Caitlin Williams found great joy the last five-and-a-half years telling the stories of people in southwestern Oklahoma as she worked as a reporter and television news anchor at KSWO-TV in Lawton.
But now, it’s time for her career journey to take a different route as she transitions to communications and marketing manager for the City of Lawton where she’ll begin her duties July 11.
In 2021, however, she may have done some of her best reporting when the station aired a special 30-minute segment on the controversial McGirt decision that pitted state officials against five Oklahoma Native American tribes. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state could not prosecute Native Americans who committed crimes on Indian land, including dozens of felonies. The case has since spurred other areas of concern including taxation.
Williams, who along with station photographer Mark Lynn, spent five months researching and interviewing numerous people for the news special, which aired in June 2021.
“We were able to see how McGirt impacted Stephens County and the KCA (Kiowa-Comanche-Tribe tribe),” she said. “It was a huge undertaking and was our main focus for the first half of the year. I believe it was the only 30-minute news special KSWO has ever aired.”
Some of the interviews Williams conducted focused on then-Attorney General Mike Hunter, Kiowa officials and victims’ families who were upset with the lengthy legal process.
“It was rewarding to see so much work go on-air,” she said.
Williams started anchoring the 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. newscasts in 2016, just a short time after arriving at the Lawton station.
“It’s always interesting because we have those landscape events that occur,” she said. “As with everyone else, we covered COVID extensively in 2020 and 2021. There’s always some nerves when reporting the news and you hope they (viewers) take it well. If they don’t, that’s the nature of the beast. Our job is to make sure we’re reporting the facts 100% of the time. I have no reservations or regrets about what I’ve done.”
Reporting on the COVID-19 crisis was difficult at times, especially when Williams’ father died last August from the deadly virus. Anchoring recent newscasts about the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre also proved hard for Williams who had a personal contact with one of the parents at the school.
“I like to hold on to those good news stories and realize it’s not all bad,” she said.
Some of her happiest times as a reporter came during a series of stories on FFA and 4-H students in southwestern Oklahoma. All total, she profiled 30 FFA and 4-H students.
“Ag is a big deal,” she said. “We would spotlight FFA and 4-H kids. We got to go out and talk to these amazing high school students. We would talk to young people who are so amazing. Everybody I talked to wants to start or already has cow-calf operations.”
Williams recalled a story about Brady Blackburn, 11, who would wake up at 5:30 a.m. to take care of his show livestock. When the story aired, Blackburn was a fifth-grader at Marlow Elementary. During the interview with the boy, Williams learned he also played football and wrestled and aspires to be an NFL coach.
Williams received an honorary FFA degree from the Oklahoma FFA Association, the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association Media Appreciation Award and was named the Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s Journalist of the Year Award in 2018. She is also a board member of Crime Stoppers of Southwest Oklahoma.
Williams is confident she can use some of her journalism skills as Lawton’s marketing and communications director.
“I’m going to miss broadcast, but I still get to tell stories about what we’re doing at city hall,” she said. “I get to tell residents what’s going on. I’m grateful I can still do that, at least through social media.”
Williams graduated in May 2015 from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. While in college, she worked at KSAN-TV in San Angelo producing and anchoring newscasts. Williams also spent about 18 months at a Midland, Texas, station after graduation.
In addition to her new job at Lawton’s city hall, Williams had another significant event occur in her life this year. She and her fiancé were married May 31 at a private ceremony in Wyoming.