Public Broadcasters' 'StateImpact Oklahoma' holds community forums: Local meetings look at public media coverage of state budget and economic issues
Friday, January 20, 2012
StateImpact Oklahoma, an ongoing collaboration between several of the state’s public media organizations and NPR to explain and explore Oklahoma’s budget, will preview the 2012 legislative session during a series of road shows in January.
StateImpact broadcast reporter Logan Layden, digital reporter Joe Wertz and several guest legislators and academic panelists will lead community conversations in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Stillwater about the fiscal challenges that await Oklahoma lawmakers as they prepare to return to the Capitol to craft a state spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Layden and Wertz will also discuss specifics of the StateImpact content partnership between public radio stations KGOU, KOSU, KWGS, KCCU, the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority and NPR.
“Efforts to reduce or eliminate the state income tax are gaining steam at the state Capitol,” Wertz said. “Meanwhile, lawmakers are also considering further cuts to state services.”
The StateImpact Road Shows are free and open to the public; the schedule:
Monday, January 23, 7 p.m.
Gallery of the Allen Chapman Activity Center, 440 South Gary Avenue, University of Tulsa
Wednesday, January 25, 7 p.m.
Community Room at OETA, 7403 N. Kelley Ave., Oklahoma City
Tuesday, January 31, 6:30 p.m.
Hideaway Restaurant, 302 S. Knoblock, Stillwater
Road show attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions during the interactive events and snacks and refreshments will be provided.
Panelists for The StateImpact Oklahoma Road Show in Stillwater include District 21 State Senator Jim Halligan, R-Stillwater; District 34 Representative Cory Williams, D-Stillwater; and Dr. Dave Schideler, Assistant Professor and Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University.
“The power of public media is demonstrated through the stories we tell, and is more important than ever as the for-profit media abandon or shrink their coverage of important public policy issues,” Layden said. “By working together, public media in Oklahoma and NPR are informing and engaging communities through quality storytelling that provides deeper context about the impact of government decisions on people’s lives.
Local support for StateImpact Oklahoma comes from The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, The Kirkpatrick Foundation and The Kerr Foundation. SIO reports and analysis air weekly on each of the participating stations – KGOU/ KROU 106.3/105.7/www.kgou.org, KOSU/KOSN 91.7/107.5/www.kosu.org, KWGS 89.5/www.kwgs.org, KCCU 89.3/www.kccu.org and OETA television network/www.oeta.tv. StateImpact digital content is available anytime at http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma.
Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system of interdisciplinary programs that prepares students for success. OSU is America’s Brightest Orange. Through leadership and service, OSU is preparing students for a bright future and building a brighter world for all. As Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research, and outreach. OSU has more than 35,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 24,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 240,000 students to serve the state of Oklahoma, the nation and the world.