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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake Tribune announced Monday it has nixed its long-running partnership with local CBS affiliate KUTV and struck a deal with KSTU Fox 13.
A joint press release from Fox 13 and the Tribune describes the agreement as "a new, expansive content-sharing partnership" that "will begin cross-promoting stories, collaborating on newsgathering and highlighting the best coverage of both news organizations online, in print and on the airwaves."
An email to Tribune subscribers on Monday, signed by editor Jennifer Napier-Pearce, let readers know they could expect to see Tribune reporters appearing on Fox and that bylined stories from the Fox affiliate reporting staff may be appearing in the paper's print and digital products. The paper laid off 34 employees in May citing the need to enact drastic cost-cutting measures in the face of ongoing declines in print circulation and advertising revenues.
Sources close to the deal said the Tribune's decision to jump from KUTV, a station owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, to KSTU, currently owned by Chicago-based Tribune Media but slated for sale to 21st Century Fox, was not connected to recent criticisms leveled at Sinclair, but was motivated by more opportunities for exposure during Fox 13's 10 1/2 hours of daily news programming.
Sinclair made news in March when a video assembled by website Deadspin highlighted a scripted statement that was read by numerous anchors on Sinclair-owned stations, including KUTV in Salt Lake City.
Although the press release Monday touted the TV station as "the state's top-rated local news television station," a recent story by the Tribune following the May 2018 ratings sweeps underscored that top-rating claims are squishy at best and really come down to "how and when you measure viewership."
According to May 2018 Nielsen data, Fox 13 trails other local outlets in evening news viewer demographic groups. In the important "late news" category — which is at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. depending on the station — Fox 13 held the No. 2 slot behind KSL-TV (No. 1) for viewers aged 18-49; the No. 2 spot behind KSL-TV (No. 1) for viewers aged 25-54; the No. 3 spot behind KUTV (No. 2) and KSL-TV (No. 1) for viewers aged 35-64; and the No. 3 spot behind KUTV (No. 1) and KSL-TV (No. 2) for number of households reached.
Poynter Institute reporter Kristen Hare, who covers the ongoing transformations of local news, told the Deseret News that partnerships between print/digital news publications and television news outlets are not new and reflect, in most cases, practical reality.
"These partnerships recognize that if our newsrooms are going to cover our communities effectively, they need to employ all the ways there are to reach people," Hare said. "It's impractical for people who work in words to transfer story telling to video, and vice-versa. Video has become very important in helping build audiences and contributing to newsrooms making money."
The Deseret News continues to be the largest circulation newspaper in the state for Sunday circulation and, together with its KSL broadcast and digital partners, maintains the largest news gathering operation in the state.
