Doing hard news can be, well, hard sometimes, and not everybody is a fan.
There’s a particular journalism quote I’ve always loved that goes like this: “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; Everything else is public relations.”
In May we began a nearly month-long investigation into a local nonprofit that blamed state budget cuts for the entirety of their financial issues.
Our reporting found that the full story was quite different and we worked hard to give the nonprofit, Broken Arrow’s Gatesway Foundation, opportunities to meet with us and discuss what we’d found.
Instead they ignored us at every turn. When our stories published, Gatesway criticized them but nearly two months later have never pointed to a single inaccuracy.
Instead they issued a press release where they called us an “Internet Tabloid Magazine.”
Their intent was to cast doubt on the legitimacy of our reporting. However our readers know us better than that, and we’ve worked hard the past three years at earning that kind of trust.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun.
So for a limited time we have “Internet Tabloid Magazine” edition shirts available for new donors.
The type of reporting we do doesn’t come easy. It takes time — time that your support provides. Your donations don’t wind up funneled to a hedge fund, or a secretive owner. They directly support our newsroom as we uncover important stories that matter to Oklahomans.
Want to support us? Donate here. Become a recurring donor of at least $5 a month and we’ll send you a shirt.
And if anyone asks you what exactly an “Internet Tabloid Magazine” is, send them our way.