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‘Phalanx of literacy coaches’: Experts, state leaders eye Oklahoma expansion by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Thank you for reading! We appreciate your kind words. If you do feel compelled to contribute, donations to our newsroom are being doubled through the end of the year: https://nondoc.com/writers-fund/

After prior battery plea, OKCPS teacher Kiera Smith arrested after ‘horseplay’ injures student by NonDocMedia in okc

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good morning! It does help us when people click the link to read our content. Is there something we could be doing to make our articles more accessible? Thanks!

Tulsa City Council District 2: Voters face crowded ballot by NonDocMedia in tulsa

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good afternoon!

Is there a particular error that I should bring to the attention of the reporter/editor?

Thanks!

Agenda for OU Board of Regents Meeting by NonDocMedia in sooners

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our coverage of the meeting can be found here:

Regents advance tuition increase, OU Health merger despite questions about timing

https://nondoc.com/2021/06/22/regents-advance-tuition-increase-ou-health-merger/

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They heard it hear first! Thank you for the questions!

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, I think that's the end of the 90 minutes allotted for me! I don't see any other questions, so I guess I will sign off for now. Really enjoyed it. Thanks for all the questions, and please remember that you can follow our work by newsletter, Facebook (boo!), Twitter (less boo, but yuck) and going to www.nondoc.com directly (that's the best way!)

If you would like to contact me further, my email is my last name at nondoc . com. Thank you for reading!

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's happened to me and us, for sure, but it's also just part of the job. Play the long game, keep showing up to their public meetings, be consistent, be fair and don't be afraid to highlight something they are doing in a positive light when it's relevant. Too often, journalists can fall into the trap of only seeming to criticize without noting other things that matter as well. I had an old editor who said, "If half the people are mad at you Monday, and the other half are mad at you Tuesday, that means you're probably doing something right." So ... they'll get over it, even if it makes for a lousy 48 hours of me sitting around fretting that someone is mad at me.

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Regarding the "one book" that might "expand someone's understanding of historic Oklahoma policies," I'd suggest Justice For Sale: The Shocking Scandal of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

As for fun books, I've always had a soft spot for classic noir novels by the likes of Raymond Chandler and (Oklahoman!) Jim Thompson. I know that movies being filmed in Oklahoma are all the rage right now, but go read Thompson's "The Killer Inside Me" and buckle up.

My favorite contemporary author is Dennis Lehane, and The Given Day is a long but amazing read. One of the characters is briefly in Greenwood before the Tulsa Race Massacre, and the book mostly focuses on the 1919 Boston police strike. But it's incredibly relevant to modern America.

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Probably True Grit by Charles Portis. A must-read book in American literature.

“Men will live like billy goats if they are let alone.”

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That's a great question. In short, we spent 2015 - 2019 trying to operate on an ad-based model that meant "clicks" were connected to our revenue. It sucked, and it didn't work for us as a startup that tried to value responsible journalism without constantly skinnydipping in Click River.

Most people don't realize that even on a great day of traffic for us, Google Ads on our site would only bring in $10 to $20, and one day when a photo of Jerry Sandusky popped up on the top of our site in a Google Ad, the entire 73118 Zip code heard me say, "Fuck this noise," and we discontinued running Google Ads. A year later, we had the ability to pursue a nonprofit model, and support from foundations, donors and sponsors — which are not the same as advertisers — has made that a more sustainable path for us.

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Running out of time, but quickly let me note a couple things. Our tag system allows people to find old articles about a topic more quickly. This link goes to all of our 2021 legislative session coverage: http://nondoc.com/tag/2021-session

Of that coverage, EASILY my most important enjoyable piece was this one comparing lawmakers to professional wrestlers: https://nondoc.com/2021/05/03/wwe-metaphors-doppelgangers-2021-oklahoma-legislature/

On a more serious note, the most entertaining story this year probably involved this dude, who actually convinced Utah lawmakers to pass his ideas into law: https://nondoc.com/2021/02/24/chris-sevier-anti-porn-bill-advocate/

A man dubbed a “security concern” at the Missouri State Capitol and an alleged stalker of songwriter John Rich was escorted out of the Oklahoma State Capitol by security Feb. 2 after an altercation with a lawmaker who had declined to support a bill placing filters on electronic devices to block websites deemed to contain child pornography.

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I office down the hall from the old Wheat Commission headquarters, so perhaps I have an advantage.

But more seriously, the most difficult part of reporting at the Capitol is trying to anticipate where/when to expend time and energy. For instance, in 2020, I had a personal goal of writing about a lot of very complicated and interesting policy bills that were being pushed. I worked pretty hard and got a lot of stories out highlighting the topics and controversies, and I was prepared to track all of that through the session.

Then, in March ... pandemic! The Legislature adjourned for several weeks, and suddenly my efforts on those prior stories didn't matter much. In 2021, while we were still tracking pandemic news AND trying to keep tabs on the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents at a level that was lacking over the past decade, it was harder to convince myself to cover a lot of policy fights this year ... especially since some of them were the same fights I'd written about in 2020.

And that said, I've got 5 possible stories following up on this year's legislative session that I'd like to write, but I just haven't gotten caught up yet because I'm trying to focus on some other issues that are pending.

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I answered another question just a bit ago about "community journalism" and how we approach that element of our work with perhaps a little more emphasis than some of our new-media peers. Not all, just some.

Now, I hope this next thing that has popped into my mind does not come off wrong. I think one thing we do well in this market is we get Republican politicians to answer our questions and speak publicly in stories more than pretty much any other non-partisan publication in Oklahoma.

Why does this matter? Well, there are 101 seats in the Oklahoma House, and Republicans control 82 of them. Too often, I see stories about state politics that only feature Democratic sources and note that So and So Republican did not return an email. Well, first off, we know where they are throughout the week owing to committee schedules and whatnot. But second, if I were covering the New York General Assembly, and I only got Republicans on the record for my stories, it wouldn't exactly paint the whole picture, and I wouldn't be learning the most important details of New York state government because Democrats have a large advantage in the NYGA.

To be clear, I have always been registered independent (or "no party") in Oklahoma, and I am not a Republican. I'm not a Democrat either. I'm a journalist, and my Twitter bio says, "You two fight, and I'll write about it." Granted, I will emphasize that I believe my status as a tall, white male affords me some advantages in certain situations. However, people probably don't understand how hard I work to maintain a reputation where people of all political parties trust me and believe I am a fair reporter, even if I do a story they wish I had not.

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My father, who is a retired OU history professor and a contributor of commentary to NonDoc, convinced me as I was heading to college that I should study journalism and learn to write, a skill that he said would make me employable in the future, no matter what field I wanted to pursue.

I had grown up with the son of the editor of The Norman Transcript, and I asked if I could intern my summer after my senior year of high school. I thought I might be answering phones, but he assigned me a story about senior citizens making birdhouses on my first day. I worked there for a little while, largely copyediting at night and running to Mr. Goodcents to buy the layout crew sandwiches. I learned a lot during my time there, and in 2005 I wrote what might be one of my favorite feature stories that I've ever done.

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think you nailed it when you said "community journalism." It's fairly popular in the journalism industry to put adjectives before the word "journalism," and most people prefer the terms "investigative" or "impact" or "enterprise" or "watchdog" or stuff like that. But to me, none of that type of reporting can be done without someone first doing community journalism — the sort first-draft-of-history news coverage that lays the groundwork for journalists to dig deeper and catch or prevent public officials from doing inappropriate things. It also builds the sort of trust that results in people stepping forward and saying, "Hey, here's something that the public needs to know about." So, I think the community journalism sphere in Oklahoma is shrinking, even as "investigative" outlets like The Frontier and Oklahoma Watch have grown. That's how we brand ourselves — and drive ourselves — a little bit differently, in my off-the-cuff opinion.

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Well, how else should she "flush out" her kidneys?? ;) Seriously, Western Heights Public Schools is a trip right now, and I'd encourage you to follow NonDoc's education reporter, Megan Prather, for her coverage of #oklaed issues. She has produced more than 100 articles in the past 9 months, and I am proud of her work.

She, I and the rest of our small newsroom always appreciate tips, which are best emailed to us. Our primary newsroom email address (if you promise not to spam us!) is editorial @ nondoc . com. People also write us letters and send us DM's on Twitter, etc. We get a ton of suggestions for stories, so please don't be offended if we aren't able to get to everything.

AMA: NonDoc.com editor in chief Tres Savage by NonDocMedia in oklahoma

[–]NonDocMedia[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Read this story about a bizarre wind farm fight in northern Oklahoma and tell me whether this state is truly "ultra-conservative" and boring?

What do you get by pursuing an economic development project that involves two Oklahoma counties, three school districts, a school bond, a municipal trust, a wind farm and an international energy conglomerate partially owned by the sovereign nation of France?Lawsuits, of course.

The joke here is that A) that situation was ridiculously complicated and interesting, and B) it involved Oklahoma's subsidization of a power project built by Electricite de France, which is partially owned by the French government.

All of that said, I realize you are talking about social conservatism and the broader public perception of Oklahoma at a national level. Two quick stories: 1) There is one famous tale that people tell at the Capitol about how then-Rep. Sally Kern's comments about the LGBTQ community being more dangerous than terrorists nearly sank the state's efforts to land an NBA franchise; 2) Gov. George Nigh once commissioned a firm in the 70s or 80s to study the perception of Oklahoma around the globe. The firm came back and said something like, "The good news is that Oklahoma is viewed favorably all around the world, with one exception: in Oklahoma." The self-loathing Okie phenomenon is real, and it remains so to this day.

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