The late James Beaty takes home 2024 ONG Editorial Sweepstakes award
The award was presented Saturday, June 7 during the The Oklahoma Press Association's annual convention, hosted June 6-7 at the Grand Casino Hotel and Resort in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
ONG sponsors the contest and award. The contest takes place on a monthly basis and members of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame judge the monthly contests. At the end of the year, winners throughout the year are considered and an overall winner is selected as the sweepstakes award winner. The final selection for the ONG Sweepstakes Awards came from members of the Mississippi Press Association.
Beaty won the award for his editorial titled 'McAlester Council shouldn't repeal the will of voters.' Ed Choate, publisher of The Muskogee Phoenix, presented the award.
'The winning writer said the McAlester council shouldn't repeal the will of voters after four city councilors repealed a quarter cent sales tax for a cancer treatment center that was already approved by a vote of the people,' Choate said when presenting the award. 'He wrote the quality of future cancer treatment for McAlester, and the surrounding area is at stake.'
Judges said the 'editorial stood out among a dozen excellent entries.'
'It gave a complete picture of the problem, discussed it so everyone could understand it and gave a solution,' judges said. 'The fact it was so clearly presented made it a good choice as the best entry. Good job with letting the reader know the problem that needs correcting.'
Choate said Beaty was 'one of our state's great reporters.' Beaty passed away in the summer of 2024.
Beaty reported for the MN-C for more than 38 years and celebrated his 72nd birthday on May 3, 2024. He passed away May 12, 2024.
The late award-winning journalist started his career in 1985 after graduating from East Central University in Ada. Beaty was also a graduate of Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton and Hartshorne High School.
Beaty's writing over his career helped expose several issues related to corruption and nepotism in local governments that led to dismissals, resignations and even criminal charges against several individuals — earning him several state and national awards for his reporting.
His weekly Ramblin' Round music column was a favorite, with his writings making their way onto music forums across the globe.
His reporting lauded him into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2017. In August 2024, a portion of Kiowa Avenue in McAlester was renamed as James Beaty Avenue.
McAlester News-Capital publisher Reina Owens accepted the award on behalf of Beaty's family, who were unable to attend the luncheon where the award was presented.
'James was a remarkable journalist and it was an honor to accept the award for him and his family,' Owens said. 'His absence in our newsroom is still felt today but his memory will live on.'
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