Local voices matter more than any institutional viewpoint. This section will be your space
When news elsewhere affects Oklahomans, readers turn to local media to learn what solutions lawmakers and others who affect policy here plan to pursue. Tuesday's murders of 19 fourth-graders in Texas is on everyone's mind. Do Oklahomans want to read the same tired arguments from national pundits about Second Amendment rights bracketed with meaningless comments about "thoughts and prayers," or do we prefer to hear about possible solutions from local lawmakers, thought leaders and community members?
USA Today surveys have found that readers aren’t looking to local media for national debates but for conversations from a variety of local voices on matters that are important to their communities.
We often hear complaints about national columnists being either too liberal or too conservative. Their scathing arguments do more to affirm political biases instead of uniting people of different affiliations to seek solutions in a civil and productive manner.
So beginning June 1, The Oklahoman no longer will include syndicated content in Viewpoints. And we're moving opinion content for the print edition to Sunday only. The latest op-eds, guest columns and letters to the editor will be online at oklahoman.com.
Instead of commentary from columnists such as Cal Thomas, George Will, Leonard Pitts, Clarence Page, Kathleen Parker and others, we’ll publish more local voices from across the state. We will continue to engage with readers across Oklahoma and invite not only expert perspectives, but also first-person experiences from ordinary community members and even newsmaking comments. Tell us how you feel about state laws, proposed legislation and other state government actions. What's going on in your city that you like or dislike? What changes would you implement for better outcomes in your family or your community? Your arguments may be passionate or provocative, especially when aimed at helping readers be part of solutions to problems that plague our state. Those that include profane or demeaning language will not be published.
Our decision to stop publishing syndicated content reinforces our goal when we reimagined how we handle opinion last July: to foster robust community conversations and be an incubator of ideas that may be adopted toward better outcomes for Oklahomans. Since then, we’ve published commentary not only from business leaders and elected officials but also from other thought leaders, working professionals, parents and students and ordinary citizens concerned about their way of life. We want to publish your personal stories about how institutional programs and services affect you. We believe everyone benefits from learning how community issues affect individuals and communities differently, so space in Viewpoints is open to readers from all walks of life, including underserved communities.
Since most of the editorial cartoons we publish are from syndicates, today might also be the last time we’re able to publish a full page of cartoons. We will publish cartoons from within the USA Today Network when available.
Your voice matters more than any institutional viewpoint. Use it, and we'll help amplify your personal experiences, concerns and demands for action.
Clytie Bunyan is managing editor of diversity, community engagement & opinion.
Library tour
We want to help you get your opinion published, so Viewpoints is going on a library tour. We’ll offer guidelines on how to write an op-ed or letter to the editor. Our first stop will be on June 24 at the Bethany Library. In August, we will be at the Downtown Library during the Literary Festival. Look for upcoming schedules that may include a stop at your community’s library.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Viewpoints: Local voices matter, and that will be our focus
