About the Journal
Independent News for Northeastern Oklahoma
Northeastern Journal is an independent newsroom covering the communities of northeastern Oklahoma — civic accountability, local culture, and the voices of the people who live here.
The Journal was founded by Cheryl Leeds and Luke Johnson, who still run it day to day — Cheryl as editor, Luke as publisher. They started it for a simple reason: the region deserved reporting that answered to its readers and to nobody else.
Today the Journal publishes staff reporting, columns, interviews, and community submissions. Our masthead is open. If you report, write, or photograph in northeastern Oklahoma, we want to hear from you — contributors are added to the newsroom with their own byline, profile, and archive.
We believe local journalism works best when it treats readers as neighbors rather than an audience. That means covering school boards and city councils with the same rigor as national politics, publishing disagreement in the open through our Conversations section, and giving newer writers a real platform through our Next Generation program.
Who Runs the Journal
- Cheryl Leeds
- Co-Founder & Editor
- Luke Johnson
- Co-Founder & Publisher
Interested in writing for us? See how to pitch the Journal.
Independent
No chain owner, no outside newsroom setting our priorities. Editorial decisions are made here, by the people who live here.
Local First
School boards and city councils get the same rigor as national politics, because those are the rooms where daily life is actually decided.
Open to the Community
Letters, roundtables, and reader essays sit alongside staff reporting, not beneath it. Our Conversations section publishes disagreement in the open.
Built to Grow
The Journal is structured for a widening masthead. New reporters, columnists, and contributors can join and publish without rebuilding anything.
The Sunday Letter
One weekly email from the Northeastern Journal newsroom — local reporting, civic accountability, and the stories behind the headlines, delivered Sunday mornings.
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