The following excerpt was sent out from moabtimes.com:
The Times-Independent, which has published in the Grand County community continuously for 127 years, will transition to nonprofit later this year — with The Salt Lake Tribune, which has been a community-owned nonprofit since 2019.
In a letter to readers, printed in the Moab paper’s Thursday edition, publisher Zane Taylor said the move was “important for the Times-Independent to evolve so it remains essential to all Moabites.”
Lauren Gustus, The Tribune’s executive editor, said The Times-Independent is a good fit for transitioning to nonprofit status because “it’s sustainable, it’s profitable. And, this is equally important: It’s doing good work. It’s doing essential local reporting that the community appreciates.”
As The Times-Independent moves to nonprofit status, the paper’s readership will expand — because every resident in Moab will receive the paper free, once a week, by mail. Also, stories on the Times-Independent’s website will be free, without a subscription.
“By increasing the reach and that circulation, that greatly increases the advertising value of the paper,” Taylor said in an interview ahead of Thursday’s announcement. “It’s just a different business model for the future.”
Under the partnership, The Times-Independent will have access to The Tribune’s reporting from across the state. In return, The Tribune will include, in its print and online editions, stories from the Times-Independent’s reporters, “to lift up and amplify good local journalism from our partners in southeastern Utah,” Gustus said.
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