeritus. He was Director of the Walter Cronkite School at Arizona State, a journalism dean at Southern Illinois...

Dr. Don Betz

2019 Lifetime Achievement Award DR. DON BETZ (1945- ) Betz began his distinguished career in higher education as a member of the Faculty/Administration at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah in 1971. Betz would remain in this position until 1994 when he...

Dr. W. Roger Webb

2019 Lifetime Achievement Award DR. W. ROGER WEBB (1941- ) Webb's professional career began in law enforcement, where he served 12 years with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and as Commissioner of Public Safety for the State of Oklahoma from 1974-78. During...

Windsor Ridenour

1992 Lifetime Achievement Award WINDSOR RIDENOUR (1938-2019) was a journalist and leader who started as a reporter for The Tulsa Tribune. He became the Oklahoma City bureau chief, then city editor and assistant managing editor before becoming executive editor in 1989....

Robert (Bob) K. Goodwin

2020-2021 Lifetime Achievement Award ROBERT (BOB) K. GOODWIN (1948- ) shares a long family history of service in journalism, community leadership, and civil rights. As the fourth of his family to receive recognition from the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, Robert...

Dr. Bob Blackburn

2020-2021 Lifetime Achievement Award DR. BOB BLACKBURN (1951- ) has a passion for history and government that comes alive through his own life’s work. As executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society since 1999, he helped to plan and build the...

How to Submit a Nomination

Selection Process

Honorees are selected by a committee comprised of hall of fame members, including its director, and distinguished leaders in journalism. The Selection Committee considers all nominations, both new ones and those held over from previous years, before selecting the honorees.