Oklahoma

Joseph Tomlinson

Joe Tomlinson covers the civic sector in Edmond, Oklahoma for NonDoc Media, a nonprofit outlet that reports on Oklahoma news. Prior to joining NonDoc, Tomlinson was a fellow with Gaylord News in Washington, D.C. and reported on the Oklahoma congressional delegation. As a summer intern at NonDoc, he covered Native American politics. Tomlinson earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Oklahoma in 2021.

Xcaret Nuñez

Xcaret Nuñez covers agriculture and rural communities for KOSU, an NPR affiliate in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Nuñez was a Missouri Statehouse reporter for the Missouri News Network, and has worked at KBIA, the NPR affiliate in Columbia, Missouri, as a reporter, producer and anchor where she covered the community and education beats. A first-generation college graduate, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in religious studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Nuñez is originally from Yuma, Arizona, the Southwest city known as the “Lettuce Capital of the World” and “Sunniest City on Earth.”

Ari Fife

Ari Fife covers issues of race and equity across the state for Oklahoma Watch, a nonprofit investigative newsroom based in Oklahoma City. A recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with minors in political science and international studies. While there, Fife worked for the OU Daily, the student publication, as a senior reporter, managing editor and summer editor-in-chief, and she interned at The Frontier, a nonprofit investigative newsroom in Oklahoma. Fife has studied Spanish for about seven years and is eager to improve her skills.

KOSU

KOSU is a member-supported public radio network, and its broadcast signals cover two-thirds of Oklahoma with a heavy rural focus. This news organization, including a news site, delivers award-winning local news and NPR news. KOSU provides a place for civil discourse through in-depth reporting on agriculture, rural issues, Indigenous affairs, education and health care and conversation.

Oklahoma Watch

Oklahoma Watch is a statewide investigative news organization created in late 2010. Our staple is in-depth, data-driven stories and we distribute our content to about 100 news outlets around the state for republication for free. Increasingly we are developing multimedia content with video, stills and interactive tables or data visualizations. We also hold public forums on critical issues and we bring on college interns in journalism and public relations to dig into the severe human-needs problems that afflict our state.

KOSU

KOSU is a member-supported public radio network, and its broadcast signals cover two-thirds of Oklahoma with a heavy rural focus. This news organization, including a news site, delivers award-winning local news and NPR news. KOSU provides a place for civil discourse through in-depth reporting on agriculture, rural issues, Indigenous affairs, education and health care and conversation.

NonDoc Media

NonDoc is a nonprofit digital news organization with a mission to strengthen Oklahoma communities through responsible local journalism that is unbiased and free. It has also worked to fill coverage gaps at the Oklahoma State Capitol, in tribal elections and in rural communities.

Lionel Ramos

Lionel Ramos covers race and inequity for Oklahoma Watch, a nonprofit investigative news outlet in Oklahoma City. Ramos recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from Texas State University, where he reported for The University Star, covering Black students' perspectives on the voting process ahead of the 2020 election, and more. While earning his associate degree at San Antonio College, Ramos wrote for The Ranger, a student publication, including a story about a statistics class that discovered misleading language explaining the odds of winning the Texas lottery, which led to the lottery commission changing the wording. As the stats professor told Ramos in an interview: “Lottery is government; you ought to have truth in government.” Born into a circus family, Ramos has traveled all over the U.S., Mexico and Canada and is a first-generation American.

Rebecca Najera

Rebecca Najera covers race and equity for Oklahoma Watch, a nonprofit investigative news organization based in Oklahoma City. Najera graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from the University of North Texas in 2021, where she was a Mayborn Scholar and editor-in-chief of the North Texas Daily, the student paper. As an undergraduate at UNT, she reported and edited for the Daily, and prior to that she earned her associate degree at Tyler Junior College, where she was editor-in-chief of The DrumBeat, the student publication. Najera’s writing and photography have earned her awards from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. Home for Najera is New London, Texas.

Oklahoma Watch

Oklahoma Watch is a statewide investigative news organization created in late 2010. Our staple is in-depth, data-driven stories and we distribute our content to about 100 news outlets around the state for republication for free. Increasingly we are developing multimedia content with video, stills and interactive tables or data visualizations. We also hold public forums on critical issues and we bring on college interns in journalism and public relations to dig into the severe human-needs problems that afflict our state.