E. K. Gaylord
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Edward King Gaylord (March 5, 1873 – May 30, 1974), often referred to as E.K. Gaylord, was the owner and publisher of ''The Daily Oklahoman''
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
(now ''
The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...
''), as well as a
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
and
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
entrepreneur. A native of
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
and educated in
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, he worked on several publicationsDary, David,
Gaylord, Edward King
"
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
'. (accessed June 8, 2010).
before moving to Oklahoma and buying an interest in ''The Daily Oklahoman''.Dary, David,

,"
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
'. (accessed June 8, 2010).
He built the publication into a statewide newspaper and took over its parent company, the
Oklahoma Publishing Company ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th large ...
(OPUBCO), in 1918. After his death in 1974, Gaylord's family continued to run the newspaper until OPUBCO was sold to
The Anschutz Corporation The Anschutz Corporation is an American private holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, United States.
in 2011.


Early life and career

Born on a farm near Muscotah in Atchison County, in eastern Kansas, Gaylord attended
Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...
in
Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
. His older brother, Lewis, talked him into buying the ''Colorado Springs Telegraph'' and later got him to work as the business manager of the ''St. Joseph Dispatch'' in
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
.


Oklahoma

Gaylord came to
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
in December 1902 and bought an interest in ''The Daily Oklahoman'', which had been founded in 1889. He became the paper's business manager in January 1903. Gaylord married Inez Kinney of New York City in 1914. In 1918, he became president of OPUBCO, the newspaper's parent company. He built ''The Daily Oklahoman'' into a statewide newspaper, took part in the statehood movement, and was responsible for building a small experimental radio operation into the state's first major radio station,
WKY WKY (930 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, owned by Cumulus Media. It is the oldest radio station in Oklahoma and among the oldest in the nation. WKY airs a sports ...
. He also established the state's first television station,
WKY-TV KFOR-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside KAUT-TV (channel 43), an owned-and-operated station of The CW. The two stations share stud ...
. Gaylord died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
at his Oklahoma City home on May 30, 1974.Dary, David,
OPUBCO
"
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
'. (accessed June 8, 2010).


Gaylord family

Gaylord's daughter,
Edith Kinney Gaylord Edith Kinney Gaylord (March 5, 1916 – January 28, 2001), also referred to as Edith Gaylord Harper, was an American journalist and philanthropist. Early life She was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on March 5, 1916, to parents Inez and E. K. Ga ...
, enjoyed a storied career as a journalist before devoting her life to charitable giving. In 1982, she founded both
Inasmuch Foundation Inasmuch Foundation is a grant-making foundation based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It provides financial contributions within the community and civic engagement, education, human services, and journalism fields. Grantmaking within co ...
and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation (EEJF) to carry out her giving. In 2014, the corporate entities merged and EEJF became a wholly owned subsidiary of
Inasmuch Foundation Inasmuch Foundation is a grant-making foundation based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It provides financial contributions within the community and civic engagement, education, human services, and journalism fields. Grantmaking within co ...
. His son,
Edward Gaylord Edward Lewis Gaylord (May 28, 1919April 27, 2003) was an American billionaire businessman, media mogul and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Gaylord Entertainment Company that included ''The Oklahoman'' newspaper, Oklahoma Publishing C ...
, inherited controlling interest but not complete ownership of ''The Daily Oklahoman'' and other family assets worth $50 million in 1974. Educated in business at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, Edward L. increased the family fortune by a factor of forty, to $2 billion at his death in 2003. The younger Gaylord purchased the
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
. He also created the
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
channels
The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...
(TNN) and
Country Music Television Country Music Television, often abbreviated to CMT, is an American pay TV network that launched on March 5, 1983. It is currently owned by Paramount Global through the MTV Entertainment Group unit of its networks division. CMT was the first na ...
(CMT). ''The Daily Oklahoman'' newspaper, renamed ''The Oklahoman'' in 2003, remained owned by the Gaylord family until the sale to Anschutz. Although a respected newspaper during E.K. Gaylord's tenure, it became unabashedly
partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...
after Edward L. became its publisher; in Oklahoma some critics would satirize the paper as "The Daily Disappointment," and the ''
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its original purpose was "to assess the performance ...
'' dubbed it "The Worst Newspaper in America" in 1999.CJR: "The Worst Newspaper in America"
''
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its original purpose was "to assess the performance ...
''. Vol. 37, issue 5, January 1999. (accessed June 8, 2010).
From Edward L.'s death until the 2011 sale, the newspaper was led by his daughter Christy Gaylord Everest. She led a major visual modernizing of the newspaper and was assisted in its operation by her sister, Louise Gaylord Bennett. The Gaylord family have frequently provided selected philanthropic contributions, including major support to the
National Cowboy Hall of Fame The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and Native American art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Amer ...
in
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
, and have given the
University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
contributions totaling over $50 million, resulting in a large proportion of the buildings on campus being named after one family member or another. They provided seed money for the university's
Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication is the journalism unit of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. The college is named for the former longtime publishers of ''The Oklahoman''. History In 1897, five years after the Uni ...
, which then constructed a new facility thanks in a large part to Gaylord donations.


References


External links


Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Gaylord, Edward K.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaylord, Edward K. 1873 births 1974 deaths Businesspeople from Oklahoma City People from Atchison County, Kansas Gaylord family 20th-century American businesspeople American men centenarians