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A selection of this month's best front pages and headlines from the Miami News-Record, McAlester News-Capital, Johnston County Capital-Democrat and on the facing page the Marietta Monitor and Wagoner Tribune.

10 THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, DECEMBER 2011

What's written in newspapers becomes history Clark's Critique

BY TERRY CLARK, Journalism Professor, University of Central Oklahoma

TClark@uco.edu

As another year heads to the history books, I hope you'll consider the impor-tance of what you do, and make the new year's top resolution to tell more stories, to continue to cover as much of the news as possible.

It's easy to forget the importance of what newspapers do, beyond just the immediate impact and rush of covering the news. What concerns me most about newspapers cutting printed news coverage is that so much important information is lost forever.

I'll admit that personal events this year have brought this home. My favorite uncle, Comanche, Okla., native Michael Henry Clark, a World War II and Korean War Navy combat veteran, died in Santa Fe. I learned much about my family and Oklahoma from him, and now he and his stories are gone forever.

I'm thankful that the Comanche Times carried the obit I wrote, free of charge, for those few alive who still remember him, and for history's sake.

Why? Someone wrote that journalism is the first draft of history.

I contend it may not just be the first draft — but the only draft — what you cover in your papers becomes Oklahoma history.

This was brought home to me while working on a different story. I recently contacted the Oklahoma History Center for help and Angela Spindle, newspa-per department supervisor of the research library at the OHS, gave me the facts I needed.

Did you know the OHS newspaper col-lection, located in the Oklahoma History Center, consists of more than 4,000 files — about 88 percent of the papers published in Oklahoma since the first, the Cherokee Advocate, in 1844? More than 32,000 rolls of newspaper microfilm in the research library are available for research. The cen-ter continues to add about 900 rolls of film a year of current and missing titles to the collection, Spindle said.

She said the state probably had about 5,000 newspapers in total since those early years, and it's thanks to Oklahoma news-papers that we have them at all.

Members of the Oklahoma Territorial Press Association organized the Oklahoma Historical Society in 1893, anticipating statehood and recognizing the newspapers' role in recording and preserving Okla-homa's history.

So my wish for you is that you devote more time this coming year to telling stories, recording the lives and deaths and events in your communities — especially those veterans' stories. You don't have much time — about 1,500 of them die every day. Like my uncle and my oldest cousin, a Korean War veteran who died this month, their stories, and their history is gone for-ever, if you don't tell it.

LOOKIN 'EM OVER: "Less than six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a 120-pound lanky lad from Bartlesville was drafted into the U.S. Army to help defend the country's freedom. Today, Lee Stone still remembers the turbulent times following the Dec. 7, 1941, surprise attack that drew America into World War II."

That's Emile Droege at the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise telling such a story,

along with a Becky Burch photo. See what I mean about history?

Or Dylan Goforth's story on a Pearl Harbor survivor, in the Muskogee Phoenix: "Three words on a license tag tell a signifi-cant part of Jim Gailey's life: 'Pearl Har-bor Survivor.' / "Gailey said one of those words is the most important: 'It's better for me that it says 'survivor' and not 'victim.'"

And the Coalgate Record Register fea-tured four local brothers who served in the military.

Covering current veterans? Here's Christina Campbell's lead in the Ft. Gib-son Times: "It is a country the size of Texas, with brilliant blue skies, soaring snow-capped mountains, and rocky, bar-ren deserts featuring an almost lunar land-scape. / "The majority of the country's 29 million people will tell you they want what everyone else in the world wants: A safe home, a good job and opportunities for their children. / "This is Afghanistan."

More good writing. Rachel Patterson of the McAlester News-Capital visited death row. Her lead: "The Oklahoma State Penitentiary, in McAlester, is a world of its

own, where men live in cement rooms no bigger than most people's bathrooms and some people's closets."

W.R. Wallace at the Frederick Press, on a school board story. Lead: "In a scene reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie, Frederick Superintendent Tony O'Brien began carefully removing the top of a cop-per sealed time capsule during Monday night's school board meeting."

That board also heard a woman com-plain about textbooks being out of date and detrimental to African American and Hispanic students. I think there's a state-wide story here.

Stories waiting to be told in your area: Miranda Fleming at the Guymon Daily Herald photographs a local vet ringing bells for the Salvation Army.

At the Edmond Sun, Mark Schlachten-haufen reported on high school students pledging not to "TWD." (Text While Driv-ing) Here's his lead: "A young man's life was forever changed when someone was texting 'Where r.' / "A young woman has to live with the knowledge that her sister

Continued on Page 11

TIME FOR CHANGE?

Local road construction projects pile up fur 2012

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Why newspapers matter That InterWeb Thing

by KEITH BURGIN, OPA STAFF

Traditionally, this is the time we lie to ourselves about going to the gym, quitting cigars or clearing the garage. We promise to improve our lives in some meaningful way — to keep our eye on the ball.

Ooh... someone brought cheesecake. The newspaper business is all about

keeping an eye on the ball — all the time, for everyone. It improves your life in a meaningful way.

A newspaper is an integral part of a community, one supporting the other, seamlessly working together. The rela-tionship is often so fluid that it's easy to miss just what a great newspaper means to a community.

In an age of Facebook, Twitter, Google, blogs, social media and 24-hour cable news, it's sometimes important to reflect on just what a local newspaper is that most other resources are not. 1.RELIABLE. Newspapers research, investigate, interview, verify, write and edit before printing. If you want the facts, pick up a newspaper. If you want 8 breathless attempts to be first at the expense of being right, your options are too numerous to list. 2.DIRECTLY CONNECTED. Bloggers steal from newspapers because newspapers are worth stealing from.

With few exceptions, amateur blog-gers do not attend town council meet-ings, nor do they collect police reports, get quotes from the mayor or interview high school coaches. Newspapers do.

Relying on a blog or Facebook page that filches content from the local

newspaper or its website is tantamount to reading a column titled "Reviews of Movies I've Never Seen." 3.COST EFFECTIVE. When you subscribe to your local newspaper, you hire a staff of professional reporters with one goal —keep you informed.

Your newspaper puts shoes on the ground and results in your hand for less money than a daily cup of coffee. 4.VIGILANT. Ever heard of Open Records / Open Meeting laws? How about the Freedom of Information Act?

Newspapers champion these laws as though they were the foundation of a free society... because they are.

A government, on whatever level, that obfuscates and stonewalls cannot be trusted. Newspapers fight for your access to government. 5. LOCAL. Although it would seem obvious, this is often overlooked: your local newspaper covers the people and events you care about.

In these pages you'll find community heroes and villains, luminaries and here-to-for unknowns, children and seniors and everyone in between. If it's local, chances are your newspaper covers it.

No other media is so totally focused on the things that matter to you.

This year, I suggest you make the fol-lowing resolution: be more informed and more involved.

Subscribe to your local newspaper and let them bring the community to you.

They'll do the work. And you can read while you eat that cheesecake.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

LEGAL ADVICE is just one of the benefits of being a member of the Oklahoma Press Association's Legal Services Plan. Remove the worry of needing professional advice by enrolling today. For more information contact:

OKLAHOMA PRESS ASSOCIATION'S LEGAL SERVICES PLAN

1-888-815-2672 or 405-499-0020

11 THE OKLAHOMA PUBLISHER, DECEMBER 2011

Clark's Critique Continued from Page 10

died while they were texting. / "A young man was texting "lol" when he struck and killed a bicyclist."

I saw a solid feature story by Darrell Rice in the Watonga Republican, "Ranch girl turns sea rover."

HEAD'EM UP AWARDS. First place, four way tie:

The Ardmoreite, Snail mail bound to get slower

THE DAILY ELK CITIAN recently hired Brent Gentry as its new marketing manager. Before Gentry moved to Elk City, he was senior marketing director and co-owner of The Bargain Bulletin in Paris, Texas, and publisher of the Pittsburg and Atoka Shopper in McAlester.

"One of the things our customers will immediately notice about Brent is his pro-fessional approach and his sincere desire to assist them with marketing their busi-ness," said Daily Elk Citian Publisher Derek Manning.

"With his background in the newspa-per industry, he understands that business owners and managers want to solve their advertising and marketing issues quickly, with as little interruption as possible to their other duties."

The Oklahoman, on OSU's victory over OU, in second-coming, all-caps:

STATED! Hollis News, on the costumed winner of

the local Christmas parade: The Grinch who won a trophy Glenpool Post, on a Steven James story

about laws attacking synthetic marijuana production:

Curb the herb Honorable mentions: Miami News-

Record, on a Melinda Stotts story, "Rock still beating"; Muskogee Phoenix, on a D.E. Smoot story about the city turning off street lights to save money, "City may flip switch on lights" and Cherokee Messenger & Republican, on a man arrested for send-ing lewd pickup lines to a city clerk, "No way to get a date".

THE CHICKASHA EXPRESS-STAR recently announced that Aaron Colen has rejoined the staff as sports editor. Colen worked with the Express-Star in the summer of 2010 as an intern.

"I'm excited to have Aaron take over the sports helm for us," said Debi DeSil-ver, managing editor.

"He has a passion for sports, is very professional and was very well received in our community when he worked here as an intern. He is a tremendous asset to our newspaper, as well as our community."

Aaron's sports experience includes working on The University of Oklahoma staff, "The Oklahoma Daily," where he also served as sports editor.

He graduated from OU in December 2010.

New staff members in Elk City, Chickasha