The journalism of 20 years ago, April 19--part 3

From the front page of The Daily Oklahoman April 20, the three leads of the stories:

"A thunderous bomb blast rocked Oklahoma City on Wednesday, ripping a huge slice from a federal building and killing at least 150 to 200 people, many of them children."
--Steve Lackmeyer and David Zizzo

"Five small children, badly injured and bloodied, and a toy doll were among the first to be removed from the Murrah Building's second floor day care center.
    "'You couldn't even tell they had been little boys or little girls,' said… ."
--Diana Baldwin

"Oklahoma City will never be the same. "
--Penny Owen

Other credits: Main headline, Ed Sargent, newseditor; dominant photo, Jim Argo.

For many years afterward, every class I taught at UCO had students who were directly affected by the April 19 bombing, or who knew people who were victims. Today that is rare because they are too young to remember.
But consider these powerful opening lines and reporting. I still use these as examples of excellent reporting and writing, description and verbs and drama,  for my writing students. (And, proudly, Penny Owen is one of my former students and our graduate.)

The journalism of April 19, 20 years ago--part 2

Front page of The Daily Oklahoman, April 19, 1995

 The Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building bombing on April 19, 20 years ago, affected the entire state. I think it is the only news story since statehood getting almost universal coverage in Oklahoma's almost 200 daily and weekly papers. Pearl Harbor, or 9-11 since then, may be close.
At the time of the bombing, there were 47 dailies and 136 weeklies in Oklahoma. From Boise City to Idabell and Pitcher to Eldorado, I found only four newspapers that didn't have stories about the bombing. My content analysis was for The Oklahoma Press Association newspaper, The Oklahoma Publisher.
The newspaper most affected by the bombing was the daily business newspaper, the Journal-Record, located across the street north from the federal building. Its building now houses the Bombing Memorial museum.
Several staff members, including one of our UCO grads, were injured and were lucky they weren't standing in front of their south windows when the blast occurred. After missing the next day's issue, in an amazing feat of journalism, those journalists used our computers in the UCO Vista to produce the remarkable next issue.
It was "only" a two-page paper--front and back--headlined "Eyewitness Accounts of the Tragedy," were first person stories by each staff member. 

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Oklahoma's two largest newspapers, The Daily Oklahoman and the Tulsa World, starred in their coverage, not just the day after but for weeks and months to come. The World's photo coverage was stunning.
For Oklahoma City's hometown The  Oklahoman, it was the paper's finest hour.  The building, a few miles north of the bombing and built to withstand a tornado, shook. The reporters and photographers were downtown almost immediately, some in their heels scrambling through rubble.
The entire news staff showed up, putting in long hours, day after day. I wasn't supposed to work that night, but went in, and got a "Yes" nod from my editor and helped edit stories and write headlines for the next day's paper. As reports of dead children came in later that day, in the break room, I saw an assistant editor looking out the window and crying.
As the weeks went by, the paper started  "Those Who Died" vignettes, little stories about each of the victims, written by several members of the staff, making the story intensely personal. Those became the model for what the New York Times did after 9-11. 
I believe the paper did more than just cover the news and humanity--it became a tangible psychological force in the survival and healing of the city and state. Every morning, people could pick up something solid, something that said the world is still normal, there is still goodness among all the bad news, something you can count on, even when your foundation of security has been blasted away. The coverage was continual; it was months before a bombing related story didn't appear on the front page.
It was also the source for news by others--it in many ways "owned" the story. Rick Bragg, Pulitizer winner for the New York Times said The Oklahoman was the paper of record--he had to pick it up every day to see what was going on.
The  Oklahoman should have won a Pulitizer Prize for its exceptional work. A tradition is the award goes to  local newspapers for excellence in responding to local crises. But it didn't, to the consternation of those hard-working journalists. My opinion is that the Pulitzer judges snubbed the paper because they so strongly disagreed with the paper's very conservative editorial page.  That was a crime, because the news staff more than earned it.

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"Oklahoma City tragedy affects everyone" 

cried the headline in the Ringling Eagle in far southern Oklahoma a week later, telling the story of the state.
As an old weekly newspaper man, I was proud of how those all local news papers responded around the state--reflecting the hardiness and goodness of Okies.
"The bombing washed over Oklahoma like a harshly dropped stone in a serene pool," wrote the Wynnewood Gazette, summarizing the impact as well as any.
In my content analysis of those papers in the next two weeks I found--

• 84 staff stories about local activities and local impressions of the bombing
• 57 staff photos of local activities related to bombing
• 44 staff photos about people who took part in the rescue and other efforts
• 28 photos of the bombing site
• 25 stories about the bombing
• 21 stories about victims with local connections
• 12 editorials

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For  non-journalists, understand that headlines are measured by how tall they are in points--a printer's measure. There are 72 points to an inch. Many headlines today are rarely more than 36 points (a half inch) or 48 points.
The Daily Oklahoman's "Morning of Terror" in all caps was a 144 point headline.
Largest headline in the state was at the Edmond Sun, which came out with the story the afternoon of April 19, "Explosion" in all caps, 268 point
Tulsa World, "Bombing Terror," 186 point
Largest of the weeklies
Meeker News, "Act of Terrorism," 144 point.

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By the way, The Daily Oklahoman became a national leader in helping train journalists on how to deal with victims of trauma and for helping journalists deal with their own trauma. It won the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma's  Excellence in Covering Trauma
Award that year and used the funds to conduct a national workshop on the UCO campus for journalists.
And the printing plate that produced their April 20  front page hangs in the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

OKC mayor election & front page editorials--Yes!

Front page editorials. How dare newspapers do that?
 They used to be discussed and cussed in Oklahoma on a regular basis, until a few years ago when the then Daily Oklahoman ceased publishing the always conservative, political opinion pieces on candidates and issues, clearly labeled at the top of the page.
This week, with the Oklahoma City mayoral election tomorrow, another publication has come out with a clearly-labeled front page editorial, endorsing Ed Shadid over the incumbent Mick Cornett.
The City Sentinel, a weekly newspaper serving downtown, carried the editorial. Patrick McGuigan, former editorial writer for The Oklahoman, and a true-believer conservative, publishes the paper.
People who protest such an activity as biased, inappropriate journalism are flat out ignorant of American journalism history. Front page editorials have a long history in this country. They go back all the way to the beginnings in colonial times, and later when every political faction had a newspaper in town.
They've gone away because the press is increasingly corporate, and tries not to offend anyone to protect shareholders' investments. In the process, much of the press has become namby-pamby  milktoast publications that are boring and spineless. Corporates can't seem to figure out why they're losing readers.
Another approach is sometimes seen in thinly-disguised hatchet jobs masquerading as "investigative journalism," where one issue or candidate opposing corporate owners' positions is attacked. The opposite tack is taken in running almost verbatim PR releases from outfits and candidates supported by corporates.
That's why I applaud The City Sentinel and Pat for courageously taking a stand. You don't have to agree with him, but at least you know it's honest journalism. And it builds readers and integrity, especially with a well-reasoned editorial, rather than using propaganda tactics like name calling and target words like "liberal" and conservative."
McGuiggan's first few sentences show that reasoning:
     "After 13 years with the current mayor in office (ten as mayor, three on the Council), it is time for a fresh voice and a stronger focus on the broader needs and issues for all Oklahoma City residents.
     "For the first time in The City Sentinel’s history, we formally endorse a candidate for public office. The newspaper supports Dr. Ed Shadid, the Ward 2 council member, in the Tuesday, March 4 election.
     "This endorsement is an expression of support for the challenger, not a slap at the incumbent.
    "Shadid aims to establish a more inclusive government. He has spoken to hundreds of groups and thousands of local residents — some of whom say their input in city matters has rarely or never been solicited.
    "Many to whom Shadid has spoken have long felt disenfranchised from city government. Ours is not just a downtown city; its entire 640 square miles still has a long way to go, he says. And, he is right."
Check the link above it you want to keep reading.
Two disclaimers. I can't vote in the election, so technically, it doesn't matter to me. Second, McGuigan and I are far apart when it comes to political philosophy, but that's ok. We  can disagree, respect each other, and enjoy conversation and journalism. It matters not to me which candidate he endorsed, as long as he did so with reasoning. 
As a former weekly newspaper publisher of the Waurika News-Democrat, I wrote front page editorials rarely, and always for significant issues, like urging a bond issue for a new grade school. I remember clearly  one quote, "A newspaper that doesn't stand for something, stands for nothing."
Well-reasoned front page editorials like The City Sentinel's are good news for Oklahoma journalism, and Oklahomans.