Salt Lake Tribune elects board of directors

Salt Lake Tribune owner and publisher Paul Huntsman has announced members of a new board to direct The Tribune into its future as a nonprofit. The IRS granted The Tribune’s request for nonprofit status last fall following years of financial losses and staff layoffs amid declining print ad and subscription revenue.

According to reports, the board will consist of six men and three women. These include:

• Board Chairman Paul Huntsman, president of Huntsman Family Investments, LLC, and philanthropist.
• Clint Betts, executive director of Silicon Slopes, a nonprofit representing Utah’s startup and technology sectors.
• Luzmaria (Lucy) Cardenas, award-winning businesswoman, Salt Lake City restaurateur and owner of the Red Iguana.
• Randy Dryer, media lawyer and professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.
• Holly Mullen, a former longtime journalist and columnist at The Tribune who is now spokeswoman for Salt Lake City Public Utilities.
• Ashish Patel, a social media executive and chief insights officer at New York City-based Group Nine Media, a top U.S. mobile publisher.
• James E. “Jay” Shelledy, retired director of Louisiana State University’s Office of Student Media and former editor of The Tribune from 1991 to 2003.
• Angie Welling, director of communications for Google Fiber and former reporter for the Deseret News.
• Spencer Zwick, a chief adviser and financial officer to Sen. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns who is also co-founder and managing partner of Solamere Capital, a Boston- and New York City-based private equity firm.

Huntsman said he chose directors who shared his “passion for independent journalism and a great love for the state of Utah and its future.”

“We’ve got an outstanding board,” Huntsman said. “I couldn’t be happier with their enthusiasm and commitment to help sustain quality local journalism, which in many parts of the country is under threat. There are a lot of eyes on us right now,” he said in an interview. “There’s a lot of despair in the industry. We’ve just got to be successful and we will be.”

The board members are expected to serve two-year terms.