For main anchor Scott Thompson, it has been an uphill fight for the past decade for the long feature stories that made him the most popular reporter in the market and won him his anchor chair. Scott is so mild mannered that he might not work in most other markets, but because his "Oklahoma Traveler" stories were so loved by viewers, management tried him out as anchor. People liked him there, too. He's the top male anchor in the market.
Scott says he argued for years for longer, deeper stories, and seems to have found a sweet spot in his So Much More queries. They are not eight minutes, but some are close to four, almost three times the length of a typical daily reporter package. Thompson had the nagging questions of why Oklahoma languishes at or near the bottom in categories like health and education.
"How do we do better? Why do we stand for that?" Thompson asks.
Scott's wife came up with the title. The idea is that Oklahoma can be "so much more." In other words, we can do better. But it also has another meaning. "We have the potential to be so much more," Scott says.
Scott says it was a tough sell because it seemed so critical, too negative. He argued his mission is an earnest search for answers.
Scott has sought out the best minds in the state to grapple with the greatest issues. Accolades poured in and Thompson got something he says he and anchor Terry Hood never had before, a billboard.
The words on the billboard, So Much More.
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