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Outlet profile

The Salt Lake Tribune

U.S. center-left

Owned byThe Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation governed by a board of directors; no single owner. Paul Huntsman transferred control to the nonprofit structure after purchasing the paper in 2016.
FundingMix of philanthropic grants and donations (~35%), subscriptions and voluntary memberships (~33%), and print/digital advertising (~25%); dropped its paywall in May 2026 and shifted to a voluntary membership model in place of required subscriptions.
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Salt Lake Tribune was founded on January 1, 1870, as the Mormon Tribune by businessmen who had broken from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over economic and political disputes; it was renamed the Salt Lake Daily Tribune and Utah Mining Gazette in 1871. In 1901, U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns and mining partner David Keith acquired the paper, and after Keith's death in 1918 the Kearns family held sole control for decades through the Kearns-Tribune Corporation. The paper passed through several subsequent owners before Utah businessman Paul Huntsman — son of industrialist Jon Huntsman Sr. — purchased it through Huntsman Family Investments in April 2016. In October 2019, the IRS granted the Tribune nonprofit 501(c)(3) status, making it the first major daily U.S. newspaper to operate as a nonprofit; it is now governed by a board of directors with no single controlling owner. The Tribune has historically positioned itself as an independent voice in a state heavily influenced by the LDS Church, and its editorial board has consistently favored center-left positions, endorsing Democratic presidential candidates in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. Media bias analysts rate it Left-Center (Media Bias/Fact Check) or Lean Left (AllSides), with high marks for factual accuracy. In May 2026, the Tribune dropped its paywall entirely and adopted a voluntary membership model, betting that open-access journalism funded by donations and grants is more sustainable than subscription gating.

Sources

  1. The Salt Lake Tribune - Wikipedia
  2. About The Salt Lake Tribune
  3. Our Nonprofit Model - The Salt Lake Tribune
  4. Salt Lake Tribune - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
  5. The Salt Lake Tribune Media Bias | AllSides
  6. Why Salt Lake Tribune is gambling one third of revenue by ditching paywall - Press Gazette
  7. The nonprofit Salt Lake Tribune is ready to tear down its paywall | Nieman Journalism Lab
  8. Tribune editorial: Sen. John Curtis shows a welcome hint of having had enough of Trump's corruption
  9. Endorsements by Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board - Ballotpedia

Profile compiled 2026-07-10; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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