Note to readers • Each month I write a newsletter to subscribers. In 2025, we’re also sharing it here. I’ve updated this letter to reflect recent developments in the Utah Legislature.
One of The Salt Lake Tribune’s goals is to strengthen journalism statewide.
We do this in part through the Utah News Collaborative, a group of 17 news organizations that stretches from Logan to St. George.
The Tribune started the collaborative four years ago, but this year we’ve made a significant investment in it.
First, and for the first time ever, we’ve shared all of our reporting from the legislative session with partners across the state. Second, we recently welcomed Heather May as our director of collaboratives. She oversees the Utah News Collaborative, or UNC, while also serving as director of the Great Salt Lake Collaborative.
Today, UNC members are sharing more from Utah’s small towns, from Cedar City to Delta. And they are publishing more statewide news from the capital city. All of that means more people than ever are seeing reporting about how our state is run.
We can’t do this work without you, and we are grateful for your support.
But something else happened as we looked beyond the Wasatch Front, and it surprised me.
As you may know, lawmakers during this session have worked to make it difficult for you to see what they’re doing. They advanced SB277, which would sunset the State Records Committee and make you appear before a judge to request receipt of a public document. And with HB69, they will put us — and others — on the hook for the government’s legal fees if the government sues to prevent release of a record and wins. If signed into law, HB69 would have a chilling effect.
Secrecy breeds mistrust and abuse. Openness safeguards our institutions.
We asked if you would reach out to your state senators to let them know you want transparency in Utah government. You did, and I can’t thank you enough for the emails you shared with me that also went to your lawmakers. They were incredibly encouraging. And impactful.
We also asked UNC members if they’d share what was happening with their readers. They did.
As a result, lawmakers heard from Utahns across the state.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
And we managed to bend the trajectory of some of the legislation that would limit our access to records— because people like you reached out and spoke up.
The first few months of this year have put incredible pressure on our institutions at the state and federal levels. Our system is being tested more than it ever has in my lifetime.
Even though we may feel fatigued and overwhelmed, now is the time for civic engagement. Every one of us has a role to play in making our community stronger.
You still have the power to shape our state. By subscribing. By sharing a story. By contacting a lawmaker.
A woman I used to work with recently said, “The power to create change is not lost, it’s local. And it lives in every single one of us.”
— Lauren Gustus is executive editor and CEO of the nonprofit Salt Lake Tribune.
