The Salt Lake Tribune Board of Directors Chair Paul Huntsman is stepping down from our board after nearly eight years of ensuring the sustainability of Utah’s most important news voice. From the beginning, he had a passionate plan to give The Tribune a future with financially stable legs so it could, without fear or favor, continue to be Utah’s watchdog.
In 2017, he purchased The Tribune from a national equity company which was interested neither in its funding nor in an independent voice. The future of this publication that first rolled its presses in 1871 was bleak at best.
The first three years were rough. Paul paid newsroom salaries out of his own pocket as legacy revenues plummeted. In 2021, he applied for and was granted an IRS exemption to make The Tribune a nonprofit. He virtually donated the paper to the foundation. It was a first for U.S. daily newspapers. The people of Utah would henceforth supplement the advertising and subscription revenues with donations.
The paper would have no owner; it would be governed by a board of unpaid directors. Entering its fourth year as a nonprofit, The Tribune continues to meet its bills, cover Utah’s news, and offer a beholden-to-no-entity commentary in print, online and on many other platforms.
This is happening because of donors who share this vision and the passion, generosity, and intensity of Paul Huntsman.
He now steps away from this draining responsibility. The board will move forward. With a growing base of supporters and with officers and employees who care. We do not intend to miss a beat, but we will miss you, Paul. We would not have a Tribune in which to run this tribute if it weren’t for Paul Huntsman.