''The Frontier'' is an investigative news and multi-media platform website that practices long-form, watchdog journalism related to the U.S. state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. ''The Frontier'' is headquartered in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. The publication has become a

non-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been Incorporation (business), incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a ...

operated by The Frontier Media Group Inc.

History

The corporation, founded in 2016, is overseen by a board that includes Frontier co-founders, former ''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...

'' president and publisher, Robert Lorton III, and Ziva Branstetter, a former special projects editor of the ''Tulsa World'' and currently an editor at ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. Branstetter and Carey Aspinwall, who is now based in Dallas covering Southern U.S. crime news with the

Marshall Project The Marshall Project is a nonprofit, online journalism organization focusing on issues related to criminal justice in the United States. It was founded by former hedge fund manager Neil Barsky with former ''New York Times'' executive editor Bil ...

, were finalists for Local News coverage for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize. They had been nominated for their 2014 work on botched executions in Oklahoma. In 2017, The Frontier's staff included publisher Lorton, former ''World'' staff reporters Dylan Goforth, its Editor in Chief, and Clifton Adcock, Senior Staff Writer, as well as Kassie McClung and Aspinwall. Regarding its initial hires, Andy Rieger a

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

journalism professor and former decades-long editor and columnist at the ''

Norman Transcript ''The Norman Transcript'' is a daily newspaper published in Norman, Oklahoma, United States, covering Cleveland and McClain counties, in the southern suburbs of Oklahoma City. It is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. The newspaper is the ...

'' said: "They were some of the best writers and editors the ''World'' had." "That gave it credibility not only in Tulsa, but in Oklahoma." It originally charged $30 a month for the investigative stories on its site, though it subsequently dropped its paywall. At the time it had about 650 members and aimed for 850 in its first 12 months, said Lorton. The organization has conducted research and enterprise reporting on issues important to the Oklahoma public, including a five-part series on rape in December 2017, problems within the Tulsa County jail, stories about major problems regarding a wealthy Sheriff's department contributor who was a reserve deputy who accidentally killed an arrestee, and the bonuses paid to CoreCivic, a for-profit prison operator, despite repeated

riots A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...

in 2015 in its Cushing prison, at the same time the staff in state prisons suffered from stagnant wages. The Frontier was honored as a finalist for Best New Website in the 2016 Great Plains Journalism Awards. It also partnered with local, state and national media outlets for groundbreaking investigative projects and experimented with novel ways to tell stories. It is one of Oklahoma's leading advocates for transparency in government and has fought for access to records on the public's behalf. In 2018, it was chosen as one of three finalists for the 2017 annual award in the

Scripps Howard Foundation The Scripps Howard Fund is a public charity that supports philanthropic causes important to the E. W. Scripps Company, an American media conglomerate which owns television stations, cable television networks, and other media outlets. The goal of t ...

's Community Journalism category, for its series, "Shadow Land: How Rape Stays Hidden in Oklahoma."

Operation

''The Frontier'' gets its operating revenue from subscriptions and donations along with funding from sponsors. Its competitors include the state's major daily newspapers: ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larges ...

'', published by GateHouse Media owned by

Fortress Investment Group Fortress Investment Group is an American investment management firm based in New York City. Fortress was founded as a private equity firm in 1998 by Wes Edens, Rob Kauffman, and Randal Nardone. When Fortress launched on the NYSE in February 200 ...

and its investor

Softbank is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the ...

since October 1, 2018, and formerly owned since 2011 by

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based billionaire businessman

Philip Anschutz Philip Frederick Anschutz ( ; born December 28, 1939) is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, movies, theaters, arenas and m ...

and his

Anschutz Corporation The Anschutz Corporation is an American private holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, United States.Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...

's BH Media Group, controlled by billionaire

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...

Investigation impact

The Frontier has partnered on Oklahoma stories with national and international media, such as the

, and the Guardian in Great Britain. That investigation of the Pardon and Parole Board alleged that no applications for commutations or pardons had been reviewed for three years. The resulting public awareness of incarceration issues news stories by Frontier, The Oklahoman and Tulsa World spurred policy changes within the agency by 2018 newly elected Oklahoma Governor

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, he began his first term as governor in January 2019 and was reelected to a second t ...

who led the release of over 500 non-violent offender inmates."We're going home!", more than 500 Oklahoma inmates freed in historic release
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Cary Aspinwall, November 5, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2021.

References

External links

The Frontier website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frontier Internet properties established in 2016 Mass media in Tulsa, Oklahoma American news websites 2016 establishments in Oklahoma