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The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...
for the city of
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 wit ...
, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of
Lee Enterprises Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...
. The new owners announced in January 2020 that a corporate purchase was made of BH Media Group, a Berkshire Hathaway company controlled by Warren Buffett. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the state, after '' The Oklahoman''. It was founded in 1905 and locally owned by the Lorton family for almost 100 years until February 2013, when it was sold to BH Media Group. In the early 1900s, the ''World'' fought an editorial battle in favor of building a reservoir on Spavinaw Creek, in addition to opposing the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...
in the 1920s. The paper was jointly operated with the ''
Tulsa Tribune The ''Tulsa Tribune'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1919 to 1992. Owned and run by three generations of the Jones family, the ''Tribune'' closed in 1992 after the termination of its joint operating agreement w ...
'' from 1941 to 1992.


History

Republican activist James F. McCoy and Kansas journalist J.R. Brady published the first edition of the ''Tulsa World'' on September 14, 1905 at the time Brady was starting ''Tulsa World'', he was also publishing the Indian Republican a weekly newspaper, which was previously edited by a con artist named Myron Boyle. Brady had bought the ''Indian Republican'' in 1905 and fired Boyle in the following year. Boyle borrowed $500 from Dr. S. G. Kennedy, ostensibly to pay some personal debts. Instead, he left town without repaying Dr. Kennedy. Brady was sufficiently successful establishing the ''Tulsa World'' that it attracted a Missouri mine owner, George Bayne, and his brother-in-law, Charles Dent, who bought and ran the paper for the next five years. In 1911,
Eugene Lorton Eugene Lorton (1869-1949) was the long-time editor and publisher of the ''Tulsa World'' newspaper. Born in Missouri, he moved to Tulsa in 1911, where he bought a minority interest in the ''Tulsa World''. Within six years, he owned the newspaper ou ...
, who had just sold his stake in a Walla Walla, Washington newspaper, and moved to Tulsa, bought an interest in the ''Tulsa World'', becoming its editor, and then, with financial backing from Harry Ford Sinclair, the sole owner and publisher in 1917. Beginning in 1915, the ''Tulsa World'' fought an editorial battle advocating a proposal to build a reservoir on
Spavinaw Creek Spavinaw Creek is a stream that begins in Arkansas and flows west into Oklahoma. The mouth is at located at Lake Hudson. The creek drains 400 square miles of the Ozark Mountain foothills and farm land. Two lakes, Lake Spavinaw and Lake Eucha, ...
and pipe the water 55 miles to Tulsa.
Charles Page Charles Page (June 2, 1860 – December 27, 1926) was a businessman and important philanthropist in the early history of Tulsa, Oklahoma. After his father died when Page was an 11-year-old boy in Wisconsin, he left school early to try to help sup ...
was among those who opposed the Spavinaw plan; he advocated a plan in his own newspaper to sell water from the Shell Creek water system, which Page owned. Page's newspaper, the ''Morning News'', closed in 1919 after Tulsans approved a bond issue to pipe the water from Spavinaw. He sold a companion paper, ''Tulsa Democrat'', to
Richard Lloyd Jones Richard Lloyd Jones (April 14, 1873 – December 4, 1963) was an American journalist who was the long-time editor and publisher of the now defunct '' Tulsa Tribune''. He was noted for his controversial positions on political issues. The son of a ...
, who renamed it the ''Tulsa Tribune''. In the 1920s, the ''Tulsa World'' was known for its opposition to the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...
, which had risen to local prominence in the wake of the Tulsa Race Riot in the spring of 1921. Lorton was active in
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
politics until he was defeated by William B. Pine, in the 1924 primary election for the
US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
; Pine went on to win the general election. Lorton then supported Democrats
Alfred E. Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a Ci ...
in the 1928 Presidential election and Franklin D. Roosevelt in
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...
and 1936. However, Lorton refused to support Roosevelt's third term bid in 1940; he returned to the Republicans and remained a GOP supporter for the rest of his life. The ''Tulsa Tribune'' and ''Tulsa World'' entered a joint operating agreement in June 1941. Eugene Lorton died in 1949, leaving majority interest in the newspaper to his wife Maude and smaller shares to four daughters and 20 employees. Eugene's presumed successor, Robert Lorton, had died at age 24 in 1939. In the 1950s, Maude Lorton transferred one-fourth of the company to attorney Byron Boone, who became publisher in 1959. Upon her death, she left the rest of her shares to her grandson Robert. In 1964, Robert Lorton became director of the News Publishing Corporation, which oversaw the non-editorial operations of both the ''Tulsa Tribune'' and ''Tulsa World''. In 1968, he became president of the ''Tulsa World'' and publisher upon Boone's death in 1988. The ''Tulsa Tribune'' ceased operations in 1992 and ''Tulsa World'' acquired its assets. Robert Lorton reacquired the ''Worlds outstanding shares and made the newspaper entirely family-owned once again. In May 2005, he passed the title of publisher to his son Robert E. Lorton III. During the same year, World Publishing Company had 700 employees, and was ranked as one of Oklahoma's largest employers. In February 2013, the paper announced that it would be sold to Berkshire Hathaway's BH Media Group, controlled by Warren Buffett. In 2015, BH Media bought six weekly papers and the daily ''Tulsa Business & Legal News'' from Community Publishers Inc. On April 20, 2015, four ''Tulsa World'' journalists—including two nominated for the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
—suddenly resigned their jobs to accept positions at The Frontier, a new online-only publication launched by the former ''World'' publisher, Bobby Lorton. In 2016, the World announced it would not endorse any candidate in the 2016 election, saying that the American people had been presented with "the least acceptable list of candidates for president in modern times." The paper had maintained its loyalty to the GOP after Eugene Lorton's death; it had endorsed the GOP standardbearer in every election since 1940.


Recent developments

In February 2013, the paper announced that it would be sold to Berkshire Hathaway's BH Media Group, controlled by Warren Buffett.
Lee Enterprises Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...
announced an agreement to buy BH Media Group publications and ''The Buffalo News'' for $140 million cash on January 29, 2020. The acquisition includes the ''Tulsa World''. As of September 2012, weekday circulation was 95,003; Saturday circulation was 104,602; and Sunday circulation was 133,066. In April 2011, the World introduced a metered model to its digital products that limits the amount of locally produced articles that a non-subscriber can view at no charge. Once viewers have opened 5 stories in 30 days, they will be asked to purchase a subscription. The home page, all section pages, classifieds and most syndicated content is unrestricted to all readers. "In reality, more people are engaged with our content than ever before. But it no longer seems fair to have a portion of our readers pay for our content while others do not. Therefore, like many publications, we have decided to charge a fee for our digital content. Print subscribers will continue to receive unlimited access to our digital products," wrote then publisher and CEO Robert E. Lorton III in a letter to readers In March 2008, the ''World'' closed its zoned suburban newspapers, called the "Community World," and laid off its 18 staff members. ''Tulsa World'' laid off 28 employees in early 2009. Twenty-six newsroom employees were terminated immediately. Editors said in a memo that staff members would be challenged to produce a quality product after the layoffs, and editors asked remaining newsroom employees to take on new duties. On March 29, 2009, the ''World'' published a column by its then publisher, Robert E. Lorton III, responding to what Lorton called "an unusual amount of concerned correspondence in regard to the future of this company and our industry." Lorton asserted that despite the difficult economy and general downward trends in the newspaper industry and the World's own staff cuts, that ''Tulsa World'' remains profitable and has a healthy capital structure. The World further reduced staff on March 1, 2011 by terminating eighteen employees, "the result of a company-wide evaluation by management of operational efficiencies." The ''World'' says "the reduction represents approximately 3 percent of its staff." Also in January 2009, the ''Tulsa World'' and
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...
's daily newspaper, '' The Oklahoman'', announced a content-sharing agreement in which each paper would carry some content created by the other. The papers also said they would "focus on reducing some areas of duplication, such as sending reporters from both ''The Oklahoman'' and ''Tulsa World'' to cover routine news events." In mid-January 2009, ''Tulsa World'' filed a
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...
lawsuit against noted local blogger Michael Bates, ''Urban Tulsa Weekly'', and the ''Weekly''s editor and publisher, over a column Bates wrote for the weekly paper, in which Bates expressed doubts about the ''World''s circulation numbers based on a 2006 report by the
Audit Bureau of Circulation An Audit Bureau of Circulations is a private organization that provides industry-agreed standards for media brand measurement of print publications and other media outlets in a given country. The International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulat ...
. On January 20, ''The Tulsa World'' said it would drop the case against ''Urban Tulsa Weekly'' and its editor and publisher, after the weekly paper agreed to issue a retraction, but Bates remained a defendant. ''Tulsa World''s decision to sue a competitor paper was criticized in a column by '' Slate'' editor
Jack Shafer Jack Shafer (born November 14, 1957) is an American journalist who writes about media for '' Politico''. Prior to joining ''Politico'', he worked for Reuters and also edited and wrote the column'' "''Press Box" for ''Slate'', an online magazine. ...
. On February 12, 2009, the ''World'' reported that Bates had issued an apology and retraction, and that the libel lawsuit had been settled on confidential terms.


Notable staff

* Mildred Ladner Thompson, former ''Tulsa World'' book editor and columnist


Competing newspapers

* ''
Tulsa Beacon The ''Tulsa Beacon'' is a weekly newspaper in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was founded by Charles and Susan Biggs under the corporate name Biggs Communications, Inc. The first paper was published in April 2001. Charles Biggs died on August 29, 2022. Feat ...
'' * ''
Tulsa Tribune The ''Tulsa Tribune'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1919 to 1992. Owned and run by three generations of the Jones family, the ''Tribune'' closed in 1992 after the termination of its joint operating agreement w ...
'' (former) * ''
Urban Tulsa Weekly {{Infobox Newspaper , name = Urban Tulsa Weekly , image = Urban Tulsa Weekly (cover).jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = , type = Alternative weekly , format = Tab ...
''


See also

* *


References


External links

*
''Tulsa World'' mobile
* Krehbiel, Randy

at the
Oklahoma Historical Society The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. ...
br>''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''
(retrieved April 14, 2009).
''Tulsa Daily World''
hosted by th
Gateway to Oklahoma History

"Voices of Oklahoma interview with Ken Neal"
��First person interview conducted on February 26, 2009 with Ken Neal, former editor of the ''Tulsa World''
Voices of Oklahoma interview with Alex Adwan"
��First person interview conducted on May 4, 2010, with Alex Adwan, former editor of the ''Tulsa World'' {{Lee Enterprises Newspapers published in Tulsa, Oklahoma Newspapers established in 1905 1905 establishments in Oklahoma Territory Lee Enterprises publications