CapitolBeatOK is an independent, nonpartisan news service based at the
Oklahoma state capitol providing regular coverage of the legislature, executive
branch, agencies, and the judiciary. CapitolBeatOK is contracted by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) to provide incisive news reporting on areas of broad public interest. CapitolBeatOK supports the Code of Ethics of
the Society of Professional Journalists.
Staff
The editor is Patrick B. McGuigan, an award-winning journalist with more than
three decades of experience in news reporting, policy analysis, and commentary.
McGuigan is also senior editor at The City Sentinel, a weekly
newspaper, and capitol editor for Tulsa Today, an online news service. He
contributes regularly to Perspective, the monthly publication of the Oklahoma
Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt research organization.
Previously, he was managing editor of The City Sentinel and contributing editor for Tulsa Today.
From 1990 until 2002, McGuigan directed the editorial page at The Oklahoman, the
state's largest newspaper. McGuigan has executive
branch experience from his work at the Oklahoma Department of Labor, 2003-07,
including as Deputy Commissioner of Labor, 2005-07. McGuigan is also a certified
teacher, and worked for two years as curriculum director at Justice Alma Wilson
Seeworth Academy, a public charter alternative school in Oklahoma City. He is a
member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Club,
Tulsa Press Club, Oklahoma City Gridiron Club, and CapitolBeat, a national
association for reporters and editors. While in Washington, D.C., McGuigan
served as chairman of the Library and Archives Committee at the National Press
Club. He is the editor of seven books on legal policy and the author of two
books, including The Politics of
Direct Democracy: Case Studies in Popular Decision Making.