Undertaking the trek into the wilds of the American West in 1847 was a daunting adventure for anyone, but hauling a 4,000-pound hand-printing press in a covered wagon was more than an adventure. It was an act of faith, surviving the dangers of the open plains of America and then traversing the Rocky Mountains into the Salt Lake Valley. Anxiously waiting for the arrival of the press that would print the first edition of the Deseret News were the pioneer settlers, most of whom were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The first edition of 220 copies was printed on June 15, 1850, marking the first day of the recently celebrated 175-year history of the Deseret News. Strongly influenced by the Church’s ethos of faith, family and individual freedom, Deseret was dedicated to publishing the truth and promoting and protecting the liberty that motivated the settlers to find a new home.
That foundation of traditional values has served the News well. It has grown into one of the premier news outlets west of the Rockies (and the second oldest) and sustained its traditions in concert with innovations and initiatives to overcome numerous challenges as the world, the nation and the news industry changed.
When asked what he attributed the longevity of the Deseret News, publisher Burke Olsen said, “Its founding with pioneer grit. One church missionary went door-to-door in the 1860s asking for rags that could be converted into pulp mixed with paper to produce enough paper to print the Deseret News. That kind of ingenuity and stick-to-itiveness is what’s gotten us through 175 years to today.
“There’s a sense of community in the West. Utah, in particular, is unique in fostering compromise, finding middle ground and bringing disparate groups together. That certainly has had to be our course, running a newspaper for so many years, and finding ways to survive. Our existential threats today are no different than those faced by other publishers. The questions are how we will rise to the occasion and what we will do about it?”
Rising to the occasion
Doug Wilks is the executive editor of the Deseret News, but he doesn’t spend his day developing lofty editorial policy and procedures. As he said, “There are no gentleman farmers at the Deseret News.” He meets with Sarah Jane Weaver, editor, and other key editors every morning to set editorial policies. He and Weaver are deeply involved in fostering the best reporting possible, and much of his time is focused on training. His four decades in the news industry — including positions with the Scripps League Newspaper Group and Gannett in Marin County, California, and 13 years with the Deseret News — prepared him to be the guiding hand to ensure the News is a trusted voice locally, nationally and internationally.
“Our goal is to elevate the national conversation with the truths and virtues that strengthen society. One of our core editorial principles is the importance of humility and acknowledging that there is something greater than ourselves. That gives us a curiosity to find the real story and what motivates people, which is why we don't shy away from issues central to the heart: the family, religious freedom and the right to bring your full self to the public square,” Wilks said.
Weaver has been at the Deseret News for 30 years. Her work and dedication resulted in her being named the first woman editor in 2024. One of her relatives, George Q. Cannon, was an early editor of the News. She says newspapering is part of her legacy and in her blood.
“At the Deseret News, we use the phrase, ‘window in, window out.’ We want to be a ‘window in’ for the nation to see all the good that’s happening in Utah. We also want to serve as a ‘window out’ for everyone in Utah, showcasing the good that’s happening in the nation and the world that matters to them. The principles and the ethics that guided journalism in the early days of my career have stayed the same. We still care about truth and accuracy,” Weaver said.
Outstanding leadership and deeply rooted journalistic ethics and integrity were essential when two young reporters, Emma Pitts and Eva Terry, and a young photojournalist, Tess Crowley, were assigned to cover Charlie Kirk’s appearance at Utah Valley University on September 10th. They, Wilks and Weaver said, were “rising to the occasion” that day.
According to Wilks, he received a call from Suzanne Bates, assistant managing editor, national politics, at 12:23 p.m. She was already on the phone with the reporters and photographer and patched Wilks into their conversation. They discussed what the journalists should do and shared details with Bates. She immediately posted it to the website and pushed it out on their app. It was the first report that the world knew Charlie Kirk had been shot.
“From that moment, we were the trusted voice about the event, but we were very worried about our reporters because you don’t know how they will react to such an experience. We talked with them and the others in the newsroom and provided mental health services. You’re doing your job professionally, but you’re also a human being who needs to process what’s happening,” Wilks said.
Crowley had joined the Deseret News in January 2025 as an intern and was then hired in April as a full-time photojournalist. A University of Michigan graduate, she was a photographer for the student newspaper, the Michigan Daily, for four years. Her previous assignments at the News were similar to those of most photojournalists: events, sports and features, among others.
Pitts and Terry were positioned near the front of the stage, while Crowley was standing in a crowded group of photographers in a designated area to the right. Crowley was photographing the first and only person to join Kirk on stage for a debate. When the guest left the stage, she went to ask him his name for her caption.
“I had just written his name, standing with him in the crowd of photographers, when I heard a noise. It took me a second to recognize it as a gunshot. Everyone immediately ducked, and I was pushed down with the crowd. I was shocked and confused and quickly realized we could be in potential danger. I was worried there would be more gunshots, but I knew it had to be documented. When the people around me stood and started running, I also stood and took pictures of them fleeing,” Crowley said.
Weaver sent veteran reporter Tad Walch, who was near the campus, to the incident. He instantly provided support for the young reporters and photojournalist, gathering context. Young and older staff members were working together, mentoring one another.
“Our reporters showed so much bravery, and what confidence that gives all of us in the profession going forward. We never implied that we wanted any journalist to do anything life-threatening. However, there is a generation of smart journalists who have great courage, understand their role and are willing and want to cover such a tragedy,” Weaver said.
Crowley is very appreciative of the counseling she, Pitts and Terry received, as well as a call from the company’s HR director that day and the multiple phone calls from Wilks throughout the next week praising her work.
“In case I were at another traumatic event, I think I would be better prepared. Everything is so situational. It’s not like every horrible shooting is the same, and you’d react similarly. The experience made me realize that I can still do my job in a dangerous situation,” Crowley said.
Honoring tradition while embracing technology
To the early pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley, the printing press that was hauled across America was cutting-edge technology. It allowed them to share news and information with their neighbors. The people at the Deseret News recognize that today’s advanced technologies are equally important to share news and information locally and across the globe.
Various technologies are essential tools for both the editorial and business staff at the Deseret News. Christian Ross, vice president of product and technology, and his team are responsible for ensuring new technologies are valuable aids, not obstacles to sustaining Deseret’s journalism excellence.
“The Deseret News works to stay abreast of the latest changes in technology. We develop digital products that resonate with a digital audience. When our print product has run its course, we have products that are already strong and mature and ready to continue sharing the News with our audience,” Ross said.
Ross’s team includes software engineers, UX designers and product managers to coordinate all their activities. Their work and the digital products they develop are also informed by input from Deseret’s audience. They conduct user research, interviewing and surveying the News audience to learn from them. They even test and show users prototypes of new products. They gather feedback throughout the development process, from ideation to completion, and make appropriate changes once it's live for people to see and use.
Ross cites the Utah Today newsletter as an example of one digital initiative that was ready to serve the Deseret News audience. It launched in January 2021 when Deseret decided to reduce daily publication to twice a week. Essential to the development of Utah Today was determining what people would miss if they didn’t receive a daily newspaper and how to recreate that experience in a newsletter.
“Anyone who reads Utah Today will be as well informed about what is occurring in the state and the world as they would have been reading a daily print product. That newsletter is one of our strongest and most successful in a large portfolio of newsletters. We receive plenty of positive feedback from Utah Today subscribers who say they are informed about their community after reading the newsletter every day,” Ross said.
Although many publishers are struggling to address the generative AI revolution, Ross and the Deseret News team are taking a proactive approach. Not only are they establishing strong rules about how and when it’s appropriate for its journalists and the business staff to use AI, but they also have a well-developed training program. According to Ross, the program has seven core areas of emphasis. By focusing on the type of work they do, the program helps them find ways to use AI to increase productivity and speed.
From the publisher’s perspective, Olsen is less concerned about how AI will affect the newsroom because of the Deseret News’ AI training and certification program. He is more troubled by the precipitous decline in search traffic because AI answer engines are replacing search engines.
“It’s very clear from everything I’m seeing at the Deseret News and other publishers that search traffic is not coming back to news publishers. I recently attended an International News Media Association invite-only roundtable in California. The chief strategy officer for OpenAI came and spoke to us. We didn’t like everything he said, but we were grateful that he was willing to dialogue with us,” Olsen said.
A future reflected in the past
Although its 175-year tradition and publishing ethics will always be the starting point for all reporting in the Deseret News, leadership is acutely aware that as the world and people change and seek news and information from many sources, so must the Deseret News.
As with many major newspapers, the Deseret News has reduced its print publication from every day to twice a week. Olsen said he knows when it will become financially unfeasible to continue to print, but they’ve prepared for it. The parent company, Deseret Management Corporation, owns numerous media companies, including KSL-TV and KSL Radio, Deseret Book and Deseret Digital Media in Salt Lake City — all of which are effectively spinoffs of the Deseret News.
“KSL.com is the number one news source in the state of Utah, which allows us to do something different with the Deseret brand. Deseret Magazine best embodies that. It’s influential, thoughtful and a different kind of journalism. We're not stepping away from Utah reporting but stepping into a place where we’re creating content and having commentary, opinions and coverage that appeal to a broader audience, not just our historic audience in Utah,” Olsen said.
Weaver also oversees the Deseret News’ video and podcast teams, and they’ve concentrated on expanding those platforms since early 2024. More people have been added to the video team, and Weaver anticipates they will add even more. Deseret Voices is a new podcast set to launch in November 2025. McKay Coppins from The Atlantic and Jane Clayson Johnson, formerly with CBS News, will be the hosts, leading conversations mostly with national figures under the banner of the Deseret News.
“Our videos and podcasts are a vital part of our future. We won’t hesitate to share information in those forms. If we fail to do so, we risk losing an entire younger generation of consumers. We hope that they learn to trust the Deseret brand when they see our videos on social media and YouTube and come to us when they need more in-depth coverage,” Weaver said.
Despite the many challenges of news publishing, Olsen is optimistic because of the mix of veteran and younger journalists on the staff, putting the newsroom in excellent hands. His conversations with the Deseret’s interns are also very positive. When he asks them what the Deseret News should be doing, the unanimous answer is to produce more video content.
“News organizations that will be successful in the long term will adapt and evolve and understand that content must be malleable and translatable into different formats. Instead of saying, ‘I’m a journalist, I write,’ they will say, ‘I’m a journalist, I report.’ That reporting can be distributed in various formats to reach a wider audience. The foreseeable future — the next five to eight years of the advertising business is short-form or vertical video. That’s where the advertisers are going. It’s where AI content is going. So that’s where we will be investing,” Olsen said.
Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010. He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.
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