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SALT LAKE CITY — Jennifer Napier-Pearce, the four-year executive editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, resigned Wednesday citing differences with the paper’s chairman of the board of directors, Paul Huntsman, the newspaper reported.
Napier-Pearce, who joined the daily paper as a reporter in 2013 and became the executive editor in August 2016, will officially leave the paper Aug. 14.
In her letter of resignation to the board, Napier-Pierce said she treasured serving as editor of the paper the last four years.
“I couldn’t be more proud of The Tribune and its employees and what we have accomplished under very difficult circumstances,” Napier-Pearce wrote. “I’ve treasured the opportunity to serve as editor and I’m proud to leave the newsroom better than I found it. I will always be a Tribune subscriber and supporter.”
Napier-Pierce led the paper during its 2017 Pulitzer Prize win for its reporting on campus sexual assault at Brigham Young University.
The board of directors will fill the role, the newspaper reported. In the meantime, longtime managing editor and staff member David Noyce was named as interim editor. Noyce has been with the paper since 1984.
Despite the differences leading to Napier-Pierce’s departure, Huntsman called Napier-Pierce “an incredibly talented journalist and editor” in a news release.
“Jennifer is an incredibly talented journalist and editor who has led The Salt Lake Tribune through one of the most transformative periods in Tribune history,” said Huntsman, who also serves as chairman of the Tribune Board of Directors, wrote. “Moreover, her leadership during this tumultuous time in our world and our state has been evident through the strong reporting of the entire Tribune team over the past several months."
Napier-Pierce did not expand on her differences with Huntsman but clarified she was not asked to resign, according to the newspaper.
Correction: A previous version of this story referred to Paul Hunstman as owner of The Salt Lake Tribune. While he purchased the newspaper in 2016, he transferred his sole ownership in 2019 as The Tribune became a nonprofit. Huntsman is now chairman of its board of directors and its chief philanthropic patron.
