We're excited to announce the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation in Oklahoma City has awarded a grant to ONF to fund student internships for the fourth consecutive year. The funding will provide at least 25 paid internships in summer 2011 to college students pursuing a newspaper career. Application materials for newspapers and students will be available in October 2010. » Read the EEiJF press release

The August issue of The Oklahoma Publisher is available online at www.okpress.com/the-oklahoma-publisher. This month, the cover story gives examples of how political candidates won the primary election with the help of newspaper advertising. Plus a feature on how Oklahoma newspapers are using Facebook and rules for the 2010 Better Newspaper Contest. Download a copy today!

Join in the celebration Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in Omaha, Neb. as the National Newspaper Association celebrates 125 years of promoting, protecting and enhancing community newspapers across the U.S. Visit the NNA website for details.

Lawrence Lindsay Gibbs, 67, managing editor of The Perkins Journal, died Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010, in Tulsa, Okla. Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010, at the First Presbyterian Church of Stillwater, 524 S. Duncan, Stillwater, Okla. The service is under the direction of Strode Funeral Home of Stillwater. After working at several state newspapers, Gibbs joined the Stillwater NewsPress in 1968. He remained at the NewsPress for 35 years, working as city editor and then managing editor. He joined the staff at The Perkins Journal in 2003, and was instrumental in helping the Journal launch the Stillwater Journal in 2004. Gibbs was inducted to OPA's Half Century Club in February 2010.

The 2010 Better Newspaper Contest entry packet is on its way to your newspaper. The packet, which contains rules, labels, tips, entry form and more, was placed in the mail today.
This year, Oklahoma colleges are invited to participate in a division created just for their newspapers. This brings the number of divisions in the contest to 10 – eight for business member newspapers, one for sustaining member newspapers, and the new one for college newspapers.
Rules for the Website Contest, Print Quality Contest and Outdoor Writer of the Year were included in OPA business member packets.
All entries in the contest(s) must be postmarked by Monday, Sept. 27, 2010.
Watch your mailbox for the entry packet or get a jumpstart on your entries by downloading events, rules and more.
See complete contest information at www.okpress.com/awards

Eleven questions will be on the Nov. 2, 2010 general election ballot. Make sure your readers are informed by publishing the questions in your newspaper. OPA has made a camera-ready version for you to drop in your newspaper as well as a text-only document if you prefer to format the questions yourself.
» Click here for links to the PDF and text version

Russell Viers is coming back to Oklahoma on July 15 for a one-day workshop to show OPA members how to build their newspapers faster in InDesign and Photoshop. Learn tools and techniques that could save you hours each week building pages and ads. Viers is an Adobe Certified Instructor and travels the world teaching production techniques to help newspaper staffs save time and improve quality.
» Registration is only $20 and includes lunch, so Register Today!

Rod Serfoss, publisher of the Clinton Daily News, took over as president of the Oklahoma Press Association on July 1, 2010. He will serve a one-year term. Other officers serving for the 2010-2011 term are Rusty Ferguson, publisher of The Cleveland American, as vice president; Barb Walter, co-publisher of The Hennessey Clipper, as treasurer; and Gloria Trotter, co-publisher of The Countywide & Sun, as past president. Directors are Jeff Shultz, The Garvin County News Star; Jeff Mayo, Sequoyah County Times; Jeff Funk, Enid News & Eagle; Robby Trammell, The Oklahoman; Dayva Spitzer, Sayre Record & Beckham County Democrat; and Brian Blansett, Shawnee News-Star.
» Click here for complete news release and high-resolution photo

John D. Montgomery, publisher of The Purcell Register, became the new president of the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation on July 1. He was elected by the ONF Board of Trustees during its meeting on June 5th. Other new officers are Jerry Quinn, publisher of the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, as vice president; and Barb Walter, co-publisher of The Hennessey Clipper, as treasurer. Two new members were appointed to the ONF Board - Steve Booher, publisher of the Cherokee Messenger & Republican, and Joe Worley, executive editor of the Tulsa World.  » View the other trustees on the ONF Board

Twenty candidates for statewide office took advantage of the OPA's offer to film a short video during the OPA Summer Conference after participating in panel discussions about Oklahoma's future. Jeff Mayo, associate publisher of the Sequoyah County Times in Sallisaw, receives our thanks for filming all candidates. In addition to the videos, high-resolution photos of most candidates are available to download. Links to each candidate¹s website, if available, also are provided. OPA Members may place the candidate videos on their newspaper websites, but the videos must remain in their entirety and not be altered or edited.
» Click here to review candidate videos and photos