What IF the Oklahoman Went Away?

[Doug Loudenback]

Interesting discussion going on here ... http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/20...-you-get-bell/ ... chime in and say what you think.

[mugofbeer]

Then OKC would be the largest city in the country, by far, to not have a local newspaper.

Personally, I'd love to see the Dallas Morning News start an Oklahoma edition for the entire state (yeah, I know it won't ever happen). It would be fun to see how the circulation of the DOK would plummet.

[Soonerus]

We need the Oklahoman...

[mugofbeer]

The Oklahoman needs competition.

[stlokc]

I am beyond frustrated. I just tried to post 2 lengthy comments to Steve's blog, and both times an error wiped out my whole post. I guess it's because I'm trying to do this on an Iphone.
What I wrote was that Steve is correct in his assertion about newspapers exposing corruption, but I think there is something more fundamental than that. A daily newspaper, at it's best, serves to unify a community. It is the only institution set up to do this. Think about it: Aubrey Mclendon picks up an Oklahoman, and a janitor or shoe shine boy picks up an Oklahoman, and they are involved in the same conversation. It unifies the community. Look at broadcast news, I'm too young to remember the days of Cronkite when there could be a national conversation based on the same facts. Today you have one segment of the population that turns to Fox, another that swears by MSNBC, and look at how polarized the country is. People seek out the facts and opinions that only serve their side of an argument. It used to be just opinions, now people are presented with completely different facts. Only a general subscription, daily newspaper is in a position to be the kind of "town square" that seeks commonality. For all of us who love OKC Talk (and I do) the reality is this site's visitors are a tiny fraction of the community. We need newspapers who try, at their best, to be inclusive of everybody (even those, gasp, that don't go on-line at all). We can't lose daily newspapers. I, for one, subscribe to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, even though I don't always read it, primarily to support this mission.

[okcpulse]

Then OKC would be the largest city in the country, by far, to not have a local newspaper.

Personally, I'd love to see the Dallas Morning News start an Oklahoma edition for the entire state (yeah, I know it won't ever happen). It would be fun to see how the circulation of the DOK would plummet.

Ummm... no. Local competition would be better. I have and will always see Dallas as enemy territory, and I prefer their tentacles stay out of the state of Oklahoma.

[adaniel]

Personally, I'd love to see the Dallas Morning News start an Oklahoma edition for the entire state (yeah, I know it won't ever happen). It would be fun to see how the circulation of the DOK would plummet.

The DMN and its parent company Belo are in just as bad if not worse financial straights then OPUBCO.

Local media, when it was in a healthier state, served as an important watchdog for the doings of the people in power, whether that was in business or government. On the other hand I can't really say the DOK has ever been known for its hard hitting journalism and earth shattering exposes.

Don't get me wrong, the DOK does do a lot of things right. If the community lost it, it would be a blow to the community's fiber. You only need to look at the numerous small towns that have already lost their papers. Where would you go for local high school sports or community announcements or local business news? And don't say "I'll just watch TV," because you cannot cram a whole metro area's happenings in a 30 minute flash (and sadly, even local news is probably next on the chopping block after newspapers in media realignment.). The "town square" analogy is spot on.

I just remember how excited I was when in the eight grade I got in the newspaper over a choir concert at my middle school and I have to think that future generations will probably never experience that, unless Rachael Maddow or Bill O'Reily suddenly take interest in choir concerts in North Texas. And I'm only 24! Its kinda funny how fast things can change.

[jmarkross]

There are all sorts of reasons why people want to see newspapers like the Oklahoman keep going...but they are all doomed, in any city. The cost of paper and printing and delivery are quickly tipping over into the loss side--compared to the revenue they can generate, the delivery of such weight is a thing of the past. A weekly for each large city--done in tabloid or magazine style is the only viable alternative. News has long since been gone from newspapers in the sense of immediacy. TV and the internet have almost completely replaced them. Advertising dollars are not sufficient to support the production of newspapers as we know them today. It is as simple as that. Many will moan and yell and scream...but unless people want to pay a *whole* lot more--they are dead. They are, in today's world, a poor use of resources as well. One must avoid being emotional about progress, why?--they isn't anything you can do about it. I think the Oklahoman MIGHT have an extended life as a weekly publication...but daily delivery is lunacy in 2010. The Oklahoman could perhaps make an effort to have a comprehensive--well done and run--online service for a charge. People would pay for that. That is why--I think--the Skyline Cam exists today for subscribers only, which is OK, but a lot more would need to be offered to get a substantial subscriber base. But--it also would have a staggering decline in overhead cost. You have to change with the times--they stand still for no one.

[Spartan]

The Oklahoman needs competition.

The Dallas Morning News is a great newspaper, so much better than the Jokelahoman, but cities the size of OKC, particularly with our poor educational attainment stats, don't do well at supporting a plethora of newspapers. We need to just be happy with the Oklahoman and the Gazette and smaller less relevant papers, and hope that the Oklahoman can improve and remove the 'J' from in front if its nickname.

[CO-To-OKC]

The idea of any newspaper going away is a bad idea. I'm part of the younger generation that supposedly doesn't care for newspapers, but I make it a point to look through my local newspaper every day. If my newspaper isn't delivered in the morning, I'm out of sorts because reading it is part of my morning routine.

We need newspapers because they are a valuable source for information and they are tangible.

[Spartan]

I know I would certainly miss being appalled at whatever Jenni Carlson has wrote about that day..

[ljbab728]

The idea of any newspaper going away is a bad idea. I'm part of the younger generation that supposedly doesn't care for newspapers, but I make it a point to look through my local newspaper every day. If my newspaper isn't delivered in the morning, I'm out of sorts because reading it is part of my morning routine.

We need newspapers because they are a valuable source for information and they are tangible.

I agree. I'm not in the mood to go sit at my computer in the morning before I go to work to catch up on the news. I want to sit in my recliner with my feet up, drinking my orange juice, and reading my paper.

[jmarkross]

Everyone loves and needs a newspaper--until they have to charge you what it really costs to bring it to you...

[jmarkross]

The Dallas Morning News is a great newspaper, so much better than the Jokelahoman, but cities the size of OKC, particularly with our poor educational attainment stats, don't do well at supporting a plethora of newspapers. We need to just be happy with the Oklahoman and the Gazette and smaller less relevant papers, and hope that the Oklahoman can improve and remove the 'J' from in front if its nickname.

And the Los Angeles Times makes the Dallas Morning News look like the Hicksville Gazette...and so on...

[jmarkross]

Seldom...in my over 60 years...have I seen anyone tell so much about themselves as in this self portrait...so succinctly...

[zuluwarrior0760]

He succinctly describes himself with that pic in many other posts.
Where are the moderators again???????????????????????

[jmarkross]

He succinctly describes himself with that pic in many other posts.
Where are the moderators again???????????????????????

Parlor tricks by smaller children...a simple IP ping and some good footwork will bring strangers to the front door...for a long talk...

[Spartan]

And the Los Angeles Times makes the Dallas Morning News look like the Hicksville Gazette...and so on...

Ha, I disagree.. Morning News makes the LA Times look like Pravda.

[bombermwc]

Meh, i've managed to survive completely without it for several years...in fact I've never owned a subscription. About the only part I read is the comics if someone has them out at lunch. I'd rather get an unbiased opinion on events from elsewhere. Won't find me giving them a penny of my money....ever.

[flintysooner]

I really enjoy reading The Oklahoman although I read it on my Kindle. Personally the Kindle is a better experience than the real newspaper but that's just me. I'd miss seeing the real paper if it suddenly were missing and hope it stays around.

[adaniel]

Meh, i've managed to survive completely without it for several years...in fact I've never owned a subscription. About the only part I read is the comics if someone has them out at lunch. I'd rather get an unbiased opinion on events from elsewhere. Won't find me giving them a penny of my money....ever.

Playing devil's advocate here...what unbiased news source exists anywhere, particularly one that doesn't charge you anything?

[bombermwc]

I prefer to go with the wider swath...bbc, npr, ap, etc. Gather enough info on my own to formulate on what I get. Not rely on a single reporter who, by human nature, has an opinion. But don't tell me you don't think journalists today write like they did 50 years ago. It's all about sensationalising a spin now instead of reporting.

[Pete]

Newspapers are one of the few institutions that employ people that actually *report* the news, rather then just talk about it.

The irony is that multi-media in all it's forms is killing the place where most news originates, while at the same time needs it so they have something to talk about. Quite frankly, the same could be said about sites like this one.

[BOBTHEBUILDER]

The Dallas Morning News is a great newspaper, so much better than the Jokelahoman, but cities the size of OKC, particularly with our poor educational attainment stats, don't do well at supporting a plethora of newspapers. We need to just be happy with the Oklahoman and the Gazette and smaller less relevant papers, and hope that the Oklahoman can improve and remove the 'J' from in front if its nickname.

The only way that the Oklahoman can remove that J is by reporting news without the slant, agenda or spin that they try to put on their stories. Whatever happened to reporting the facts and facts only and letting the readers draw their own conclusions and not the ones the newspaper want you to draw. I quit taking the Oklahoman almost 20 years ago and have came across from one from time to time. The stories now are far worse than they were 20 years ago. I am confident that we have good even great journalist in this city. Let those journalist do their jobs, lets not butcher their stories to have a spin to one side or the other. Until this happens, the Oklahoman reputation will not change....its sad sad sad for oklahomans wanting fair and impartial news coverage.
I would love to see a newspaper come about that would put the Oklahoman out of business, but we know the likelihood of that happening is slim to none.

[old okie]

We have long discussed about not renewing the Oklahoman, but I like to have a real paper in my hands! There is a feeling of warmth about curling up to read the paper; it is familiar; it is something that transcends all of "instanteousness" [if that's a word] of the media of today.

And besides, whatever would I do for functionality of the paper? How could I refinish furniture, paint little things, do craft projects w/o a paper to put under everything---and yes, suffer the irritation of cleaning "Uncle Eddie's ink," as we call the disgusting black smudges that come off on everything?

I read the paper cover to cover--even the want ads while waiting in doctors' offices; do the puzzles, and of course, read the obits--hoping not to see the names of those I know.

Miss the Daily Oklahoman? Absolutely!