CONTACT:

TimLandesJr@Gmail.com

My Story

I love to tell stories.

For 15 years, I've written hundreds (maybe thousands) of them. Sports. Entertainment. Tourism. Politics. Profiles. 

I am the features editor for TulsaPeople Magazine. It’s a 38-year-old monthly magazine that focuses on all things Tulsa. I also oversee the website, social media and hosted the podcast “Tulsa Talks” that ran for over 100 episodes of indepth conversations with notable Tulsans.

I wrote a Tulsan of the Year feature about Seminole/Muscogee filmmaker Sterlin Harjo and a cover story about the 2022 PGA Championship. In 2023, I wrote a Tulsan of the Year feature on the owners of Cain’s Ballroom, and in 2024 wrote a Tulsan of the Year profile on Stacey Woolley (Choctaw), Tulsa Public Schools Board President.

I’ve written extensively on homelessness, education, drug addiction recovery and policing, including Tulsa Police Department’s community policing efforts and Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office’s Cold Case Task Force.

My stories earned three consecutive years of first place awards for magazine news writing from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists (2019-2021).

As a photojournalist, in 2020, I documented the weeks-long protests in wake of the murder of George Floyd. Some of those images were used by 60 Minutes. I also documented the numerous events surrounding the commemoration of 100 years since the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which included documenting the mass graves investigation. I’ve documented the PGA Championship and numerous live events throughout Tulsa, plus more. My photography work has been awarded by the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists and the Indigenous Journalists Association.

I’m a Cherokee Nation citizen, who serves as Vice Chair of the Cherokee Phoenix Editorial Board. The oldest Native newspaper in the country has grown to a circulation of 182,000 as of March 2022. In 2023, I moderated the Cherokee Phoenix’s Principal Chief and Deputy Chief debates.

In early 2022, I started moderating a series of Page One luncheons with Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee Nation and Osage Nation to help increase education and raise awareness about the local tribes. Other Page One guests include Oklahoma Lt Governor Matt Pinnell, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, Mayor G.T. Bynum and TPS Superintendent Ebony Johnson.

I’ve served on numerous nonprofit boards, including Lindsey House, Tulsa Glassblowing School, Tulsa Press Club and League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Tulsa.

I’ve moderated many events for nonprofits Magic City Books and Circle Cinema.

I’ve worked as a freelance writer, contributing pieces in numerous publications, including Tulsa World, Cherokee Phoenix and more. Among that work was reporting on Tulsa’s historic flooding in May 2019 and the 2018 high school football season.

For a decade, I worked in public relations for Cherokee Nation Businesses where I co-created an award-winning online newsroom and magazine. I handled media relations for numerous casinos, including Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa and its entertainment venue, The Joint. I also did public relations for the tribe's cultural tourism department and served as a staff photographer. As part of my job I also oversaw and assisted in the social media efforts for Cherokee Nation Entertainment's 10 casinos.

My writing career began at Oklahoma State University's Daily O'Collegian, where I served as sports editor and editor-in-chief. I interned in the Tulsa World’s sports department (2005) and worked as a student media relations coordinator for Oklahoma State's athletic department. 

I have a bachelor’s in journalism from Oklahoma State University and an associate’s from Rogers State University. Raised in the Cherokee Nation in Claremore, Oklahoma.

-Updated Jan. 2024-