Tulsa Tribune
Encyclopedia
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 with the morning Tulsa World
.
, they changed the name of The New Era to The Democrat in 1898. The paper was unprofitable and the publisher, R. L. Lunsford, sold it to Dave Jesse, who established the Tulsa Democrat as a daily in 1904, and sold it to William Stryker in 1905.
Stryker sold the paper in 1916 (or 1915) to Charles Page
, founder of the neighboring city of Sand Springs
, who used the newspaper to promote his plan for the city of Tulsa to obtain its water from Shell Creek, near Sand Springs, rather than from Spavinaw in eastern Oklahoma.
in Madison, Wisconsin
. Jones changed the paper's name to Tulsa Tribune-Democrat; then, on January 19, 1920, he changed it again, to Tulsa Tribune. As foreshadowed by this name change, the Tribune became a consistently Republican paper; it never endorsed a Democrat for U.S. president, and did not endorse a Democrat for governor until 1958.
Richard Lloyd Jones (April 14, 1873 – December 4, 1963) was the son of an influential Unitarian
minister, Jenkin Lloyd Jones
. He co-founded Tulsa's All Souls Unitarian Church
, now one of the largest Unitarian Universalist churches in the world. Jones commissioned his cousin, Frank Lloyd Wright
, to build him a house in Tulsa; constructed in 1929, it is known as Westhope
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
. The Tribune's story is frequently named as a contributing factor in the Tulsa race riot
that broke out on June 1, 1921 and led to the destruction of the then-prosperous African-American Greenwood
business district. It has been claimed that the same issue of the Tribune also contained a second article, or an editorial, reporting on plans by white residents to lynch Rowland. All originals of this edition of the newspaper were apparently destroyed, and the relevant pages are also missing from the microfilm copy, so the facts remain in dispute.
The Tribune was also known for its opposition to Oklahoma Governor Jack C. Walton, who in 1923 declared martial law as part of his efforts to oppose the Ku Klux Klan
. Walton even tried to impose censorship on the Tribune. Walton was ultimately impeached and removed from office.
, who would become a notable American news executive, joined the Tulsa Tribune in 1930 as a cub reporter. In 1937, he was named as managing editor of the paper. He continued to work in Tulsa until 1941, when he was appointed to the United States Office of Censorship.
In 1941 the Tribune entered into a joint operating agreement with the morning Tulsa World and established the Newspaper Printing Corporation. The two papers co-existed, sharing their advertising, printing and circulation departments, until 1992.
Richard Lloyd Jones passed on control of the newspaper to his sons, Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. (February 22, 1909 – January 27, 1982) and Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Sr. (November 1, 1911 – February 24, 2004). In 1984 the Tribune's corporate owner merged with Swab-Fox Companies Inc., a diversified energy and real estate firm.
Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Sr. was editor of the Tribune from 1941 to 1988, and publisher until 1991. A number of other Jones family members served in different business and editorial capacities on the paper, including Jenkin's son, Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Jr., who was the last publisher and editor of the paper.
in 1956, and president of the United States Chamber of Commerce
in 1969.
Joseph A. Brandt
was the city editor of the Tribune in the 1920s before moving into academia as head of the University of Oklahoma Press
and Princeton University Press
(and, briefly, as President of the University of Oklahoma
). William P. Steven, who later held senior editor positions with the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Houston Chronicle
, and Chicago Daily News
and Sun-Times
, began his career with the Tulsa Tribune in 1930 and served as managing editor from 1937 to 1941, before moving to the newly formed Office of Censorship
. Other notable authors who worked at the Tulsa Tribune at some point in their careers included humorist H. Allen Smith
, war correspondent Jim G. Lucas
, science writer Martin Gardner
, and sportswriter Mike Sowell
.
apartments under the name Tribune Lofts. The building was listed
in the National Register of Historic Places
in 1979.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
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 with the morning Tulsa World
Tulsa World
Tulsa World is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma, and is the second-most widely circulated newspaper in the state, after The Oklahoman. It was founded in 1905 and remains an independent newspaper,...
.
Antecedents
In 1895, a group of Tulsans established a publication called The New Era, intended to convey a more positive image of the then-small town than that found in the existing paper, The Indian Republican. Supporters of Democratic Party leader William Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
, they changed the name of The New Era to The Democrat in 1898. The paper was unprofitable and the publisher, R. L. Lunsford, sold it to Dave Jesse, who established the Tulsa Democrat as a daily in 1904, and sold it to William Stryker in 1905.
Stryker sold the paper in 1916 (or 1915) to Charles Page
Charles Page
Charles Page was an important philanthropist in the early history of Oklahoma and Tulsa. His enduring act was the creation of the Sand Springs Home for orphans and widows and otherwise unwanted and unloved children...
, founder of the neighboring city of Sand Springs
Sand Springs, Oklahoma
Sand Springs is a city in Osage and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A suburb of Tulsa, it is located predominantly in Tulsa County. The population was 18,906 in the 2010 U. S. Census, compared to 17,451 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1911, by Oklahoma philanthropist...
, who used the newspaper to promote his plan for the city of Tulsa to obtain its water from Shell Creek, near Sand Springs, rather than from Spavinaw in eastern Oklahoma.
Richard Lloyd Jones
In November 1919, the Tulsa Democrat had 21,682 subscribers. In December 1919, Page sold the newspaper to Richard Lloyd Jones, who had previously owned the Wisconsin State JournalWisconsin State Journal
The Wisconsin State Journal is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin...
in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. Jones changed the paper's name to Tulsa Tribune-Democrat; then, on January 19, 1920, he changed it again, to Tulsa Tribune. As foreshadowed by this name change, the Tribune became a consistently Republican paper; it never endorsed a Democrat for U.S. president, and did not endorse a Democrat for governor until 1958.
Richard Lloyd Jones (April 14, 1873 – December 4, 1963) was the son of an influential Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
minister, Jenkin Lloyd Jones
Jenkin Lloyd Jones (minister)
Jenkin Lloyd Jones was a Unitarian minister in the United States. He founded All Souls Unitarian Church in Chicago, Illinois, as well as its community outreach organization, the Abraham Lincoln Centre. A radical modernist, he joined the "Unity Men" and stressed a creedless "ethical basis" as the...
. He co-founded Tulsa's All Souls Unitarian Church
All Souls Unitarian Church (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
All Souls Unitarian Church is a Unitarian Universalist church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is one of the largest UU congregations in the world....
, now one of the largest Unitarian Universalist churches in the world. Jones commissioned his cousin, Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, to build him a house in Tulsa; constructed in 1929, it is known as Westhope
Westhope
Westhope, also known as the Richard Lloyd Jones House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Prairie School home that was constructed in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1929. Richard Lloyd Jones was Wright's cousin and the publisher of the Tulsa Tribune....
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Tulsa race riot
The May 31, 1921 edition of the Tribune included an inflammatory front-page story entitled "Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator", about what was later found to be an accidental encounter between a white elevator operator and a black teenager, Dick RowlandDick Rowland
Dick Rowland was an African American teen-age shoeshiner whose arrest in May 1921 was the impetus for the Tulsa Race Riot. When he was arrested for attempted assault, Rowland was 19 years old. The white teenager, who was supposed to have been the victim, declined to prosecute...
. The Tribune's story is frequently named as a contributing factor in the Tulsa race riot
Tulsa Race Riot
The Tulsa race riot was a large-scale racially motivated conflict, May 31 - June 1st 1921, between the white and black communities of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in which the wealthiest African-American community in the United States, the Greenwood District also known as 'The Negro Wall St' was burned to the...
that broke out on June 1, 1921 and led to the destruction of the then-prosperous African-American Greenwood
Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Greenwood was a district in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As one of the most successful and wealthiest African American communities in the United States during the early 20th Century, it was popularly known as America's "Black Wall Street" until the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921...
business district. It has been claimed that the same issue of the Tribune also contained a second article, or an editorial, reporting on plans by white residents to lynch Rowland. All originals of this edition of the newspaper were apparently destroyed, and the relevant pages are also missing from the microfilm copy, so the facts remain in dispute.
The Tribune was also known for its opposition to Oklahoma Governor Jack C. Walton, who in 1923 declared martial law as part of his efforts to oppose the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. Walton even tried to impose censorship on the Tribune. Walton was ultimately impeached and removed from office.
Later years
William P. StevenWilliam P. Steven
William Pickford Steven was a noted American newspaper executive. A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin he graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in journalism. In 1930, he became a reporter for the Tulsa Tribune, where he was promoted to managing editor in 1937. During World War...
, who would become a notable American news executive, joined the Tulsa Tribune in 1930 as a cub reporter. In 1937, he was named as managing editor of the paper. He continued to work in Tulsa until 1941, when he was appointed to the United States Office of Censorship.
In 1941 the Tribune entered into a joint operating agreement with the morning Tulsa World and established the Newspaper Printing Corporation. The two papers co-existed, sharing their advertising, printing and circulation departments, until 1992.
Richard Lloyd Jones passed on control of the newspaper to his sons, Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. (February 22, 1909 – January 27, 1982) and Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Sr. (November 1, 1911 – February 24, 2004). In 1984 the Tribune's corporate owner merged with Swab-Fox Companies Inc., a diversified energy and real estate firm.
Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Sr. was editor of the Tribune from 1941 to 1988, and publisher until 1991. A number of other Jones family members served in different business and editorial capacities on the paper, including Jenkin's son, Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Jr., who was the last publisher and editor of the paper.
Closing
By 1992, the Tribune's circulation was about 67,000, as compared the 128,000 daily circulation (238,000 on Sunday) of its competitor, the morning World. The papers had renegotiated their joint operating agreement in 1981, and it was due to expire in 1996. The Tribune had introduced a redesigned paper in October 1991 and was believed to be profitable, but negotiations for an extension of the joint operating agreement led instead to the World's July 31, 1992 announcement that it would not renew the agreement, and the Tribune's announcement that it would close down, part of a nationwide trend away from afternoon newspapers. The World paid the Tribune Company owner about $30 million for its share of the Newspaper Printing Corporation and other assets. The Tribune printed its last edition on September 30, 1992.Notable staff
In addition to his positions at the Tribune, Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Sr., was a syndicated columnist whose column was carried in as many as 150 newspapers. He was president of the American Society of Newspaper EditorsAmerican Society of Newspaper Editors
The American Society of News Editors is a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of media-related foundations and training organizations...
in 1956, and president of the United States Chamber of Commerce
United States Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce is an American lobbying group representing the interests of many businesses and trade associations. It is not an agency of the United States government....
in 1969.
Joseph A. Brandt
Joseph A. Brandt
Joseph A. Brandt was the sixth president of the University of Oklahoma.Brandt received his college degree from the University of Oklahoma, making him the first alumni to become president of the University of Oklahoma. Following his degree at Oklahoma, he went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and...
was the city editor of the Tribune in the 1920s before moving into academia as head of the University of Oklahoma Press
University of Oklahoma Press
The University of Oklahoma Press is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. It has been in operation for over seventy-five years, and was the first university press established in the American Southwest. It was founded by William Bennett Bizzell, the fifth president of the University of...
and Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press
-Further reading:* "". Artforum International, 2005.-External links:* * * * *...
(and, briefly, as President of the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
). William P. Steven, who later held senior editor positions with the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
, and Chicago Daily News
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
and Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, began his career with the Tulsa Tribune in 1930 and served as managing editor from 1937 to 1941, before moving to the newly formed Office of Censorship
Office of Censorship
The Office of Censorship was an emergency wartime agency set up on December 19, 1941 to aid in the censorship of all communications coming into and going out of the United States.-Overview:...
. Other notable authors who worked at the Tulsa Tribune at some point in their careers included humorist H. Allen Smith
H. Allen Smith
For the congressman see H. Allen SmithHarry Allen Wolfgang Smith was an American journalist and humorist whose books were popular in the 1940s and 1950s, selling millions of copies....
, war correspondent Jim G. Lucas
Jim G. Lucas
Jim G. Lucas was a war correspondent for Scripps-Howard Newspapers who won a 1954 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting "for his notable front-line human interest reporting of the Korean War, the cease-fire and the prisoner-of-war exchanges, climaxing 26 months of distinguished service as a...
, science writer Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature , philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion...
, and sportswriter Mike Sowell
Mike Sowell
Mike Sowell is a sports historian and the author of three baseball books, including The Pitch That Killed about Ray Chapman and Carl Mays. Named a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times in 1989, and winner of the CASEY Award for best baseball book of 1989, The Pitch That Killed tells the...
.
Tribune Building
The Tribune Building, at 20 East Archer Street, was built in 1924 and housed the Tribune until 1942. It was the first building in Oklahoma built as a newspaper plant. It subsequently served as a storage facility and as a mission for the homeless. The building lay largely vacant from 1971 until 2001, when it was renovated and converted into loftLoft
A loft can be an upper story or attic in a building, directly under the roof. Alternatively, a loft apartment refers to large adaptable open space, often converted for residential use from some other use, often light industrial...
apartments under the name Tribune Lofts. The building was listed
National Register of Historic Places listings in Tulsa County, Oklahoma
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Tulsa County, Oklahoma.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States...
in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1979.