More than 40 years ago, I waited in the office of a powerful state senator for an irate response to my soon-to-be-published story revealing his plan to profit from a proposed million-dollar land deal that would turn 600 acres of Lake Eufaula watershed into a toxic waste dump. A few years later, I stood alone in a small Coal County town, knocking on the door of a key witness for a federal corruption investigation that snared dozens of county commissioners across Oklahoma in a kickback scandal.
And there was that time I sat in a Latimer County courtroom for the trial of a sheriff charged with cattle theft — a trial for which I was excused from jury duty because the judge said “reporters, lawyers and drunkards” were disqualified. But, the judge said, I could report on it if I wanted. So I did.
Each of these important stories would have gone unpublished had an active press not been working to gather the news and report it to the public.
We all have seen the gradual reduction of news gathering resources across rural America. Local newspaper staffs are a fraction of what once existed. The risk of important stories going unreported feels greater than ever. As a former newspaper reporter “back in the day,” that is scary to me. It should scare us all.
As board chairman of the Sustainable Journalism Foundation, the nonprofit organization that operates NonDoc Media, taking action to ensure that rural communities have access to local news and information is a priority of mine. Growing up in Latimer County, I never imagined that southeast Oklahoma would eventually find itself short on journalism jobs, but here we are: hoping that legacy publications can somehow hang on and wondering what can be done to fill growing coverage gaps.
To that end, I hope you have noticed that NonDoc recently took steps to expand its news coverage of southeast Oklahoma — the same territory where I reported in the 1970s and early 1980s. Long-time McAlester news reporter and editor Derrick James joined our newsroom this fall, and it’s part of my job as a board member to raise awareness of this local investment and raise funds to support it.
Of course, I have a personal connection to the area. My friends live here. My family’s Latimer County roots trace back to the 1890s.
But more importantly, the stories of rural areas, small towns and sovereign tribal nations have significant impact across the state. They shape much of the political narrative that leads to policy decisions and legislation at the State Capitol, which NonDoc covers robustly year in and year out.
NewsMatch 2025
Donations to NonDoc are doubled through Dec. 31. Click to contribute online, or mail a check to:
NonDoc Media
P.O. Box 18421
Oklahoma City, OK 73154
Now, however, our newsroom has the opportunity to provide similarly important coverage from and to the people of southeast Oklahoma — a chance and a challenge we do not take lightly.
This week, we began our year’s biggest fundraising push for the annual NewsMatch campaign supported by the Institute for Nonprofit News. Through Dec. 31, donations to NonDoc are being doubled (up to $1,000 per donor) and we are incentivized to find new, first-time donors who read, value and support our work.
If you want to see this new journalism job in southeast Oklahoma be successful and sustainable for years to come, please consider making a donation to NonDoc if your budget allows it. Every dollar helps, whether it’s a one-time donation or a monthly commitment, as NewsMatch will double new monthly donors’ annualized totals.
Whether you can donate or not, please make sure you are:
- signed up to receive NonDoc’s email newsletters;
- signed up to receive text-message alerts for stories on topics of your choice; and
- following NonDoc on Facebook or Twitter.
As we work to build coverage capacity in southeast Oklahoma, your support can make a major difference. If you have questions about our work or want to learn about planned giving options to sustain independent journalism for decades to come, I would love to meet for coffee and conversation about your community.
In the meantime, thank you for reading and believing in nonprofit news.
