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SALT LAKE CITY — Most Utah residents are familiar with the Deseret News; it's been published since 1850. But there's another newer Deseret News — it's called the Deseret News National Edition — and a print subscription is now available in Utah.
Though already available online and to print readers elsewhere, Utah residents can now subscribe to the Deseret News National Edition and receive it in their homes —whether or not they are a current Deseret News subscriber.
This weekly paper features content focused on six specific themes: family, faith, education, culture, care for the poor and financial responsibility.
“We've identified these areas that really resonate with our readers," said Paul Edwards, editor of the Deseret News. "Both the daily Deseret News and its weekly national version provide readers with news and information, just in different ways."
Clark Gilbert, president and CEO of Deseret News Publishing Company and Deseret Digital Media, said the national edition was a response to research that showed a clear "faith gap" in the news coverage at most media outlets.
"The research showed there was a huge, unmet need from people looking for something thoughtful and rigorous, but also something that reflected the values and questions they had and that resonated with their families."
Veteran Utah journalist Matthew Brown has written stories for daily newspaper readers for years. For the national edition, he takes a different approach. For example, at the Sundance Film Festival this year, he didn't focus on the daily buzz and celebrity sightings that usually appear in the local paper.
"I looked at as many films as I could in the program and identified which films were relevant in our areas of interest," Brown said.
One article he wrote was about the documentary on Mitt Romney. Brown's story was presented in the national edition Family category.
To date, the Deseret News National Edition has 300,000 readers, and the feedback has been positive.
"What's most gratifying to me are when we hear personal accounts from people around the country who say, 'Thank you for sharing this kind of interesting information,' " Edwards said.
The national edition is available online at national.deseretnews.com and is also syndicated, with more than 400 news publications including the content in their editions.
"We're pleased with the initial results, but we also feel that we're just at the start of this," Gilbert said.
The Deseret News National Edition, which also comes with the Church News, is $30 for a year's subscription. You can order online at deseretnews.com/subscribe or by calling 866-628-4677.
Subscribers to the Ensign magazine will also receive a copy of the Deseret News National Edition with the February issue.
