Salt Lake Tribune

What Salt Lake Tribune does

The Salt Lake Tribune is Utah's largest independent local news organization, operating as a nonprofit since 2019 when it became the first legacy U.S. newspaper to convert from for-profit to nonprofit status. Founded in 1871 and headquartered in Salt Lake City with 251-500 employees, the publication serves Utah residents with comprehensive local journalism across politics, environment, sports, culture, education, health, and business. Its digital-first publishing platform spans the sltrib.com website, native iOS and Android mobile applications, an e-edition, curated email newsletters (Daily Buzz, Inside Voices), and a YouTube channel for video content, with editorial franchises including Pulitzer Prize finalist Pat Bagley's long-running cartoons. The organization also operates the Southern Utah Tribune as a regional sister publication distributing print editions to 40,000 homes and businesses in Washington County.

Revenue comes predominantly from reader donations, the First Amendment Society membership program, and print and digital subscriptions. In late 2025, the organization raised $1 million to drop its online paywall, removing all paywalls in Q1 2026 and shifting fully to a donation-funded model intended to maximize public access to independent journalism. The nonprofit is governed by a board chaired by Paul Huntsman and led operationally by CEO Lauren Gustus. Distribution is single-country/domestic, limited to Utah, with the audience generally being state residents seeking trustworthy local reporting.

Go-to-market is community-led: the Tribune relies on email newsletters, social media (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube), mobile applications, and community fundraising events to build audience and donor base. Institutional funding support includes a $1.2 million American Journalism Project grant in October 2024 and additional relationships with the Knight Foundation, ProPublica, Poynter, and others. Customer concentration risk is low on the consumer side (mass-market Utah readership and many small donors) but moderate on the funding side given the reliance on a handful of national journalism philanthropies.

Name

Salt Lake Tribune

Legal name

The Salt Lake Tribune

Website

https://sltrib.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Salt Lake Tribune is Utah's largest independent local news organization, operating as a nonprofit news publisher since 2019 with digital, mobile, e-edition, and print products serving Utah readers through donations, memberships, and subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Digital News Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

Keywords

• Local news publishing
• Digital journalism
• Newspaper subscriptions
• Investigative reporting
• Nonprofit newsroom

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Reader Donations: As a nonprofit organization, The Salt Lake Tribune relies heavily on reader donations and membership contributions. The organization raised $1 million specifically to eliminate its paywall and provide free access to independent local journalism.
2. Print and Digital Subscriptions: The organization offers print edition subscriptions and digital subscriptions through its e-edition platform, available via the app store and Google Play.
3. First Amendment Society Membership: The organization offers membership in its First Amendment Society as a way for supporters to contribute and gain access to exclusive content and benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Salt Lake Tribune is a nonprofit local news organization that produces and distributes independent journalism covering Utah politics, environment, sports, culture, education, health, religion, and business. Its core offerings include a digital news website, native iOS and Android mobile apps, an e-edition digital replica of the print newspaper, curated email newsletters, and video content via YouTube, with the Southern Utah Tribune as a regional sister publication.

Product overview

The Salt Lake Tribune operates as a nonprofit digital-first news organization offering a unified news platform across multiple channels. The core product is its digital news website (sltrib.com) delivering Utah-focused journalism in categories including news, sports, politics, opinion, religion, and culture. The product portfolio extends to native mobile applications (iOS and Android), an e-edition replicating the print experience, curated email newsletters (The Daily Buzz, Inside Voices), and video content via YouTube. The organization also publishes the Southern Utah Tribune as a regional sister publication. Content features include Pat Bagley's editorial cartoons, while the First Amendment Society provides a membership program for supporter engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Southern Utah Tribune: A sister publication of The Salt Lake Tribune that started circulation in Washington County, Utah, with a digital edition and print distribution to 40,000 homes and businesses. Staffed by local reporters, it aims to support independent journalism through subscriptions and donations.

Products and services

• Salt Lake Tribune Website (sltrib.com) The primary digital news platform of The Salt Lake Tribune, providing local Utah news, sports, politics, opinion, religion, and culture coverage across multiple content categories. All online content is free to access following paywall removal in Q1 2026.
• Salt Lake Tribune Mobile App (iOS)

Quantifiable outcome

• Paywall removed, providing free access to all online content

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Southern Utah TribunecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 9 October 2025The Southern Utah Tribune is a sister publication of The Salt Lake Tribune, staffed by local reporters in Washington County, Utah. It operates with a digital edition and print distribution to 40,000 homes and businesses, aiming to support independent journalism through subscriptions and donations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Deseret News: Utah's other major regional newspaper, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Directly competes with the Salt Lake Tribune for Utah readers, advertisers, and political coverage, and serves the same Salt Lake City geography.
• The Texas Tribune: Nonprofit digital-first statewide news organization covering Texas politics and policy. Closely comparable to the Salt Lake Tribune in nonprofit model, statewide single-market focus, foundation funding, and free-access digital publishing.
• Tampa Bay Times: Florida regional newspaper that converted to nonprofit ownership. Directly comparable to the Salt Lake Tribune in legacy-newspaper-to-nonprofit transition, single-state regional focus, and reliance on donor/membership revenue.
• The Minnesota Star Tribune: Regional daily newspaper serving Minnesota, comparable in scale and audience model. Both operate regional print plus digital subscription products targeting a single-state audience with strong local news franchises.

Emerging players

• ProPublica: Leading nonprofit investigative journalism organization. Comparable to the Salt Lake Tribune in nonprofit newsroom structure, foundation funding model, and donor-supported mission, though national in scope and focused on investigative rather than daily coverage.
• Block Club Chicago: Nonprofit digital local news outlet covering Chicago neighborhoods. Comparable to the Salt Lake Tribune in nonprofit community-funded model, newsletter-driven audience engagement, and donor-supported free-access publishing.

Broad incumbents

• The Boston Globe: Large regional daily newspaper owned by Boston Globe Media Partners. Comparable to the Salt Lake Tribune as a regional metro daily with strong local news franchise and digital subscription model, but operates at substantially larger scale and broader portfolio.
• The New York Times: National digital-first newspaper with strong local and regional Utah coverage via its national reporting. Comparable as a digital subscription newspaper product competing for the same Utah audience's attention and national advertising dollars.

Others

• American Journalism Project: Philanthropic venture philanthropy fund for nonprofit local news. Functions as a funder and capacity-builder for the Salt Lake Tribune and similar organizations rather than a direct competitor, but is highly relevant as a funding counterparty that has invested $1.2M in the Tribune.
• Report for America: National service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Listed as a Salt Lake Tribune supporter and is highly comparable as an adjacent ecosystem player that strengthens nonprofit local news capacity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sltrib
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/sltrib
• Facebookfacebook.com/saltlaketribune
• Instagraminstagram.com/sltrib
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/25395

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Salt Lake Tribune