Gaylord Remembered for Contributions

By: Rafe Bartholomew Updated at 6:20 p.m. EST, May 6

Since his death April 27, Edward L. Gaylord, 83, editor and publisher of The Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City, has been remembered for a lifetime of contributions to the newspaper industry. He died of complications from pancreatic cancer.

Gaylord was a media and business giant involved in much more than the newspaper (which his father founded in 1903). He was chairman and CEO of the Oklahoma Publishing Co., which owns The Oklahoman. His empire included the nationwide Gaylord Hotels chain and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn.

Though he dabbled in broadcast media and business investment -- at different times in his life, Gaylord owned The Nashville Network (TNN), Country Music Television (CMT) and part of the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team -- publishing The Oklahoman was most important to him.

Employees at The Oklahoman remembered Gaylord as a boss who was dedicated to the paper despite his outside business commitments. Executive Editor Sue Hale, said that throughout her 28 years at the paper, Gaylord "was here daily" and "fulfilled his roles as editor and publisher ... up until the last week or so." He served in those positions since 1974.

Finding Gaylord's successors at The Oklahoman won't be difficult. He already picked them. Gaylord announced on April 18 that he would be passing the jobs of editor and publisher to Ed Kelley and David Thompson, respectively. Gaylord's daughters, Christy Gaylord Everest, Mary Gaylord McClean, and Louise G. Bennett, are expected to fill his positions in the Oklahoma Publishing Co.

Gaylord's career at The Oklahoman began in 1936 when he was 17-years-old. He left to study at Stanford University and Harvard, then returned to work at the paper his father, E.K. Gaylord, founded. The Oklahoma Publishing Co. is almost 50 times more valuable now than it was when Edward L. Gaylord inherited it in 1974.

Gaylord's death evoked a large public response. A "guestbook" on The Oklahoman's Web site (www.dailyoklahoman.com) has filled up with hundreds of statements from Oklahoman readers and Gaylord's past and current employees, all honoring the legendary Oklahoma publisher and businessman. President Bush, who co-owned the Texas Rangers with Gaylord and others in the 1980s, issued a statement of condolences April 28.