Native Times recognized for excellence in media development

TULSA, Okla. – The Native American Times (NAT) was among the award recipients honored during Oklahoma Minority Enterprise Development Week last month.

Lisa Snell, the paper’s publisher and editor, was recognized with the Media Award for excellence in media development during OMED’s annual banquet Aug. 23, a celebration of success of minority entrepreneurs that was coordinated by the Native American Business Enterprise Center (NABEC) of Rural Enterprises, Inc. of Oklahoma.

Snell took ownership of NAT in 2008 after purchasing the paper from former publishers, Liz Gray and Sheldon Gore. Since that time, she has increased circulation by 80 percent and website traffic by more than 200 percent.

The paper, which is now the third largest printed weekly in Oklahoma, has online traffic (www.nativetimes.com)  that rose from roughly 1 million hits/month to an average of 3.7 million/month.

A long time journalist and graphic designer, Snell graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in Communications. Her experience includes work in radio, broadcast and print journalism. Before NAT, she was with the Cherokee Nation’s tribal newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, where she won her first Native American Journalism Award (NAJA) for her work covering the Tar Creek Superfund site near Miami, Okla. in 2004. Snell left the Phoenix after the birth of her first child in 2006 and soon began freelance work with the Native Times and other publications.

The NAT is currently based out of her home office in Tahlequah, Okla.

The Native Times circulation comes third behind the second-ranked Broken Arrow Ledger and the largest weekly, the Oklahoma City Black Chronicle. Snell said that the award was a surprise and she emphasized that the paper is not only Native owned, but employs contractors who are all citizens of federally recognized tribes to write stories, sell ads and deliver papers.

Other NABEC winners include: Ohopaki General Contracting and Mechanical, Inc. of Heavener, Okla; H & H Consulting Services, Inc. of Tulsa, Okla. for Minority Sub-Contractor Firm of the Year;  FSA Technology, LLC.,  in Ada, Okla. for Minority Global Technology Firm of the year; Chloeta Fire, LLC. of Oklahoma City for Minority Service Firm of the Year; Innovation One of Marietta, Okla. for Minority Manufacturer of the Year; Elohi of Oklahoma City for Rising Star Firm of the Year; Linda Morris, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer, Tulsa District for Advocate of the Year and BancFirst of Oklahoma City for the Access to Capital Award.

For more information on the NABEC, visit www.oknabec.com.