UTW Pats Itself on the Back

Tulsa's self-styled "independent newsweekly," better known as Urban Tulsa Weekly, published its Hot 100 cover story last week, a list that included both hits and misses.

Some of the hits were worthy choices. We were pleased to see Barbara Santee, progressive activist, on the list. Another strong choice: Rep. Andrew Rice, Democrat, who plans a run this fall against the official state dinosaur, Sen. Jim Inhofe.

On the miss side of the ledger were two self-congratulatory names, including the Tulsa blogger and UTW columnist Michael Bates. Bates writes a weekly column for the paper, so his inclusion on the list seems, well, a bit too convenient.

Even worse, the UTW staff named its own publisher, Keith Skrzypczak, to the list. Didn't they do this last year? And wasn't this a self-serving conflict of interest then and now?

We think so. We also think Skrzypzcak, Bates and the UTW staff would be the first to point out this kind of self-congratulation if it happened at another local publication, say, for example, the Tulsa World.