The long-time Tulsan and Pulitzer Prize-winning editor to lead the nonprofit news outlet launching Oct. 15 

Contact: press@tulsaflyer.org

TULSA, Okla. (Sept. 25, 2025) – Ziva Branstetter has been selected as chief executive officer of the Tulsa Flyer, a soon-to-launch nonprofit media outlet focused on growing local journalism in Tulsa; collaborating with other local media outlets, including publishing the historic Black-owned newspaper, The Oklahoma Eagle; and elevating underrepresented voices.

The Tulsa Flyer also announced the appointment of Marcia Bruno-Todd, executive director of Leadership Tulsa, as chair of the board of directors, and Sam Combs III, managing partner and CEO of COMSTAR Advisors, as vice chair. Together with Executive Editor Gary Lee, they will work closely together to ensure all residents of Tulsa have access to unbiased, inclusive local news and information.

A long-time Tulsan, Branstetter joins the Tulsa Flyer with more than three decades of journalism experience, including 20 years as a reporter and editor at the Tulsa World and The Tulsa Tribune. She also co-founded The Frontier, a Tulsa-based, independent investigative newsroom. 

Branstetter’s experience extends outside Tulsa, including four years at The Washington Post as corporate accountability editor. She most recently led a team of investigative reporters at the national nonprofit newsroom ProPublica, where her team’s yearlong “Life of the Mother” investigation exposed deaths in abortion-ban states. The investigation received the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service this year. 

“I am humbled and honored to be serving as CEO of the Tulsa Flyer. Having spent more than 25 years as a leader in Tulsa newsrooms, I have a deep understanding of journalism’s ability to uplift and empower the community and of its special role in speaking truth to power while giving voice to those without it,” Branstetter said. “My promise to Tulsa is simple: I will bring the same commitment to fearless, high-quality journalism that has defined my career to my work at the Tulsa Flyer, The Oklahoma Eagle and with our media partnerships as we build a strong and sustainable future together.”

Led by long-time Tulsa community leaders dedicated to fostering engagement and strengthening communities, Bruno-Todd and Combs, the board also includes local and national industry civic leaders James (Jim) Osby Goodwin, an accomplished attorney, health care advocate and owner of The Oklahoma Eagle; journalist and educator M. David Goodwin; journalist and philanthropist Emily Kaiser; Michael Ouimette, chief investment officer of the American Journalism Project; Rodger Randle, former Mayor of Tulsa and director of the Center for Studies in Democracy and Culture at OU-Tulsa; and Ashli Sims, managing director of Build in Tulsa.

“What excites me is how useful the Tulsa Flyer is,” Bruno-Todd said. “It connects people to timely information, real opportunities and the everyday stories that keep Tulsa moving forward. Built with and for Tulsa, the Tulsa Flyer is a daily bridge across neighborhoods and sectors so people can plug in and get things done.” 

On Branstetter’s appointment, Bruno said, “High standards, real support and steady follow through: That is Ziva’s leadership and the tone that will power the Tulsa Flyer forward. Broad community support is already shaping the work and, under Ziva’s guidance, will keep us responsive and accountable.”

“The mission of the Tulsa Flyer and The Oklahoma Eagle is to provide free news that improves the lives of all Tulsans,” Combs added. “I am looking forward to partnering with Ziva and the Tulsa Flyer team in building a sustainable news organization that achieves that mission."

As CEO, Branstetter will work closely with Lee in leading the strategic vision of the Tulsa Flyer and fulfillment of the newsroom’s mission to serve Tulsa communities. She will continue building on the organization’s broad base of public support to build an impactful and resilient independent local press for the city. In coming weeks, Branstetter will post openings for additional roles on the Tulsa Flyer business and operations team. Open positions can be found at http://localnewsfortulsa.org/jobs. 

“Ziva brings an unparalleled wealth of experience and knowledge to the Tulsa Flyer,” Lee said. “From her outstanding accomplishments in journalism to her deep roots in and love for Tulsa, she is exactly the right CEO to help position the Tulsa Flyer as the leading journalistic organization in Tulsa and across Oklahoma.”

Branstetter is deeply engaged in the Tulsa community, having served on numerous nonprofit boards dedicated to improving the lives of Tulsans and strengthening local journalism, as well as through her regular speaking engagements. She is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma and Leadership Tulsa, where she gained deep insight into the issues and opportunities around the state and city. In her free time, Branstetter can be found exploring Tulsa’s parks with her grandson or attending concerts with her husband, Doug.

The Tulsa Flyer is building a diverse team of more than 20 talented journalists who will launch a daily news website Oct. 15. The organization has already launched Tulsa Documenters, a program that pays and trains residents to report on government meetings. The program has trained more than 40 Tulsans so far. 

In addition to publishing stories by the Tulsa Flyer staff, the organization will publish stories by an expanded staff of The Oklahoma Eagle, produce Spanish-language reporting in partnership with La Semana and Que Buena Tulsa, and partner with local media outlets including the Tulsa World, The Frontier, KOSU and Focus: Black Oklahoma.

The Tulsa Flyer, which has raised $14 million for local news in Tulsa so far, was formed following a yearlong research and community listening effort led by a committee of local civic leaders and organized by the American Journalism Project (AJP). AJP is a venture philanthropy fund that strengthens local nonprofit news by financing sustainable business models, launching community-driven outlets and mentoring newsroom leaders to secure the future of civic journalism. The Tulsa research, which included input from 350 residents, found a consistent desire for a higher volume of local, original reporting. These findings led a coalition of community leaders, media partners and philanthropies to come together and form a nonprofit dedicated to filling the gaps.

Sign up to receive local news, events and community stories at tulsaflyer.org. 

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About the Tulsa Flyer 

The Tulsa Flyer (formerly called the Tulsa Local News Initiative) is a new nonprofit news organization serving Tulsa with high-quality, independent, non-partisan local news. It is the publisher of The Oklahoma Eagle, the 10th-oldest Black-owned newspaper in the United States. The Eagle published its first edition in the fall of 1922, just 15 months after the deadly Tulsa Race Massacre. Supported by a coalition of more than 20 philanthropic and media partners, the Tulsa Flyer works in deep partnership with other media organizations to better serve the communities of Tulsa. To learn more, visit tulsaflyer.org.

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