Want to know the difference between the Daily Oklahoman and the Oklahoma Gazette? Check out the way each newspaper’s website covered Governor Henry’s appointment of Jim Roth to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

From OkGazette.com:

Governor Brad Henry announced today he has appointed Oklahoma County Commissioner Jim Roth to the state Corporation Commission.

With the appointment, Roth becomes the state’s highest ranking openly gay official.

 

“Every opponent I ever faced in an election made that their issue,” Roth said. “And I’ve made my work the issue. I’ve always been honest about who I am.”

From NewsOK.com:

Gov. Brad Henry today named Oklahoma County Commissioner Jim Roth to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Roth, 38, re-elected to a four-year term in November, succeeds Denise Bode, who announced last month she was stepping down from the commission to head a natural gas education foundation she is organizing.

Bode, a Republican, said her resignation will take effect May 31. She has nearly four years left on her current six-year term.

Roth, a Democrat, will have to run in 2008 for the remainder of the term…

You may notice that after the who, what and when, the Gazette proudly beams that Roth is Oklahoma’s “highest ranking openly gay official.” You may also notice that the Oklahoman doesn’t even mention Roth’s sexuality in its first few blurbs. In fact, they don’t mention Roth’s penchant for Barbra Streisand, Mint Milanos or 39th & Penn anywhere in the article.

I’m not saying that the Gazette covered the story right, but the Oklahoman’s refusal to acknowledge the news-behind-the-news with the Roth story is one example of why so many people have a negative stereotype of Oklahoma. That, and of course Toby Keith.

Anyway, that’s it for now. After writing this post, I’m ready to go cook some steak, drink some beer, watch the Spurs-Suns game and check out Amy Mcree in the pink bikini. Again.