Oklahoma Gazette and OKCTalk.com announce merger

[ChaseDweller]

Congratulations, Pete!

[shawnw]

Attachment 14855

Completed.

oops
https://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/o...nt?oid=4166716

[Pete]

Greatly appreciate all the kind words!

Nothing much will change here in the short-term but the mid- to long-term plan is to migrate our news to the Gazette and leave OKCTalk for discussion. And link the stories to an associated discussion thread.

News is incredibly important -- especially truly local news that is completely untethered and not beholding to anyone -- but so is discussion.

There is virtually no other place where people can come and share ideas and opinions and information on OKC, and that's a very big thing. I think that too often gets lost amid disagreements and other distractions. Especially because OKCTalk is often the only place many of these important topics are discussed in any public way.


I'm really excited about the change because my one and only goal when I moved back here 2 years ago was to make a positive impact on the community I love so much. I believe this will be advanced by having a bigger platform and the ample talents and resources of the Gazette as well as adding a video component and ultimately reaching a larger audience.

[gopokes88]

Wow. Big congrats Pete! Very exciting.

[DoctorTaco]

Congratulations Pete! This is huge and I'm sure you've been working towards it for a while.

[Mel]

Congratulations Pete! Very big step for the freedom from Big Brother Corporate news. Never knew a Media Mogul before.

[Urbanized]

Congratulations Pete!

[SEMIweather]

Congrats, Pete! This is definitely a positive, exciting development for journalism in OKC.

[artynok]

What wonderful news! Congrats Pete! I really appreciate what you do here with OKCTalk

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Absolutely blown away by this news. The Gazette couldn't be in better hands as it moves forward deeper into the 21st century. Pete has proven his dedication and commitment to Oklahoma City in the time he has been back. He is dogged, determined, skilled, and media savvy that seems to come almost naturally to him. I couldn't be happier for Pete, The Gazette, and OKCTalk. Congratulations to all involved in, what I believe, will soon be realized as an important milestone for Oklahoma City.

[SSEiYah]

This is really cool. Pete, thank youfor investing into the Gazette , you seem to come off as a very level headed guy and I'm thrilled you bought the Gazette. If you ever want to venture into Politics, you have my vote.

I'm a frequent reader of the Gazette, I generally go there for Entertainment & Food and occasionally read the news articles. It would be cool if you can incorporate some of the OKCtalk articles into the Gazette articles.

Several of the recent articles from OKCTalk in the past few years have been absolutely epic. Absolutely above and beyond what the "other newspaper" reports on in terms of journalism and real investigative reporting putting all the other TV news agencies to shame, or "the local newspaper".

My thoughts are: Lets keep it politically neutral. I like seeing the left and the right side when it comes to political articles. The gazette seems to have a reputation for being more left leaning, I'd like to see the right represented as well with political articles. Keep it up with the food stuff, I love reading about new restaurants but some negative criticism would be nice as well. The Gazette seems too positive at times. Just my 2 cents.

[soonerfan_in_okc]

I figured lance west would have a harder time landing on his feet. Interesting hire.

[Urbanized]

Based on..?

[stile99]

Day-um. *raises coffee mug* I also read the headline and thought the exact opposite. Looking forward to not a lot of changes at either site. This is not a political thread, so I'll leave it at that.

[catch22]

I figured lance west would have a harder time landing on his feet. Interesting hire.

Well he did mention something about a hard time.

[Laramie]

Good combination, best wishes forward; most of all, thanks for your return to Oklahoma City.

[shawnw]

I guess this means you'll never run for Ward 2, huh, Pete?

:-(

[Brett]

Always good to hear about a win-win merger. I'm craving some chicken fried news.

[jerrywall]

Hey at least Midtowner got a name drop on the lost ogle about this.

[baralheia]

It was posted in the other thread, but for posterity's sake, here's TLO's take on the OKCTalk-Gazette merger: https://www.thelostogle.com/2018/08/...ed-lance-west/

[MadMonk]

Wow! Congratulations, Pete!

[Midtowner]

Hey at least Midtowner got a name drop on the lost ogle about this.

I saw that. Fun times.

[Pete]

Best of OKC issue hit the newsstand today.

Until my first day at the Gazette last Thursday, it didn't occur to me that they were right in the middle of this massive undertaking.

Most know that I am not one for false praise and I can tell you without reservation that the staff here is simply amazing and the quality of their work continues to blow me away. There is just tremendous potential on so many fronteirs and we are all already running fast in lots of new and exciting directions.

In the meantime, this was in the latest edition and elaborates more on the merger/acquisition:

***********************


AUGUST 22, 2018 NEWS » COMMENTARY

Bright lights
BY GEORGE LANG

Last week, a new era began for Oklahoma Gazette on the cusp of its 40th birthday. On Aug. 15, local business and civic news site OKCTalk.com acquired Tierra Media Group, parent company of Gazette, effectively merging the two sources for uncompromised, locally controlled journalism. As part of this merger, Gazette’s founder and publisher of four decades, Bill Bleakley, retired and passed control of Gazette to Pete Brzycki, our new publisher.

When Bill was my age, he hired a 20-something smartass fresh out of University of Oklahoma and gave me my first full-time job as a reporter. Through my three separate tenures at Gazette, Bill has been an important part of my professional life, and I cannot thank him enough for taking a chance on me, both as the rookie I was in 1994 and the editor-in-chief I am today.

This is one of those rare positive stories about print journalism. For nearly half my time in the business, I’ve lived through painful constrictions in our industry and watched as corporate takeovers by multinational absentee landlords bled local newspapers dry and treated reporters like decimals on a ledger. It happens so often and to so many papers that its incidence starts to feel like the dull pain that no doctor can cure, so you just learn to hobble through the misery.

But when OKCTalk.com came calling, it made sense. Pete got into the business of journalism out of real passion for how uncompromised reporting can make a difference in government, business and people’s lives. He does not worship at the foot of powerful forces or cower when those forces attempt to blunt the truth. If Gazette were to continue under new leadership, the best possible outcome was to have someone like Pete come into the picture. I’m grateful to be answering to someone who isn’t calling in from one of the coasts but can get my attention from the next office. That’s the way things should be in local journalism.

As readers, this impacts you in some important ways. First, because Gazette is being published by a native Oklahoman with a stake in the community and our paper’s ties to it; we are still the same staff we were when you picked us up last week. Second, Pete’s interest in the digital side of our publication, okgazette.com, means you will be seeing more breaking news on our site and regular reports from our new video reporter, Lance West. These advances will add new dimensions to what Gazette will bring you — not just every week, but every day.

All of this comes at a time when the press is under attack — not just from economic forces, but from the highest reaches of power. When President Donald Trump refers to journalists as the “enemy of the people,” he is trying to sow distrust for one of the few real checks on government or business. And it’s not just Trump. At the state and municipal levels, government entities try to keep otherwise public meetings private or hold late-night votes to avoid the sunlight that can be the best disinfectant.

Gazette takes this as a challenge. We will continue to bring you great news, arts and culture, food and music coverage, all with the understanding that we carry a responsibility to be aggressively true when toxic forces say that the “truth isn’t truth.”

Real journalism is not the “enemy of the people.” It is the enemy of the people who try to keep you in the dark. Oklahoma Gazette, now and in the future, is armed with bright lights.

George Lang is editor-in-chief of Oklahoma Gazette and began his career at Gazette in 1994. He is married to Laura Lang, which greatly improves his likeability. | Photo Nazarene Harris

[David]

Real journalism is not the “enemy of the people.” It is the enemy of the people who try to keep you in the dark. Oklahoma Gazette, now and in the future, is armed with bright lights.

Hell yeah.

[Urbanized]

George is first-rate talent and a genuinely good dude.