Oklahoma Engaged

This is the Manager’s Minute.

Public radio stations KGOU, KOSU, KCCU and KWGS have now concluded our collaborative Oklahoma Engaged election reporting project, which received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Innovation.

Multiple polls show the majority of Oklahoma voters support criminal justice reforms.

Survey data commissioned by Oklahoma Public Radio stations for the Oklahoma Engaged Project also suggest a majority of voters believe the state’s sentencing laws need to be reworked.

Oklahoma is now the number one incarcerator in the country, but only one bill targeting prison population control reached the governor’s desk this session.

This is the Manager’s Minute.

KGOU and StateImpact Oklahoma reporters were big winners when the names were announced in the latest Oklahoma journalism awards competition – the Society of Professional Journalists.

All told, KGOU and StateImpact reporters captured 15 of the 24 radio awards.

StateImpact earned six awards, including firsts won by Quinton Chandler, Jackie Fortier, Emily Wendler and Joe Wertz, for Government and Criminal Justice Reporting, Feature Reporting, Diversity Reporting and Special Program.

This is the Manager’s Minute.

It all began with an idea: do election reporting designed to serve the public more than candidates by focusing on issues important to people.

So, we brought together our public radio partners – KGOU, KOSU, KWGS and KCCU – to provide in-depth coverage of the 2018 elections and called it Oklahoma Engaged: Project Public Office.

With major funding from the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation and the Kirkpatrick Foundation we knew we had the resources to do something special.  We did.

This is the Manager’s Minute.

In 2018, KGOU and our public radio partners covered Oklahoma politics through Oklahoma Engaged, funded by the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation and the Kirkpatrick Foundation.

The elections are over, but our voter-focused coverage is not.

Oklahoma Engaged continues during this legislative session.

The midterm election is Tuesday and voters across Oklahoma are heading to the polls to decide on local, state and federal races. Election officials have recorded a surge people registering for the 2018 midterms.

Kateleigh Mills interviewed three different Oklahomans from very different backgrounds on why they think voting is important.

On this episode of Capitol Insider, Dr. Amy Goodin of OU Poll joins KGOU’s Dick Pryor and eCapitol’s Shawn Ashley to discuss polling and focus groups commissioned for Oklahoma Engaged, a collaboration between NPR member stations in Oklahoma. Goodin talks about the general “disillusionment” of voters throughout the state, as well as some of their ideas about how to fund public education, the leading political concern in the 2018 election cycle.

Oklahoma’s claim to the buckle of the Bible belt is widely accepted as true. But when it comes to faith and voting, new research shows more residents are letting their political values influence the church they choose.

At a recent weekly Sunday morning donut hour at Faith United Methodist Church in Tulsa, people are busy talking about the start of school and the college football season while getting their weekly dose of juice, coffee and donuts.

Tuesday is Oklahoma’s primary runoff election and in House District 20, an educator is campaigning to oust Republican incumbent Bobby Cleveland, who’s held the seat for six years.

Sue Campbell and her husband David stand under a tree at a dog park along a busy highway near Lake Hefner. Their dog is here, too — a 3-year-old ball of furry energy named Louie.

“Louie is a miniature schnauzer and Staffordshire terrier mix,” Sue said.

Tyler Clifton collapses onto a couch after a long day at the furniture store he manages in downtown McAlester. It’s the same couch where he occasionally interviews people for Facebook videos he calls “The McAlester Leadership Series.”

If you follow your nose to the back of Boots Cafe, you’ll run into swinging wood doors hanging underneath a metal script sign of the word ‘Blessed.’

People over 65 are the most likely to vote. They’re also the group that’s most likely to point to government issues — like mismanaged taxpayer money — as their biggest political concern, according to a poll commissioned by Oklahoma public radio stations.

Women are a key constituency for both of Oklahoma’s major political parties, and an increasing number of women are running for office. But data suggest a majority of Oklahoma women are disappointed with both major political parties.

Long before the Tonight Show, late night TV icon Johnny Carson was hosted a game show entitled “Who Do You Trust?”