Last week, Oklahoman Editor Ed Kelley announced he is leaving the "state's most trusted news" to take over the editing duties of the Washington Times. This is kind of significant, considering Kelley has been the editor of the Oklahoman since 2003 and was the first person not from the powerful/polarizing Gaylord dynasty family to serve in that role.
During his tenure, Kelley helped navigate through a dynamic (and tumultuous) period in the industry. Internet and social media has radically changed the way news and information is relayed and delivered, while declining circulation and revenues have forced the Black Tower to layoff employees, close child care facilities and reduce their staff.
To get a perspective on Kelley's stint as editor, we emailed to see if he would like to take part in a Q&A. He never replied.
Since we're apparently not good enough to have Ed Kelley even gracefully decline an interview request, we went an alternate route. We emailed a list of questions to a panel of local journalism experts and pundits to get their take on the Ed Kelly era. Our panel of experts includes:
Dr. Joe Foote: Dean and Chair of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma.