Century Center

[bchris02]

http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r...ntown-location

Cafe 7 is much better than Revolve Pizza and will be a good fit for the location.

[HOT ROD]

^ i was thinking the exact same thing. .... much better tenant in Cafe 7 for that area of the cbd.

[Anonymous.]

Maybe I am being old and complainy, but I feel like the valet for Mahogany is getting a little excessive. I understand they want to park the nice vehicles out front, but shouldn't the CC garage be mostly empty during prime dinner time?

[HangryHippo]

It's gotten ridiculous there.

[BoulderSooner]

the one parked on the side walk is actually at Ad for the car dealership ...

[Anonymous.]

the one parked on the side walk is actually at Ad for the car dealership ...

Oh wow, did not even realize that. I guess that makes sense, I have seen other random nice cars sitting near there - I assumed it was valeted.

[Pete]

Griffin Communications (owner of KWTV-9) closed on the purchase of the Century Center in August for $16 million.

Plans filed below show OPUBCO giving up about 2/3rds of the space they had on the 2nd floor; they are consolidating as shown below.

Not sure what is happening on the ground floor and if OPUBCO will keep all of it, part of it, or none of it. Should find out soon when Channel 9 files their plans.

[onthestrip]

Crazy to look back at all the TIF and city money that has gone to this property in last 9-10 years or so. TIF money to owners for it to be redeveloped, money to the Oklahoman to move, and now money to KWTV as well. All of which primarily helped the previous owners, they had to make out very well here.

[HOT ROD]

and on top of that, to now see that we only get touchdown stations for the OPUBCO lease. 'shrug'

[Pete]

The Oklahoman sign has been removed from the Century Center and it looks like they have completely vacated the first floor. Also, the video board that faces the Myriad Gardens is turned off. The rows and rows of cubicles look gone (you can see the electrical stubs where they once were located in the 2nd photo).

I suspect what's left of The Oklahoman will occupy about half of the 2nd level and Channel 9 will use the remainder for their operations and the media incubator they had announced.

A reminder that when the Oklahoman moved back downtown several years ago they occupied two full floors and that TIF money was used to subsidize them. Recently, Griffin Communications (the parent of Channel which bought the Century Center) received another $2.7 million in TIF for their move.

Griffin has previously announced they hoped to start broadcasting from downtown in July of 2022.

[Laramie]

A reminder that when the Oklahoman moved back downtown several years ago they occupied two full floors and that TIF money was used to subsidize them. Recently, Griffin Communications (the parent of Channel which bought the Century Center) received another $2.7 million in TIF for their move.

Looks like the Oklahoman would be better off moving their (whole) operations somewhere else.

[bombermwc]

Heck i mean how many people are left. Down from their campus on the north side to one floor now? Wow....

[Pete]

This is the plan for the consolidated offices for the Oklahoman.

It is only about 1/3rd of the 2nd level on the north end; Griffin/Channel 9 will take the remainder as well as the entire first floor.

Counting desks and offices, it shows 94 spots. They claimed 350 employees when seeking TIF funds for their move in 2015.

As I've mentioned before, the Oklahoman now functions just as a news bureau; all the editing, layout, printing, management and everything else is done elsewhere by regional/central USAToday employees. All that is left in OKC is some reporters and salespeople. And even then, more than half their content is not generated in OKC.

[Pete]

Here are the plans for Channel 9/Griffin. They will be taking all the ground floor space (first image) formerly occupied by the Oklahoman, and about 2/3rds of the 2nd floor.

The "Tenant Space" is the upper left of the 2nd image is for the Oklahoman.






Another view of the vacant 1st floor.

I did some calculations: The Oklahoman originally built out 63,450 square feet over two floors and announced 350 people would be occupying.

The new plans for just a small part of the 2nd floor show 12,190 square feet and 94 desks/offices. That's an 80% reduction in space and 75% reduction in staff in just a few years.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Honestly it is kind of sad. Dying local news is not a great thing for our democracy.

[stlokc]

It's very sad and dying local news is terrible for a variety of reasons. But it's not specific to the Oklahoman. It's happening everywhere.

[Pete]

There are still a good number of sources for local news: Oklahoma Watch, Frontier, Free Press OKC and of course OKCTalk.

If anything, the Oklahoman works directly against other local news sites.

[jn1780]

Honestly it is kind of sad. Dying local news is not a great thing for our democracy.

Disagree. Local news didn't die, it just evolved. Local news is more democratic than national news thanks to sites like okctalk.

[soonerguru]

Newspaper ownership is being stupid by not creating mass subscription offers. At the minimum, the Oklahoman, Tulsa World, Journal Record, etc. should offer a group subscription offer. I would pay for it because I would be inclined to read all three.

What if there were a check the box option on papers you want to subscribe to digitally? Broaden it to Dallas Morning News, Austin Statesman, etc.

People who consume news are completely put off by the pay wall on an article when they don't live in that community. All of these papers should allow 3 to 5 free articles a month.

[catch22]

Newspaper ownership is being stupid by not creating mass subscription offers. At the minimum, the Oklahoman, Tulsa World, Journal Record, etc. should offer a group subscription offer. I would pay for it because I would be inclined to read all three.

What if there were a check the box option on papers you want to subscribe to digitally? Broaden it to Dallas Morning News, Austin Statesman, etc.

People who consume news are completely put off by the pay wall on an article when they don't live in that community. All of these papers should allow 3 to 5 free articles a month.

Honestly, that is a terrific idea. It is indeed frustrating having every single news source have its own pay-wall. I am only subscribed to the NY Times but would consider a group subscription. For example, If I could purchase a package that grouped the Gazette (Colorado Springs) with the Journal Record, Tulsa World, and Denver Post I would be super happy. As it is I do not feel like I spend enough time on any of the 4 individually to purchase separate subscriptions.

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah I’ll second that. Apple News + seems to sorta be like that but not exactly. Local news should partner with Apple.

[Laramie]

Are we seeing some kind of partnership between the Oklahoman & USA Today...

[shavethewhales]

Disagree. Local news didn't die, it just evolved. Local news is more democratic than national news thanks to sites like okctalk.

I disagree. "local" sites like OKCTalk are more prone to bias, fake news, false rumors, etc. The replacements for traditional news sources are never held to the same standards as traditional news sources. It's very easy to spread BS that is designed to get people outraged and upset through social media and the like, even if there isn't a hint of truth behind it.

The Oklahoman was never a great newspaper in my time, but it sucks to see what is happening. At this point there's no turning back because so many of these legacy media empires are run by dolts. They still don't understand where media is going and they never will. It's not just about having a web presence, but also generating engagement and telling stories in a compelling way that makes people interesting. You can't just crap out a few lines of text and a video and expect people to stick around and pay for the service.

[Pete]

I disagree. "local" sites like OKCTalk are more prone to bias, fake news, false rumors, etc. The replacements for traditional news sources are never held to the same standards as traditional news sources. It's very easy to spread BS that is designed to get people outraged and upset through social media and the like, even if there isn't a hint of truth behind it.

There is news and there is discussion.

I 100% stand by everything we have ever reported as news.


Nobody is claiming social media is a good substitute for traditional journalism. But there is plenty of hard news from OKCTalk, FreePressOKC, Oklahoma Watch, The Frontier and NonDoc. And should the Oklahoman go away, even more of this type of true local journalism will flourish. There is very little about the Oklahoman that is local at all.

And you're kidding yourself if you don't think through bias and agenda-pushing the Oklahoman hasn't engaged in more slanted and harmful reporting than all the other media sites in this state combined. A huge amount of the deep issues in Oklahoma can be directly tied to their agendas (underfunded education, etc.).

To this very day, they continue to print tons of 'news' that is not backed with any sort of objective fact-checking.

[HOT ROD]

There are still a good number of sources for local news: Oklahoma Watch, Frontier, Free Press OKC and of course OKCTalk.

If anything, the Oklahoman works directly against other local news sites.

don't forget about the Oklahoma (City) Gazette and the community newspapers