The Salt Lake Tribune facts for kids
The July 27, 2005, front page of The Salt Lake Tribune
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| Type | Daily newspaper (1870–2020) Weekly newspaper (after 2020) |
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| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. (a non-profit corporation) |
| Founded | 1870 (as the Mormon Tribune) |
| Headquarters | 90 South 400 West Suite 600 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 USA |
| Circulation | 74,043 Daily 84,137 Sunday (as of 2015) |
| ISSN | 0746-3502 |
The Salt Lake Tribune is a newspaper from Salt Lake City, Utah. It is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., which is a non-profit group. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871."
Contents
The History of The Salt Lake Tribune
How the Newspaper Started
The Salt Lake Tribune began in 1870 as the Mormon Tribune. It was started by a group of businessmen. These men, including William S. Godbe and Elias L. T. Harrison, had different ideas from the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) on money and politics.
After one year, the newspaper changed its name. It became the Salt Lake Daily Tribune and Utah Mining Gazette. Soon after, it was shortened to just The Salt Lake Tribune.
Early Owners and Views
In 1873, three businessmen from Kansas bought the newspaper. They were Frederic Lockley, George F. Prescott, and A.M. Hamilton. They made the Tribune an anti-Mormon newspaper. It often supported the local Liberal Party. The Tribune was very critical of the LDS Church president, Brigham Young.
New Ownership in the 1900s
In 1901, U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns and his business partner, David Keith, secretly bought the Tribune. Kearns was Roman Catholic. After Keith passed away in 1918, the Kearns family bought his share. The company then became Kearns-Tribune Corporation.
The Tribune started an evening newspaper in 1902. It was called The Salt Lake Telegram. This paper was sold in 1914 but bought back in 1930. It stopped being printed daily in 1952. This happened when the Tribune joined with the Deseret News, another Salt Lake newspaper.
Working with Other Newspapers
John F. Fitzpatrick became the publisher in 1924. He helped the Tribune work peacefully with the LDS Church for many years. In 1952, the Tribune and the Deseret News created the Newspaper Agency Corporation (NAC). This partnership helped the Deseret News, which was having money problems.
Fitzpatrick passed away in 1960. John W. Gallivan, his successor, took over. Gallivan was the nephew of Mrs. Thomas Kearns. He helped the Tribune invest in early cable TV systems. This investment grew into a large cable company called Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI). The Tribune owned a big part of TCI. Gallivan was the publisher until 1984 and chairman until 1997.
Changes in Ownership and Location
The Kearns family owned most of the Tribune for almost 100 years. In 1997, the company joined with TCI. This was done to help with taxes for the Kearns family. A plan was made for the Kearns family to buy back the Tribune later.
However, TCI later joined with AT&T Corporation. After some disagreements, AT&T sold the Tribune to MediaNews Group in 2000. This company is based in Denver, Colorado.
In 2002, the Tribune faced a problem. Some employees shared information about the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case with another newspaper. The editor, James "Jay" Shelledy, resigned. Two other staff members also left their jobs.
In 2004, the newspaper moved its offices. It left its old building in downtown and moved to The Gateway area. Some people worried this move would hurt the downtown economy. The move happened in May 2005.
New Owners and Challenges
Emerging from Financial Difficulties
After facing financial challenges, MediaNews Group lost control of the Tribune in 2010. A company called Alden Global Capital became the new owner.
In 2016, a company called Huntsman Family Investments, LLC bought The Salt Lake Tribune. This company is controlled by Paul Huntsman. Paul is the son of businessman Jon Huntsman Sr. and the brother of former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr..
The Huntsman Family Takes Over
On April 20, 2016, Paul Huntsman's company officially bought the Tribune. In 2017, the Tribune won the Pulitzer Prize. This is a very important award for journalism. The winning team included reporters Erin Alberty, Jessica Miller, Alex Stuckey, and editor Rachel Piper.
In May 2018, the Tribune had to reduce its staff. They laid off over 38% of their newsroom employees. This was because the newspaper was making less money. There were fewer readers and less profit from online ads. Paul Huntsman said that advertising money had dropped by 40% since he bought the paper.
Becoming a Non-Profit Newspaper
A New Way to Operate
In November 2019, the newspaper got approval to become a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. This was a big step. It was the first major U.S. newspaper to become a non-profit.
In October 2020, the Tribune announced a change in how it prints. It stopped printing daily at the end of the year. Instead, it now prints a weekly newspaper. However, it still has a strong online presence. At that time, the paper had about 36,000 subscribers. This was a decrease from nearly 200,000 daily readers before. Also in 2020, the Tribune ended its 68-year partnership with the Deseret News.
From 2020 to 2021, the Tribune's newsroom staff actually grew. By November 2021, they had 33 reporters. The new non-profit paper also started many new projects.
Newspaper Endorsements
Supporting Political Candidates
In presidential elections, The Salt Lake Tribune supported different candidates. It endorsed George W. Bush in 2004. It supported Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. In 2016, it endorsed Hillary Clinton.
In 2019, the newspaper stopped endorsing candidates for any elections. This happened when it became a non-profit organization. Rules for non-profits do not allow them to support political candidates.
See also
- Category:The Salt Lake Tribune people
- Pat Bagley - A cartoonist for the Tribune.
- Derks Field - A baseball park named after a Tribune sports editor.
- Peggy Fletcher Stack – A religion reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Robert Kirby – A humor writer for The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Jennifer Napier-Pearce - A former executive editor of the Tribune.
- Harold Schindler – A historian and editor for The Salt Lake Tribune.
