Oklahoma Gazette editor-in-chief Jennifer Chancellor announced today the addition of a new Jumbotron that will be placed atop Gazette offices at the corner of Shartel Avenue and 36th Street.
“The publishing industry has experienced several transformations over the past decade,” Chancellor said. “Print gave way to the Internet, mobile became a popular platform, and now consumers want to receive their news from a giant television while stopped at an intersection.”
The new television screen will be the largest news headquarters outdoor screen in Oklahoma City north of 23rd Street.
In addition to playing advertisements and breaking news spots, the new screen will include features like the Greg Elwell Cam from 2 to 4 p.m. daily, which will broadcast live from Elwell’s office. The Gazette also hired a video manager who will monitor and blur the feed during any inappropriate scenes.
In addition to the video manager’s role in censoring live shots of Elwell’s office, she will make sure to jiggle a computer mouse over the Jumbotron's master screen every few minutes to ensure the screensaver does not appear.
Also featured will be Wayne Coyne Wednesdays, a weekly, 24-hour stream of Coyne performances, from live concerts to reenactments of the 2012 incident at Will Rogers World airport when he was stopped with a golden, inert hand grenade in his carry-on diaper bag.
“This will be great marketing for the Gazette because Wayne Coyne is one of Oklahoma’s up-and-coming performers,” said Christian Wilson, Gazette A&E writer.
The high-definition quality of the screen also will allow Oklahoma Gazette to broadcast stunning images of its amazing food photography, including pics of cheeseburgers, hamburgers, and cheeseburgers and hamburgers next to each other.
In her original statement, Chancellor said the screen would be something never before seen in Oklahoma. When asked for further clarification due to the recent addition of a television screen at the new offices of The Oklahoman, Chancellor said the two screens will be nothing like each other than they’re both ridiculously sized screens that show oversized things to passers-by.
“If you look closely, you will see that the Oklahoman’s screen is curved,” Chancellor said. “Ours is not curved. It’s completely different.”
The screen will not only welcome advertisements from businesses, but readers can also pay to have their own special messages displayed.
“Imagine taking your girlfriend out for a romantic dinner of saucy ribs across the street at Iron Starr and then surprising her with a marriage proposal on our giant screen as y’all leave!” said Christy Duane, Gazette marketing and advertising director.
The screen is expected to be installed by the end of the month and an internal company memo announced that its first message will be “April Fools.”
