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Tulsa World

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Tulsa World
A June 29, 2004, issue of theTulsa World,retrieved by a blue merleAustralian Shepherdnamed Winston
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Lee Enterprises
PresidentMark Lewis
EditorJason Collington
Founded1905;119 years ago(1905)
Headquarters315 S. Boulder Ave.
Tulsa,OK74103
United States
Circulation33,565 Daily
36,484 Sunday (as of 2023)[1]
ISSN2330-7234
Websitetulsaworld

TheTulsa Worldis an American dailynewspaper.It serves the city ofTulsa, Oklahoma,and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions ofOklahoma.The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the state, afterThe Oklahoman.

It was founded in 1905 and locally owned by the Lorton family for almost 100 years until February 2013, when it was sold to BH Media Group,[2]aBerkshire Hathawaycompany controlled byWarren Buffett.[3]The Tulsa World Media Company became part ofLee Enterprisesin 2020.[4]The paper was jointly operated with theTulsa Tribunefrom 1941 to 1992.[5]

History[edit]

Republican activist James F. McCoy and Kansas journalist J.R. Brady published the first edition of theTulsa Worldon September 14, 1905[6]at the time Brady was startingTulsa World,he was also publishing the Indian Republican a weekly newspaper, which was previously edited by acon artistnamed Myron Boyle. Brady had bought theIndian Republicanin 1905 and fired Boyle in the following year. Boyle borrowed $500 from Dr. S. G. Kennedy, ostensibly to pay some personal debts. Instead, he left town without repaying Dr. Kennedy.[7]

Brady was sufficiently successful establishing theTulsa Worldthat it attracted a Missouri mine owner, George Bayne, and his brother-in-law, Charles Dent, who bought and ran the paper for the next five years.[7]In 1911,Eugene Lorton,who had just sold his stake in a Walla Walla, Washington newspaper, and moved to Tulsa, bought an interest in theTulsa World,becoming its editor,[8]and then, with financial backing fromHarry Ford Sinclair,the sole owner and publisher in 1917.[7]

Beginning in 1915, theTulsa Worldfought an editorial battle advocating a proposal to build a reservoir onSpavinaw Creekand pipe the water 55 miles to Tulsa.[6]Charles Pagewas among those who opposed the Spavinaw plan; he advocated a plan in his own newspaper to sell water from the Shell Creek water system, which Page owned.[9][10]Page's newspaper, theMorning News,closed in 1919 after Tulsans approved a bond issue to pipe the water from Spavinaw.[9]He sold a companion paper,Tulsa Democrat,toRichard Lloyd Jones,who renamed it theTulsa Tribune.[9]

In the 1920s, theTulsa Worldwas known for its opposition to theKu Klux Klan,[6]which had risen to local prominence in the wake of theTulsa Race Riotin the spring of 1921. Lorton was active inRepublican Partypolitics until he was defeated byWilliam B. Pine,in the1924 primary electionfor theUS Senate;Pine went on to win the general election.[8]Lorton then supported DemocratsAlfred E. Smithin the1928 Presidential election[8]andFranklin D. Rooseveltin1932and1936.However, Lorton refused to support Roosevelt's third term bid in1940;[6]he returned to the Republicans and remained a GOP supporter for the rest of his life.[8]

TheTulsa TribuneandTulsa Worldentered ajoint operating agreementin June 1941.[5]Eugene Lorton died in 1949,[8]leaving majority interest in the newspaper to his wife Maude and smaller shares to four daughters and 20 employees. Eugene's presumed successor, Robert Lorton, had died at age 24 in 1939.[11]In the 1950s, Maude Lorton transferred one-fourth of the company to attorney Byron Boone, who became publisher in 1959. Upon her death, she left the rest of her shares to her grandson Robert. In 1964, Robert Lorton became director of the News Publishing Corporation, which oversaw the non-editorial operations of both theTulsa TribuneandTulsa World.In 1968, he became president of theTulsa Worldand publisher upon Boone's death in 1988. TheTulsa Tribuneceased operations in 1992 andTulsa Worldacquired its assets.[5]Robert Lorton reacquired theWorld's outstanding shares and made the newspaper entirely family-owned once again. In May 2005, he passed the title of publisher to his son Robert E. Lorton III. During the same year, World Publishing Company had 700 employees, and was ranked as one of Oklahoma's largest employers.[12]

In February 2013, the paper announced that it would be sold toBerkshire Hathaway's BH Media Group, controlled byWarren Buffett.[3]In 2015, BH Media bought six weekly papers and the dailyTulsa Business & Legal Newsfrom Community Publishers Inc.[13]

On April 20, 2015, fourTulsa Worldjournalists—including two nominated for thePulitzer Prize—suddenly resigned their jobs to accept positions atThe Frontier,a new online-only publication launched by the formerWorldpublisher, Bobby Lorton.[14][15]

In 2016, the World announced it would not endorse any candidate in the2016 election,saying that the American people had been presented with "the least acceptable list of candidates for president in modern times." The paper had maintained its loyalty to the GOP after Eugene Lorton's death; it had endorsed the GOP standardbearer in every election since 1940.[16]

Recent developments[edit]

Tulsa World's headquarters are located in downtownTulsa.

In February 2013, the paper announced that it would be sold toBerkshire Hathaway's BH Media Group, controlled byWarren Buffett.[3]Lee Enterprisesannounced an agreement to buy BH Media Group publications andThe Buffalo Newsfor $140 million cash on January 29, 2020. The acquisition includes theTulsa World.[4]

As of September 2012, weekday circulation was 95,003; Saturday circulation was 104,602; and Sunday circulation was 133,066.[citation needed] In April 2011, the World introduced a metered model to its digital products that limits the amount of locally produced articles that a non-subscriber can view at no charge. Once viewers have opened 5 stories in 30 days, they will be asked to purchase a subscription. The home page, all section pages, classifieds and most syndicated content is unrestricted to all readers. "In reality, more people are engaged with our content than ever before. But it no longer seems fair to have a portion of our readers pay for our content while others do not. Therefore, like many publications, we have decided to charge a fee for our digital content. Print subscribers will continue to receive unlimited access to our digital products," wrote then publisher and CEO Robert E. Lorton III in a letter to readers[17] In March 2008, theWorldclosed its zoned suburban newspapers, called the "Community World," and laid off its 18 staff members.[18]Tulsa Worldlaid off 28 employees in early 2009. Twenty-six newsroom employees were terminated immediately.[18]Editors said in a memo that staff members would be challenged to produce a quality product after the layoffs, and editors asked remaining newsroom employees to take on new duties.[citation needed]On March 29, 2009, theWorldpublished a column by its then publisher, Robert E. Lorton III, responding to what Lorton called "an unusual amount of concerned correspondence in regard to the future of this company and our industry." Lorton asserted that despite the difficult economy and general downward trends in the newspaper industry and the World's own staff cuts, thatTulsa Worldremains profitable and has a healthy capital structure.[19]The World further reduced staff on March 1, 2011 by terminating eighteen employees, "the result of a company-wide evaluation by management of operational efficiencies." TheWorldsays "the reduction represents approximately 3 percent of its staff."[20]

Also in January 2009, theTulsa WorldandOklahoma City's daily newspaper,The Oklahoman,announced a content-sharing agreement in which each paper would carry some content created by the other. The papers also said they would "focus on reducing some areas of duplication, such as sending reporters from bothThe OklahomanandTulsa Worldto cover routine news events. "[21]

In mid-January 2009,Tulsa Worldfiled alibellawsuit against noted local blogger Michael Bates,Urban Tulsa Weekly,and theWeekly's editor and publisher, over a column Bates wrote for the weekly paper, in which Bates expressed doubts about theWorld's circulation numbers based on a 2006 report by theAudit Bureau of Circulation.[citation needed]On January 20,The Tulsa Worldsaid it would drop the case againstUrban Tulsa Weeklyand its editor and publisher, after the weekly paper agreed to issue a retraction,[22]but Bates remained a defendant.[23]Tulsa World's decision to sue a competitor paper was criticized in a column bySlateeditorJack Shafer.[24]On February 12, 2009, theWorldreported that Bates had issued an apology and retraction, and that the libel lawsuit had been settled on confidential terms.[25]

Notable staff[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Lee Enterprises."Form 10-K".investors.lee.net.RetrievedFebruary 29,2024.
  2. ^BH Media Group
  3. ^abcGreene, Wayne (March 18, 2013)."Tulsa World will be sold to BH Media Group".Tulsa World.Tulsa. Archived fromthe originalon February 28, 2013.RetrievedJuly 17,2015.
  4. ^abstaff and wire."Post-Dispatch owner Lee Enterprises makes $140M deal to buy Berkshire newspapers".stltoday.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-01-30.Retrieved2020-01-30.
  5. ^abc"The Media Business; Yet Another Afternoon Daily Plans to Close".The New York Times.3 August 1992.Retrieved18 February2010.
  6. ^abcd"Tulsa World- Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture ".okhistory.org.Archivedfrom the original on May 18, 2015.
  7. ^abc"Flim-Flammery and the Devil: An Early History of the Tulsa World".This Land Press.Archivedfrom the original on July 14, 2014.RetrievedJuly 25,2015.
  8. ^abcde"Lorton, Eugene - Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture".okhistory.org.Archivedfrom the original on May 18, 2015.RetrievedJuly 25,2015.
  9. ^abc"Tulsa World".Tulsa World.
  10. ^"Tulsa World".Tulsa World.
  11. ^"Tulsa World".Tulsa World.Retrieved4 March2017.
  12. ^"Printing and Publishing Industry - Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture".okhistory.org.
  13. ^"BH Media Group buys local weeklies, Tulsa Business and Legal News".Tulsa World.2015-04-21.Retrieved2015-04-21.
  14. ^"Tulsa Worldloses four journalists to formerWorldpublisher's soon-to-launch news site ".jimromenesko.
  15. ^Investigative Reporting,Oklahoma Press Association,2015. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  16. ^"For president? None of the above".Tulsa World. August 8, 2016.
  17. ^"Open Letter from Publisher Robert E. Lorton III".Tulsa World.Retrieved2012-10-21.
  18. ^ab"Tulsa World".Tulsa World.Retrieved4 March2017.
  19. ^"Tulsa World".Tulsa World.Retrieved4 March2017.
  20. ^"announces workforce reduction".Tulsa World.3 January 2011.Retrieved21 October2012.
  21. ^Joe Strupp (23 January 2009)."'Tulsa World', 'Oklahoman' to Share Content ".Archivedfrom the original on 6 June 2018.
  22. ^Keith Skrzypczak (19 January 2009)."Letter from the Editor".Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2009.Retrieved22 January2009.
  23. ^"Tulsa World".Tulsa World.Retrieved4 March2017.
  24. ^"Why Tulsa's daily paper will regret suing the city's alternative weekly for libel".Slate Magazine.
  25. ^"Tulsa World".Tulsa World.Retrieved4 March2017.
  26. ^Tim Stanley (7 July 2013)."Mildred Ladner Thompson 1918–2013: Former Tulsa World columnist witnessed history".Tulsa World.Archived fromthe originalon 27 April 2012.Retrieved16 July2013.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tulsa_World&oldid=1225984570"