Earlier this week, we filed a live, local, late-breaking report about KOCO finally learning that Ryan Walters is “considering” a run for Governor in 2026.
Toward the end of that post, I openly voiced my concern that KOCO’s story – which seemed more like an attempt to capitalize on the Ryan Walters outrage news beat than report actual news – could ignite an arms race in the local media, with all the players trying to outdo each other with their own teaser reports about Ryan’s expected candidacy.
For example:
I have a feeling this KOCO report is going to ignite a “Ryan Walters is considering a run for governor” arms race in the local media — with reporters, producers, and news directors across all stations scrambling to tease, cover, and add to the speculation, mostly so they can bask in the sweet, sweet social media outrage engagement the headline brings.
Not to give it up to myself, but it looks like my concerns were justified!
Only a couple of days after KOCO’s report, KOKH Fox 25 and Tulsa’s KTUL Channel 8 – the Siamese sister Sinclair stations that share an operations base in OKC – got Ryan to admit in another interview that he is, once again, considering a run for Governor.
Just like KOCO, both channels rushed out on social media to trumpet the old news like it was a big scoop:
Did you get that? Three days after telling one news outlet he’s considering a run, Ryan told another news outlet he’s considering a run. Call me crazy, but it’s almost like Ryan – perhaps in a bid to stay hated and relevant – really wants people to know he’s considering a run for Governor!
On one hand, I guess you can’t blame the local media for taking the bait and doing Ryan’s bidding.
As a trailblazer in the Ryan Walters Outrage News Beat, I see firsthand just how much traffic and engagement the man can generate. Seriously, hating Ryan Walters is one of the most popular pastimes in this state, ranking just behind storm chasing, noodling, and trying to land a job in another state.
The thing is, there’s a big difference between covering and mocking all of Ryan’s callous remarks, various grifts, disastrous policies, culture war battles, grandstanding actions, and old engagement photos… and being used as a tool to tease and promote his impending gubernatorial campaign.
Once again, as evidenced by his PR handler’s amplification of the news reports, it’s pretty obvious what’s happening:
Anyway, now that my fears of a “Ryan Walters is considering, contemplating, thinking about running” news beat have been officially realized, it’ll be interesting to see how KFOR, News 9, and even the nonprofit news machine handle his future strategic statements to stay relevant.
Naturally, we’ll be here to cover — and capitalize on — all of it in our own way.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
