JCOM
2010
The salt lake tribune
Who owns them?
The Salt Lake Tribune was founded in 1870 by men who left the LDS church due to opposing political and economic policies. Three years later a group from Kansas bought the paper. In 1901, an unidentified buyer took over the paper, which ended up being Thomas Kearns and David Keith until the Kearns family bought the Keith family out. (Bennion, n.d., par.1). In 1997, the Kearns family sold the Tribune to Telecommunications Inc. and years later, it was purchased by AT&T. One year later, MediaNews Group bought the Tribune until they filed for bankruptcy and Alden Global Capital purchased them. In 2016, the Huntsman family purchased the newspaper, its online edition, and Web advertising arm and they still own it today. (Gorrell, 2017, par. 6-11).
How many are owned by the same parent company?
Though Huntsman Family Investments invests in other companies, this is the only newspaper that Paul Huntsman owns. (Jensen, 2018, par. 3).
Are any owned by independent sources?
This is the only newspaper that Paul Huntsman owns. (Canham, 2016)
What is their annual revenue?
There is no information regarding the annual revenue of the Salt Lake Tribune. However, Owler published an estimate revenue of $15.7 million for the company. (Utestat’s Competitors, 2017, page 1). We can make assumptions regarding their revenue based on the fact that the newspaper layed off a third of its newsroom last May. The Salt Lake Tribune also cut back on its “print sections and well-known writers who were read for generation.” These cuts make us believe that the newspaper is suffering, especially if they are eliminating well-known writers. (Semerad, 2018, par. 1).
Where do they get their revenue from?
Like other newspapers, The Salt Lake Tribune gets their revenue from subscriptions. These subscriptions include online and print. For unlimited digital access, users pay $7.99/month. For a digital and print subscription, users pay $13.99 a month. A print only subscription depends on how many newspapers you get a week. (Subscribe, n.d., page 1). The newspaper also makes money through advertisements. Anyone can apply for an advertisement spot in the paper through their website. Users can choose to pick whether to advertise through print or online. Advertisement prices range. Many companies use The Salt Lake Tribune to advertise because of the large audience making advertising very profitable. (Advertise With Us, n.d., Page 1).
What’s their reader/viewer share?
In 1993, the Tribune’s circulation was around 121,165 for the daily edition and 156,013 on Sundays. (Bennion, n.d., Par. 8). According to the Utah Media Group, the newspaper’s circulation has grown exponentially. In 2014, the Utah Media Group claimed The Salt Lake Tribune had an average daily circulation of 79,998, a Saturday circulation of 81,262, and a SUnday Circulation of 98,232. At this time, the weekly readership was 350,603 and Sunday readership was at 214,555. (Salt Lake Tribune, 2014, page. 1). Because of the recent cuts within the newspaper, we could expect the readership of the newspaper to be a bit lower than these numbers.
Is there a particular story that “made” this news venue particular popular?
There is no particular story that made The Salt Lake Tribune popular. However, when the newspaper began, the estranged church members was known for focusing on anti-mormon topics. Uen claims that “attacks on polygamy became a Tribune staple.” (Bennion, n.d., par. 3). A well-known section that has made this newspaper popular is the cartoon section. Pat Bagley runs the cartoon section and involves the community in competitions for the best captions. This section is called “In Your Own Words.” The winner of the caption is then published. (Salt Lake Tribune, 2018, Par. 1).
Was there a story that this news venue is particular well known for scooping?
The Salt Lake Tribune is known for the reports that won them the Pulitzer Prizes. In 2017, The Salt Lake Tribune was known for “a string of vivid reports revealing the perverse, punitive and cruel treatment given to sexual assault victims at BYU, one of Utah’s most powerful institutions.”(The Salt Lake Tribune Staff, 2017, page 1)
In 1957, The Salt Lake Tribune also received a Pulitzer Prize for its “prompt and efficient coverage of the crash of two airliners over the Grand Canyon.” This was a job that “surmounted great difficulties in distance, time, and terrain.” (The Salt Lake Tribune Staff, 1957, page 1).
How does the news site frame itself?
According to The Salt Lake Tribune’s mission statement, they frame themselves by “building on a legacy of courageous watchdog journalism.” They “strive to tell stories that are interesting, important and inclusive.” The Tribune claims they are also dedicated to “fairness and accuracy” and aim to “engage and empower you-our readers.” (History & Mission, 2017, Par. 1)
How is it perceived (conservative/liberal/moderate/completely unreliable/well-respected
for fairness/etc)?
Liberal (Salt Lake Tribune, 2018)
DAY 1: November 5, 2018
Grade:
F
Total: 47%
45/95
DAY 2: November 6, 2018
Grade:
F
Total: 32%
30/95
DAY 3: November 7, 2018
Grade:
D
Total: 68%
65/95
FINAL GRADE
F
Total: 48%
127/266
The final grade for the Salt Lake Tribune was an F. The stories The Salt Lake Tribune published over the three days include: elections, Proposition 2, the Olympics, the death of the Ogden mayor, land, and a nurse arrest.
The highest scoring day for the newspaper was November 7th. This is due to the fact that they had no peripheral stories, they had many credible named sources, their stories had a bigger impact on the community, and there was more controversy on this day than the other two days.
The lowest scoring day was November 6th. On this day, The Salt Lake Tribune included two peripheral stories, which brought their grade down. The Tribune also didn't include much controversy in the articles they published this day which led to them getting almost all 0's. Another reason they didn't score high this day was because they didn't include many diverse sources.
The week we analyzed our news was during the elections, so each day the paper had at least one article on this. That being said, because it is more Liberal, the larger headings on the front page mentioned democrats while the smaller article in the corner talked about Republicans.
The Salt Lake Tribune is more liberal, they didn't include much controversy. In most of the articles I graded, they received a 0 in this subject. It didn't seem that they were trying to show both sides of the story or there just wasn't another side of the story to tell.
The three days that I analyzed The Salt Lake Tribune, they focused on local stories. They didn't include nearly as many national news stories. This is not a bad thing because they are a local newspaper.
Overall, The Salt Lake Tribune failed. They did not do a good job at including much controversy and diverse voices. The voices they used seemed to be mostly American men. Although they didn't do well in these sections, they did a really good job at including credible sources. In each of the articles, The Salt Lake Tribune provided credible sources, and in some they provided more than 5. The Tribune also did a good job at publishing core stories. For each of the three days, there were only 2 peripheral stories, which helped to improve their overall score. The Tribune did a fairly good job at avoiding unnamed sources as well.
The Salt Lake Tribune has always been a source that I felt provided solid information. However, after completing this project, I have realized that there are some things they lack. It would make a big difference if they provided both sides of controversy and more diverse sources. I was very surprised this source got an F as their final grade.
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