From the Archives: Why We Blog

Note: Soon after we first launched our blog in March 2009, we posted a brief statement of what this blog is intended for. Twenty-eight months and some 650 posts later, we went back to that original statement – and found that it’s held up surprisingly well. Here it is:

The OK Policy blog has been a long time coming. As we begin our experiment with what is, for us at least, a new way of communicating with our audiences, we want to let you know why we’re doing this and what you may expect from this effort. At least initially, we see our blog posts serving one or more of the following purposes:

  • Providing information about us. We’ll let you know on the blog when we’ve put out new issue briefs, fact sheets and articles, or when our work has been published or cited elsewhere;
  • Posting original research. The blog will allow us to release shorter, timelier pieces on emerging issues. This may be a single chart or graph on state revenue collections or a brief analysis of a bill – the blog will let us weigh in on more issues and more policy developments;
  • Referring you to interesting and worthwhile analysis, news, and commentary. When a national organization publishes a report on the state fiscal crisis, or the Census Bureau releases new data on health care, or our favorite state editorial boards print something especially insightful or controversial, we’ll help guide you there. The emphasis will be on Oklahoma and on stories in our core areas – budget and taxes, public programs affecting the poor, and economic opportunity; and
  • Sharing our opinions and perspectives. We’re going to try to keep this blog heavy on information and light on attitude. But we’ll regularly take the opportunity to share our opinions and discussion on emerging developments in the policy areas we cover.

Finally, it’s our sincere hope that this becomes an interactive space where we hear from you as much as you hear from us. Whether you agree or disagree with us, feel free to weigh in with comments, suggestions, and criticisms.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former Executive Director David Blatt joined OK Policy in 2008 and served as its Executive Director from 2010 to 2019. He previously served as Director of Public Policy for Community Action Project of Tulsa County and as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma State Senate. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University and a B.A. from the University of Alberta. David has been selected as Political Scientist of the Year by the Oklahoma Political Science Association, Local Social Justice Champion by the Dan Allen Center for Social Justice, and Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers.

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