Three city councilors are protesting a Tulsa World op ed. The piece was written by former fellow councilor Grant Miller and charged that Tulsa City Council isn’t transparent in how it handles business, including public funds.
Vanessa Hall-Harper, Lori Decter Wright and Laura Bellis released a statement refuting Miller’s claims, saying they would no longer grant the World interviews. Bellis told Public Radio Tulsa she wants more information.
“I would not frame this as refusing to talk with them. It’s before talking with them again, I want to know what their fact-checking protocols and policies are, and how they’re going to ensure the public is not going to be misinformed by bad faith actors,” Bellis said.
Miller had a contentious tenure on the council and accused his colleagues of similar misdeeds while he was seated. He didn't run for reelection after being arrested on domestic assault charges that were later dismissed.
The Tulsa World, established in 1905, has suffered dramatic cuts as local news around the nation gets bought up by private equity and others looking for cheap, quickly profitable deals in a struggling industry struck by social media. Interim editor Patrick Prince left the paper last month after Jason Collington resigned in protest to layoffs. The paper is now being headed by an Indiana man, Marc Chase, who did not reply to inquiries.
