Artificial intelligence. Rising distrust of “mainstream media.” Audience fragmentation. The first woman to become editor of the Deseret News isn’t cowed by any of it.
Last week, longtime Utah journalist Sarah Jane Weaver took up the editor-in-chief position at the 174-year-old publication owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Known as a straight-talker with a listening ear, Weaver has served since 2017 as the top editor of the Utah-based faith’s Church News, where she expanded the site’s reach through video, podcasting and translation, according to the Deseret News story announcing the hire.
Angelyn Nelson Hutchinson, who worked the Deseret News for nearly 30 years, celebrated Weaver’s ascent, telling The Salt Lake Tribune it’s “been hard for women to break through” at the publication and in the news industry as a whole.
Back when Hutchinson, the first female city editor for the outlet, was still working, she said she was often the only female voice in editors’ meetings.
“Women’s perspectives,” she said, were not always “taken into account.”
She believes that will change under Weaver, who replaced Hal Boyd after Boyd accepted the title of chief of staff for Brigham Young University President Shane Reese.
“It really is,” Hutchinson said, “an important first for women in the church.”
Weaver joins Executive Editor Doug Wilks and Publisher Burke Olsen as a member of the paper’s top leadership team.
She began working at the Church News in 1995. Before that, she reported at The Arizona Republic and the Standard-Examiner in Ogden.
Former Deseret News reporter Amy Donaldson-Brass also underscored the importance of women’s perspectives being considered in the decision-making process.
“I know the men who lead the Deseret News feel like they understand the world women like Sarah inhabit, but they don’t,” the KSL reporter said. “She’s often the only one bringing her complex mix of experience, intelligence, faith, purpose and mom guilt into a room where critical decisions are being made.”
Donaldson-Brass added: “I cannot overstate how important [her hire] is both practically and symbolically.”
Meanwhile, Lois Collins, who reports on issues impacting families for the Deseret News, called Weaver “supremely qualified.”
The Salt Lake Tribune spoke with Weaver about her new role and the direction she hopes to help steer the publication in coming years. Her answers have been edited for length and clarity.
(Courtesy of Deseret News) Sarah Jane Weaver and reporter Lois Collins embrace after Weaver was named editor of the Deseret News on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Collins called Weaver "supremely qualified" for the role.
What is your hope for this position and the paper, both short-term and long-term?
For many years, I have thought of journalism as an intersection of a lot of the forces that impact our lives. And we hope at the Deseret News that we can create some understanding as all of those forces come together to — first and foremost — impact people, then this city, the state, the West and the country.
Is reaching a nationwide audience a focus that is at the forefront for the organization as a whole?
The term that we like to use is “window in, window out.” We want to be a window in for the nation to see all the good that is happening in Utah — that [the state] can be relevant and a leader and an example to the nation.
We also want to be a window out for Utahns to national politics, thought leaders and anything that can help them understand their lives better, that can empower them with information to make better decisions and understand how the nation is impacting Utah.
So, yes, [we] consider ourselves a national publication. Our analytics certainly bear that out. But we are not going to forget that we are headquartered in Utah. We care so much about this state and the West.
What are some of your top priorities when it comes to specific topics?
I care a lot about civility. I think the media landscape is polarized. I think the political landscape is polarized. I think we care about human dignity. I know a lot of Utahns care about religious liberty, and we care about that, too. We hope that the Deseret News can reduce some of the rhetoric that floats around and be a voice of reason that can provide clarity for people.
How does the Deseret News plan to respond to and take advantage of changes in the media landscape, from artificial intelligence to social media?
We’re worried about A.I. I’m worried about A.I. But I’m also aware that A.I. can be a powerful tool. There are opportunities here.
I remember being so worried when The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News stopped publishing a daily print newspaper. And then I realized something. I realized that sometimes things that feel hard are an opportunity.
When the Deseret News was delivering a daily print newspaper, at our height we were reaching 200,000 homes. And now, on any given month, the Deseret News has about 10 million unique users. It’s hard to lament the decline of print newspapers when a digital-first publishing strategy has been our opportunity not just in Utah, but in the nation, and, in some cases, across the globe.
How do you hope to apply your multimedia experience to the Deseret News?
We’re going to have to develop a podcast strategy and a video strategy. Of course, we’re going to look at translation and see if there’s an audience for that.
We’re in an age when it is not enough any longer to just create really great content. We also have to learn how to distribute it in a way that people will read it.
When I started it, our biggest competitions were with other media, other journalists. Now we’re competing against Netflix, TikTok and Disney+. It’s a hard landscape because it’s so saturated. So the biggest challenge in this media landscape is trying to figure out how we engage a generation that is saturated with messages with news that will be important to them, that will give their lives context and understanding, and be a light in whole a mist of confusion.
There’s also a growing sense of distrust in institutions, including journalism. How do you hope to maintain a relationship of trust with Deseret News readers?
That’s a big lift. That has to be one of our No. 1 charges. We have to let people know that they can come to a source of news that they will be able to trust and that it will actually help them.
How should readers understand the relationship between Deseret News journalists and their work and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
The first thing I would want them to know is that, of course, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns the Deseret News. But our audience is much larger than members of the church. We think we are tackling topics that are relevant to anyone living in Utah or the West or the United States.
We hope to tackle those topics in a way that will emphasize the values of Utah, which are education, human dignity, civility and caring for the poor and needy. People in this state care about service.
And we hope that they’ll be able to first know they can trust that content, and then second, know that it’s relevant to them. If we’re not creating content that’s relevant to every Utahn, we’re not doing our job.
This is an important moment for women at the Deseret News. What roles have women had at the organization previously?
DeAnn Evans was managing editor and a mentor and someone that I looked to with the greatest respect. I hope I can do my job in a way to make her proud.
There have been many, many women who have worked on this brand. Years ago, the Deseret News had a president, Robin Ritch.
The Deseret News has provided opportunities for women for many, many years. I’m really, really grateful for the opportunity to build on the good work that so many female mentors have done and also the work that so many others at the Deseret News have done.
