Oklahoma Voice

Background

Oklahoma Voice was launched in August 2023, just ahead of similar news outfits in Maine and South Carolina, as part of States Newsroom’s goal to have affiliates in 40 states by 2024. ²

Although Oklahoma Voice describes itself as nonpartisan, some of its articles, and its opinion pieces by its editor-in-chief, Janelle Stecklein, promote left-of-center views on abortion access, education, and LGBT issue areas. As a subsidiary of States Newsroom, it is funded by private donations and grants from organizations such as the 1610 Foundation, AFSCME, The American Endowment Foundation, American Online Giving Foundation, Arizona Community Foundation, Ayco Charitable Foundation, Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund, ProPublica, the Benevity Community Impact Fund, Google News Initiative Journalism Emergency Relief Fund, The Groundtruth Project, Report for America, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, The Minneapolis Foundation, Piedmont Environmental Council, and Resolve Philadelphia, Inc. ³

Writings

Abortion

In December 2023, editor-in-chief Janelle Stecklein wrote an op-ed referring to Texas’ abortion policies as “appalling,” highlighting the case of Kate Cox and the Center for Reproductive Rights and the legal issues surrounding her plan to terminate a pregnancy after doctors detected possible genetic defects. ⁴

Oklahoma Voice ran a similar story in March 2024 contrasting abortion issues for two women whose unborn children were screened as being genetically at-risk: one before the U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision and one after. ⁵ Stecklein also wrote an opinion piece discouraging legislative moves to limit access to drugs such as Plan B (also known as the morning-after pill), referring to such efforts as “foolhardy.” ⁶

LGBT Interests

On August 30, 2023, a day after its initial launch, Oklahoma Voice published a story claiming economic downsides of purportedly anti-LGBT legislation in Tennessee and other states across the country. ⁷ Most of the at least 70 bills it referenced, as compiled by the left-wing LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, were related to transgender issues such as use of gender pronouns, gender reassignment for minors, and restrictions on sports participation based on natal sex. ⁸

Education

Oklahoma Voice published an op-ed by editor-in-chief Janelle Stecklein attacking efforts by Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters (R) to remove sexually explicit literature from public school libraries. Following the removal of books such as Genderqueer: A Memoir and Flaming, which  had gained national attention for containing sexually explicit drawings, Walters threatened to lower the accreditation of schools in the Edmond Public school district if it did not also remove other titles containing graphic depictions of adult situations. ⁹

Stecklein referred to Walters’ campaign as “laughable,” criticizing his “mysterious” Library Media Review Committee for its “unclear” membership. She also attacked Chaya Raichik, creator of the Libs of TikTok account on Twitter/X, referring to her “spreading misinformation about public schools, sharing posts ridiculing LGBTQ+ people, and promoting anti-trans views.” A month prior to this op-ed, Oklahoma Voices ran a story about Raichik’s appointment to Walter’s Library Media Review Committee. ^{10 9}

In October 2023, Stecklein published a piece lamenting the withdrawal of eight math textbook companies from Oklahoma, just before a vote by the state’s Textbook Committee expected to prohibit purchasing of materials teaching critical race theory, gender theory, and other social issues unrelated to mathematics. Citing low math proficiency rates among Black, Latino, and Native American youth in Oklahoma, Stecklein again blamed State Superintendent Walters for the withdrawals, referencing an X post he made following Oklahoma Voice’s story on the departures. ^{11 12}

In November 2023, she also wrote an op-ed criticizing gaps in Oklahoma’s sex education curriculum, pointing to the fact that state laws only require “AIDS prevention instruction,” but make no mention of “contraception, sexual abstinence until marriage, negative outcomes of teen sex, consent, sexual violence, healthy relationships or gender identity.” Stecklein stated that the gap may be detrimental to the state’s health statistics, pointing out an already-existing increase in sexually transmitted infection and high teen pregnancy rates. ¹³

Leadership

Janelle Stecklein is the editor-in-chief of Oklahoma Voice. She is also the Capitol bureau chief of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI) and a former reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune. ¹⁴