Skip to Content
Everything Else

The Oklahoman wants us to think they care about quality journalism…

9:40 AM EDT on July 22, 2015

oklahoman statue
false

The ugly statue above is called “Investigation, Analysis and Publication.” The artwork was commissioned by Oklahoman publisher E.K. Gaylord in the 1960s in what I assume was an effort to taunt, bully and intimidate his rivals.

Earlier this week, “Investigation, Analysis and Publication” was moved to The Oklahoman's fancy new Downtown headquarters. Now everyone can admire the statue and wonder what it would be like to live in a town with a newspaper that actually upheld those pristine journalistic values.

This got Steve Lackmeyer, a man who never shies away from glorifying his own profession, all hot and bothered. He wrote an ode to the statue in yesterday's paper. It's called "Complete Me."

I can count only a dozen writers and editors who are in the new newsroom who were in the “old” newsroom at 25 NW 4, our previous downtown home. I experienced the last glimpse of a newsroom designed in the 1960s that was filled with aging computers and still a scattering of typewriters. That was in 1990, and just a year later The Oklahoman made the move to a much more luxurious suburban home at 9000 N Broadway.

Few remnants of that old downtown home survived the move back to downtown earlier this year. But over the weekend, three 16-foot-high “guys” who have stood watch over The Oklahoman for a half century finally joined us at 100 W Main: “Investigation, Analysis and Publication.”

That's nice, but I have to ask. Where are the statues for "Bias, Protecting Friends and Advancing Political Agendas?" That's how the paper determines who they investigate, analyze and publicize, right?

Anyway, I hope this is the beginning of a new statue beat by Steve Lackmeyer. I bet the next one he writes about is the bathing ladies at the Waterford Fountain. Steve is kind of a prude, so he'll probably suggest they wear Red Bud Classic tee-shirts all year-long.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter