The Salt Lake Tribune is the largest-circulated daily newspaper in the U.S. city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Salt Lake Tribune is distributed by Newspaper Agency Corporation, which also distributes the Deseret Morning News. The Tribune — or "Trib," as it is locally known — is currently owned by the Denver-based Media News Group. For almost 100 years it was a family owned newspaper held by the heirs of U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns. After Thomas Kearns died in 1918 the company was controlled by his widow, Jennie Judge Kearns and son Thomas F. Kearns. The newspaper's long time publisher was John F. Fitzpatrick who started his career as Senator Kearns' secretary.
History
The publication was founded in 1871 as the Mormon Tribune by a group of Mormon businessmen who disagreed with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' (LDS Church) economic and political positions. After a year its name was changed to the Salt Lake Daily Tribune and Utah Mining Gazette. Not too long after that, the name was shortened to simply The Salt Lake Tribune.
After being purchased by three "border ruffians" from Kansas in 1873, the paper became known as an anti-Mormon organ which consistently backed the local Liberal Party. Sometimes vitriolic, the Tribune held particular antipathy for Latter-day Saints President Brigham Young. In the edition announcing Young's death, the Tribune wrote,
- He was illiterate and he has made frequent boast that he never saw the inside of a school house. His habit of mind was singularly illogical and his public addresses the greatest farrago of nonsense that ever was put in print. He prided himself on being a great financer, and yet all of his commercial speculations have been conspicuous failures. He was blarophant, and pretended to be in daily intercourse with the Almighty, and yet he was groveling in his ideas, and the system of religion he formulated was well nigh Satanic. — The Salt Lake Tribune, August 30, 1877
In 1901 newly-elected Roman Catholic U.S. senator Thomas Kearns and his business partner David Keith, bought the Tribune. Kearns made strides to eliminate the paper's anti-Mormon overtones, and succeeded in maintaining good relationships with the mostly-LDS state legislature which had elected him to the Senate. Upon Kearns' death in 1918 his family bought out the Keith's share of the publication. The Kearns family owned a majority share of the newspaper until 1997 when they sold it to Tele-Communications Inc., a multimedia corporation, which was later acquired by AT&T. The Tribune was subsequently sold to Denver, Colorado-based MediaNews Group which is partially owned by publisher William Dean Singleton.
In 2002 the Tribune was mired in controversy after employees sold leaked inside information related to the Elizabeth Smart case to The National Enquirer. Tribune editor James "Jay" Shelledy resigned from his job at the paper amidst the fallout of the scandal. Tribune reporters Michael Vigh and Kevin Cantera also were removed from their positions as Tribune reporters.
In 2003 the Tribune published an article entitled S.L. Woman's Quest Strains Public Records System[1] documenting Salt Lake City resident Barbara Schwarz's extensive pursuit of FOIA records. Schwarz sued the Tribune, claiming that the Tribune's use of “yellow journalism” resulted in “malicious defamation”, “emotional abuse” and was accomplished by deceiving her into giving an interview, unauthorized use of her photo, violation of privacy, refusing to print a correction or letter to the editor, in addition to theft of approximately 100 photos and negatives.[2] In its ruling the three member court stated: "The public interest in being fully informed about controversies that often rage around sensitive issues demands that the press be afforded the freedom to report such charges without assuming responsibility for them.”[2] Judge James Z. Davis further wrote that the Tribune article was protected by "the neutral reportage privilege because it contains 'accurate and disinterested reporting' of the information contained in the record."[3]
In 2004, the paper decided to move out of its historic location at the downtown "Tribune" building and relocate to the Gateway Mall. Many people, including several Tribune employees, opposed the move, stating that it would harm the economy of Salt Lake's downtown. The move was completed in May 2005.
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