Wednesday, 05 December 2007
After a four-year stint as public information manager for the Program Management Group, LLC, (PMg) which manages the Vision 2025 and 4-to-Fix programs for Tulsa County, David Arnett has returned full-time to publish Tulsa Today and pursue other business and community interests.
“While PMg remains a good friend and client, restrictions of working full-time on government projects limit my journalism products and other business activities,” Arnett said. “I have learned a great deal from working with all the sponsors, contractors and vendors, and I have a far greater appreciation of the difficulties in actually accomplishing public business than I did when I was just observing and commenting on the process.”
Arnett is looking forward to the challenges he’ll be facing.
“Good government is a noble effort, but not all that much fun,” he said. “I prefer to be more selective with my client base – and far less gracious to critics. Now when my Sunday church services call for prayers for public officials, I can participate with far greater empathy and appreciation for the difficult jobs they do every day.”
He adds that it’s good to be back, even though he really didn’t go anywhere.
“I have maintained a free-lance writing career and consulted private companies on the organization and dissemination of public information content for more than 25 years in Northeastern Oklahoma,” Arnett said. “That doesn’t necessarily make me old – but it does make me a codger.”
The Tulsa Today site (est. 1996) has enjoyed a steady increase in readership, and Arnett says statistics for the past couple of months are encouraging.
“In October and November, Tulsa Today could boast 205,532 and 245,001 page views, respectively, which breaks down to 56,062 and 62,602 unique visitors for those months,” he said. Those stats, he says, continue to draw interest from advertisers as they realize the vibrancy of this online community.
“It’s a testament to Tulsa Today’s content and creativity that people are logging on and looking in,” he said, “but I know I can’t do it all by myself. Tulsa Today is a talented team of people that do everything from producing interesting and intelligent content and managing information inflow to keeping the printer from jamming.”
Arnett is one of those “people persons” who’s not shy about introducing himself and starting conversations – especially about his favorite community and its proposed improvement projects. He says Tulsa Today will continue to develop content about the city’s struggles and triumphs as it matures into a vibrant, modern metropolis.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Tulsa,” he said. “And as a news service, we’ll be continuing to shed light on some issues and light fires under others – just like we’ve done all along.”
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 05 December 2007 )