Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Nonprofit status no cure for what ails Salt Lake City Tribune

Ten months ago, Jay Rosen was raving about the SLC Trib quickly getting approved for nonprofit status. The Texas Tribune was offering to help it (including, surely, with making big bucks off events promotion which has now been dinged by COVID).

At the time, I said "not so fast" with the huzzahs and handsprings.

I noted on the financial side that the SLC Trib had no paywall, just a fauxwall. (It has now started one, reportedly, though I'm not sure how real it is.) I also noted it was still a legacy print paper, with overhead the Texas Trib didn't have. I also noted it's in a two-paper town. (And the Deseret News still has no paywall.) Finally, I noted that foundations who might have help for such transitions will have less help as more papers consider them. (And, in hindsight, they'll have less help available as COVID hits those foundations, too.)

Finally, I noted how the Trib's news coverage (especially on environmental issues) has been impacted by its "sponsors." 

And Poynter now says, indeed, indeed. And, it notes that last issue is the one at point.

SLC Trib ME Jennifer Napier-Pierce resigned a month ago over tussles over the paper's coverage of a Huntman scion's run for governor. The resignation, from what Poynter gleans around the edges, wasn't hugely bitter, but it was an issue, especially since a nonprofit paper can't do political campaign endorsements.

The bigger issue, as it notes? The Trib-News JOA expires the end of this year. And, reading between the lines on Poynter, apparently neither paper has done huge whacks to its print editions as of this time.

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