Jan Stratton

Jan Stratton
OAB Hall of Fame
Inducted 3/27/08

 

Few in Television News have had a more powerful impact on their station and its future than Jan Stratton has had at KSWO TV 7 in Lawton. As one of the first female anchors and an award-winning News Director, Jan has shaped the news department at KSWO and set the bar very high. Today, the strong news image of KSWO is largely due to Jan’s leadership and guidance.

For over 26 years Jan has been KSWO’s principal news anchor and news director. In 1981, she turned a ten-person staff into a critically-acclaimed news department of over 35, winning numerous state and national awards along the way.

Jan has always understood the unique credibility of local television for the community, and has made KSWO the leader in News, Weather and Public Affairs. Jan’s drive and quest to be the best led to innovations in covering live news and severe weather. However, Jan also knows that television excellence means educating viewers on local issues and health concerns. Currently KSWO airs many programs Jan developed that help Southwestern Oklahoma be a better place to live.

Jan’s skills as an anchor, reporter, and moderator are legendary, yet those who worked with Jan cite her mentoring and teaching skills as being her greatest asset. Her “tree” of successful journalists who grew under her tutelage at KSWO is remarkable. Currently dozens of the brightest in the news business throughout the country got their professional start under Jan’s watch in Lawton, Oklahoma. Each one of them thank Jan for the example she set and the excellence she demanded of them; for in the end, the success of any station can be guided by a visionary leader like Jan Stratton.