The Lincoln County News is entering a new era.
Long-time editor Brian Blansett will be semiretiring, and reporter Emily Kalka will take over as editor in April.
Kalka is a member of Chandler High School Classof2003andreceived a bachelor’s in journalism from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Ark. She has been working in journalism in some way, shape or form since 2007. Her career started at a small-market daily in Cape Coral, Fla., and has taken her to national newspapers, broadcasters and magazines in Seoul, South Korea.
Kalka began working at The Lincoln County News in September 2023, shortly after returning to the area to be closer to her grandparents in Davenport and friends in the area. Since then, she has won four awards for news writing and features from the Oklahoma Press Association.
“I’m excited to take over and it feels like a fullcircle moment,” Kalka said. “In high school, The Lincoln County News helped inspire me to pursue journalism. Now, years later, I’m working here and have the chance to take the helm. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lincoln County community that helped shape me.”
Blansett will remain with the Lincoln County News in a part-time capacity, covering sports and taking photos.
He started his newspaper career in 1977 at the Ada Evening News and worked at newspapers in Sulphur, Ardmore and Waco, Texas, prior to becoming publisher of the Shawnee News-Star in 2008.
He retired in November 2014, but had no aptitude for it. Seven months later, he bought the Tri-County Herald and, later, the Stroud American. He sold the papers to Wesner Publications in 2019 and became editor and publisher of the Lincoln County News.
“I still love journalism and newspapers, but I’ll turn 74 this year and I think it’s time for me to cut back and spend more time with my grandkids and going fishing and playing with old cameras,” he said.
“Emily will do great things as editor. She’s a great writer, has a strong sense for news and loves Lincoln County.”
Blansett was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2019, was president of the Oklahoma Press Association and served on theboardoftheOklahoma Newspaper Foundation.
While he was editor, the LincolnCountyNewsand Tri-County Herald won six Sequoyah Awards, which are given annually to the top newspapers in Oklahoma. He has won several dozen awards for photography, columns and editorials from the Oklahoma PressAssociation, the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists.
As the city editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald, he edited an investigative series on the Branch Davidians that was runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize and he directed the newspaper’s coverage of the assault on the Davidian compound, the resulting siege and the fire that destroyed it.