Tulsa Flyer
Focus
Providing Tulsans with the local news and information they need to thrive.
Established
2024
The Tulsa Flyer is a nonprofit news organization designed to expand access to trusted and impactful local journalism for all Tulsans. This work is built on input from hundreds of Tulsa residents and aims to create a stronger, more connected community through high-quality news and information.
The Tulsa Flyer publishes the work from two newsrooms, a publication of the same namesake, Tulsa Flyer, that serves a broad cross-section of Tulsa, and a newly revitalized and expanded Black-owned publication, The Oklahoma Eagle. By quadrupling the newsroom’s capacity, the Flyer is ensuring the Eagle’s legacy continues to thrive while increasing its ability to serve the community. Together, there are 20 new journalism positions serving Tulsa with news and information needed for their daily life, including arts and culture, cost of living, local government, and designated hyperlocal reporters for the Northside and Eastside. To ensure that Tulsa Flyer is always meeting the moment and people where they are, the news organization’s ongoing community engagement work will elevate the voices and perspectives of residents in new and innovative ways.
To further strengthen Tulsa’s local news ecosystem, the Tulsa Flyer is investing in expanded capacity in local newsrooms: The Frontier, KOSU, La Semana and Focus: Black Oklahoma. The Frontier added investigative reporter Garrett Yalch, whose reporting series Fields of Green, (co-published with ProPublica) was recently recognized with numerous accolades. KOSU doubled the size of its Indigenous affairs team, which has produced more than 400 stories, including partnerships with NPR and Cortico. We’re supporting Spanish-language audiences by expanding distribution: the Eastside reporter now publishes in La Semana, and we’ve launched a collaboration with Que Buena radio. Additionally, we’re cultivating a growing coalition of local media partners, including Tulsa World, KOTV, TulsaPeople Magazine, The University of Tulsa and Tulsa Press Club, who will work together to republish, share resources, reduce duplicative efforts and amplify the impact of local journalism.
The Flyer has also launched Tulsa Documenters, the Tulsa chapter of the award-winning civic engagement program that trains and pays residents to document local government and other public meetings. Documenters’ notes are available to all outlets in Tulsa to help inform coverage decisions, and to provide eyes and ears on publicly-funded boards, commissions, and councils.
Leaders
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Ziva BranstetterCEOA long-time Tulsan, Ziva Branstetter joins the Tulsa Flyer with more than three decades of journalism experience, including 20 years as a reporter and editor at the Tulsa World and The Tulsa Tribune. She also co-founded The Frontier, launching a Tulsa-based, independent investigative newsroom. Branstetter’s experience extends beyond Tulsa, including four years at The Washington Post as corporate accountability editor. Most recently, she led a team of investigative reporters at the national nonprofit newsroom ProPublica, where her team’s yearlong “Life of the Mother” investigation exposed deaths in abortion-ban states. The investigation received the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service this year. As CEO, Branstetter will work closely with other Tulsa Flyer leaders in leading the strategic vision of the Tulsa Flyer and fulfillment of the newsroom’s mission to serve Tulsa communities. She will continue to build the organization’s broad base of public support to build an impactful and resilient independent local press for the city. -
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Gary LeeExecutive EditorGary Lee is an award-winning journalist and leader deeply rooted in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was an avid reader of The Oklahoma Eagle as an adolescent, sparking his interest in journalism. He eventually moved on to write about foreign policy, environmental issues and social justice topics, and was Moscow bureau chief for the Washington Post. In 2021, Lee returned home to Tulsa as managing editor of The Eagle. Under his leadership, the newspaper has earned numerous accolades, including top awards from the Oklahoma Press Association in 2022, 2023 and 2024. He was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his foreign coverage and won the Lowell Thomas Award for travel journalism for his coverage of Sept. 11. In 2024, the National Association of Black Journalists honored Lee with the award of Journalist of Distinction, one of the organization’s top annual awards. In his new role at the Tulsa Flyer, Lee will continue to oversee publication of The Eagle, while also leading a broader newsroom serving all Tulsa communities.
