Media Powerhouse Bringing Jobs To Oklahoma

A media giant is coming to Tulsa, and it's bringing several hundred new jobs with it. The Gannett Company announced plans Wednesday to open a call center here. Gannett says the call center will mean

Wednesday, April 25th 2007, 8:50 pm

By: News On 6

A media giant is coming to Tulsa, and it's bringing several hundred new jobs with it. The Gannett Company announced plans Wednesday to open a call center here. Gannett says the call center will mean as many as 500 new jobs and believes it will provide a boost for a mid-town shopping center. Gannett is one of the most powerful media companies in the country. It publishes 90 newspapers, most notably USA Today. It owns more than 20 TV stations, operates 120 websites and the News On 6â€™s Chris Wright reports now the company is coming to Tulsa.

"Tulsa is on a roll right now," said Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce president Mike Neal.

Neal has been wooing Gannett for months. He says bringing such a big name to town will help improve Tulsa's business climate.

"We're excited,â€ he said. â€œIt's a chance to bring a new, nationally prominent business into an existing facility in the center of our city."

The existing facility is the former Staples Call Center, in the Fontana Shopping Center near 51st and Memorial. Employees will answer newspaper subscribersâ€™ customer service calls from across the country. Contractors were already busy Wednesday installing steps and working on the building's interior.

This will be an extremely quick turnaround for Gannett. They expect to have this facility up and running by next month. Neighboring restaurants are looking forward to the opening. Besides the 500 potential new customers, owners say the entire Fontana Center could use a jolt.

"It has been down a little bit, but with them coming in, it's going to help us move up a little bit," said Pablo Flores of Montereyâ€™s Tex Mex CafÃ©.

The chamber of commerce is confident attracting the media giant will help all of Tulsa move up a little bit.

"We're very optimistic that this will bring new jobs with it and stimulate other companies to say yes and come to the Tulsa region," Neal said.

Gannett is hoping to fill those 500 jobs as soon as possible.

Watch the video: Media Giant Bringing Jobs To Green Country

Gannet's available positions have been posted at www.gannett.com/career and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission website, www.oesc.state.ok.us.