CONTACT US
|
|
Culture
As a growing media company, Griffin Communications, L.L.C. provides employees with a culture of personally knowing employees and treating them with great respect while also being able to afford them opportunities. Significant investments are made to train managers and mid-level managers in leadership skills. In addition, an annual class of ten people are selected from the company to join the Good to Great Leadership Institute. The Institute provides leadership training and an opportunity to build relationships throughout the entire company.
History of Griffin Communications, L.L.C.
The Griffin family members are pioneers in Oklahoma electronic media and have a long, successful history of ownership starting back in the early 1930s. J.T. Griffin, grandfather of current owners, David and John Griffin, became fascinated by new radio technology. First, he launched a radio station in Tulsa, KTUL, a CBS affiliate. In late 1938, he purchased a second radio station in Oklahoma City, KOMA.
Fifteen years later, J.T.’s son, John, would enter the broadcasting business, too, but in the emerging technology of television. John and his brother-in-law, Jimmy Leake, were half of a partnership that was awarded FCC permission to put KWTV, Channel 9, in Oklahoma City on the air. KWTV went on the air December 20, 1953, initially broadcasting from the KOMA radio tower while its own tower was under construction.
On April 5, 1954, KWTV’s tower—then the world’s tallest tower, 1,565 feet high—was inaugurated. It was a huge media event, attracting, among other national publications, such magazines as TV Guide, Popular Science, and Time.
Simultaneously, John Griffin and Jimmy Leake launched the first television station in the state of Arkansas. The two men started KATV in Little Rock and expanded their Oklahoma broadcasting properties when they signed on KTUL, Channel 8, in Tulsa.
With more and more of their time devoted to their television stations, the pair decided to sell their radio assets in 1956, and, a few years later in 1963, they bought out their KWTV partners to gain full ownership of what is today called News 9.
Their total focus on the television stations resulted in a host of “firsts”. Under John Griffin’s leadership, News 9 installed the first weather radar in the country in 1959. When color radar became available, News 9 was the first station in the state to unveil the new technology to viewers. As it became best known for its severe weather coverage, the station invested even more in new technology in 1981 when Gary England brought the first commercial Doppler radar to Oklahomans. And, as the station expanded its news coverage, it acquired the first helicopter in Oklahoma to be used as a news-gathering source. The chopper was dubbed Ranger 9.
As the businesses evolved, John Griffin and Jimmy Leake determined they should split control of the three stations they owned. John would own and operate News 9 and Jimmy would take KATV in Little Rock and KTUL in Tulsa. Later, Jimmy and his family sold their stations, but John Griffin retained News 9, always investing in new technological advances and in the station staff.
John Griffin’s sons, David and John, took over leadership of News 9 in 1990. Under their direction, the station continued its innovations. News 9 introduced the first broadcast automated weather warning system in the country and was the first station to gather video from cellular telephones, capturing pictures of a large tornado east of Enid. During coverage of the 1995 Murrah Building bombing, News 9 aired continuous coverage of the tragedy and its aftermath and raised tens of thousands of dollars for victims. That coverage earned the station a market shared Peabody, a National Edward R. Murrow award, and several other national honors.
In 2000, Griffin Communications, L.L.C. purchased KOTV, The News on 6, the highly successful CBS affiliate in Tulsa from the Belo Corporation. The company strategy is for The News on 6 and News 9 to work together in order to gain a competitive edge in each of their markets. The two stations collectively cover 75 percent of Oklahoma. As the company nearly doubled in size with the acquisition of The News on 6, David Griffin relinquished his role as President and General Manager of News 9 and became President of Griffin Communications.
In 2005, Griffin Communications, L.L.C. purchased the WB affiliate in Tulsa from Cascade Broadcasting. KWBT was among the highest rated WB affiliates in the country. When the WB and UPN networks merged, KWBT was awarded the new CW network affiliation. The station has been renamed CW 12 (KQCW).
Griffin Communications has also taken several other innovative business steps in the past decade.
First, a partnership with Cox Communications in both Tulsa and Oklahoma City to produce an all news cable channel, NewsNow 53. Newscasts from News 9 and The News on 6 are simulcast, then replayed on the news channel.
In 2000, Griffin Communications established a convergence relationship between News 9 and The Daily Oklahoman. The news, sales and marketing staffs work together to maximize their resources, while retaining editorial control of their individual products. The relationship later resulted in joint ownership of a common website, NewsOK.com, which is one of the most highly trafficked television news websites in the country, chalking up more than 30-million page views per month.
Griffin was also instrumental in crafting a partnership between News 9, Learfield Communications and Renda Broadcasting to gain marketing rights to OU Athletics. The joint venture is called Sooner Sports Properties.
In 2005, the company created Radio Oklahoma Network, which supplies rural radio stations with news, agricultural information, energy reports, weather and sports information. Radio Oklahoma Network currently has 32 affiliates across the state and continues to expand.
Griffin also created a New Media Division in 2005 to manage its growing Internet presence and its mobile delivery of information.
|
|
|
