Books and libraries, whether of the e- or p- variety, can’t replace good newspapers. Still, Jessa Crispin’s Bookslut blog, for which I’ve been looking for an excuse to link, based on her webzine’s memorable name, reminds us all of the need for intelligent reading matter to augment local dreck. Her news peg, to use some jargon from the trade that she once practiced, is the April 27 death of Edward L. Gaylord, 83, publisher of The Daily Oklahoman. In 1999 a headline in the Columbia Journalism Review called the Oklahoman The Worst Newspaper in America. A blow to local pride? Hardly. Look no farther than the start of the Review article:
One Sunday morning many months ago the Rev. Robin Meyers stood before some five-hundred members of his eclectic flock at Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City and ruminated about what he might do if he ever won a lottery jackpot. “I said I would give a lot of money to education, children, the homeless, that sort of thing,” he recalls. “Then I mentioned that if there were any money left over I would start what this city really needs–a competing daily newspaper to The Daily Oklahoman… Well, everyone just started applauding. The place went wild. And this is not a wild church. Even the Republicans were clapping.”
That same Sunday, like every day in Oklahoma City, a group of news-starved citizens ranging between five thousand and ten thousand, depending upon the quality of the football season, bought what many here call the most respected daily newspaper in town–a paper produced two-hundred miles away, The Dallas Morning News.
But how representative was the anecdote? Was the Columbia Journalism Review on target or just mean? I dropped by NewsOK.com, a joint site from the Oklahoman and News 9 in Oklahoma City. The lead story, of course, was Gaylord’s obit, and I excitedly clicked on “generosity, patriotism and dedication” within a quote from George Bush. Imagine my disappointment when the following message showed up on my screen:
Welcome! Thank you for visiting NewsOK.com, your source for in-depth local news and information. Simply log-in if you are already a registered user, or register now and you’ll have access to all sections and features available on NewsOK.com.
I was tempted to register, but for the moment will be content to trust the Review and Rev. Meyers.
