Why was CapitolBeatOK established?
In the mid-1990s, nearly 1,000 reporters covered state Capitols across the 50
states and the District of Columbia. By 2009, Capitol press corps numbers had
shrunk to around 300 reporters in all. In Oklahoma, falling advertising revenue
and paid subscriptions led publishers of many newspapers to reduce staff,
causing cutbacks in both statehouse and investigative reporting. CapitolBeatOK
exists to inform citizens in Oklahoma about the workings of the government they
finance through taxes, with a focus on waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer
resources. CapitolBeatOK provides another set of “eyes” focused on government,
providing fair, dependable, accurate and credible information.
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