Edward K. Gaylord

Edward King Gaylord (March 5, 1873 – May 30, 1974), often referred to as E.K. Gaylord, was the owner and publisher of the Daily Oklahoman newspaper (now The Oklahoman), as well as a radio and television entrepreneur. Born in Kansas and educated in Colorado, he worked on several publications before moving to Oklahoma and buying an interest in the Daily Oklahoman. He built the publication into a statewide newspaper and took over its parent company in 1918.

After his death in 1974, Gaylord's family continued to have a hand in the newspaper until the publisher and parent, OPUBCO, was sold to Phil Anschutz.

Born into a Jewish family in eastern Kansas and educated in Colorado, Gaylord attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His older brother talked him into buying the Colorado Springs Telegraph and later got him to work as the business manager of the St. Joseph Dispatch in Missouri.

Gaylord came to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in December 1902 and bought an interest in the Daily Oklahoman publication that had been founded in 1889. Gaylord became the paper's business manager in January 1903. He married Inez Kinney of New York City in 1914. In 1918, he became president of the newspaper's parent company.

Gaylord built the Daily Oklahoman into a statewide newspaper, took part in the statehood movement, and was responsible for building a small experimental radio operation into the state's first major radio station, WKY. He also established the state's first television station, WKY-TV.

Gaylord died in 1974.

His son, Edward L. Gaylord inherited controlling interest but not complete ownership of the Daily Oklahoman and other family assets worth $50 million in 1974. Stanford University-educated in business, Edward L. increased the family fortune by a factor of forty, to two billion dollars at the time of his death in 2003. He also purchased the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. He created The Nashville Network TV channel, and also Country Music Television, or CMT.

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