Utah News Dispatch is working for journalism’s future. You can help.

How can people living in Utah — whether they come from pioneer stock or have more recently crossed the proverbial plains to settle here — plug into news happening in the state?

That was (roughly) a question posed to Utah News Dispatch senior reporter Katie McKellar and I as we spoke this week with journalism and communications students at the University of Utah about our new but scrappy newsroom and its place in the future of the industry.

Our answer was maybe a little inelegant: just start reading.

We invited those students to first check out our site, utahnewsdispatch.com, maybe follow us on Facebook and Twitter/X (are kids still using those these days?) and sign up for our newsletter to get the latest headlines straight to their inboxes.

But we didn’t tell them to stop there.

The future of journalism, we said, isn’t a single road, it’s a woven tapestry.  

Building up an informed electorate in our state and our nation will require work from all kinds of newsrooms, large and small, nonprofit and legacy, online, on air and in print. The best practice, we said, is to follow a variety of reliable news sources.

Utah News Dispatch is part of journalism’s future. And as we move forward, we’d like your support.

We are a nonprofit news outlet, part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest network of policy-focused newsrooms. Our content comes to you ad free, with no pop-ups or paywalls in sight, and available for other news outlets to republish at no cost.

We explained to those students that to do our work, we rely on contributions from readers, ranging from small one-time gifts to recurring donations to funding from carefully selected foundations. A few times a year, I’ll ask you to consider what you’re able to give.

This month Utah News Dispatch wrapped its inaugural legislative session, though in our individual careers, we’ve logged our fair share of hours on the hill. Together, Katie, along with reporters Alixel Cabrera and Kyle Dunphey, brought you skilled, nonpartisan and policy-focused coverage of the biggest bills, including: 

• An unraveling of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in public universities.
• Restrictions on where transgender individuals can use the bathroom in public buildings. 
• A surging campaign to attract professional sports teams to the state, and build the stadiums to house them.
• Decisions defining Utah’s energy policy when it comes to coal vs. clean energy.
• Budgeting and politicking to find money for homelessness and housing supply initiatives amid lawmakers’ unwavering determination to cut taxes.

And now, with the session over and 584 of the record 591 bills passed becoming law, our sights are set on explaining how policy decisions impact Utahns in their daily lives, pursuing records that tell us more about what is and isn’t working in our state, and keeping voters informed as we approach the general election this November. There are more than two guys running, after all.

Your contribution helps us keep the lights on in our office, travel the state, pursue public records and publish work by skilled freelance journalists. We’re a 501(c)3, which means your donations are tax deductible.

If you can, please donate. 

Thank you for reading,

McKenzie Romero
Utah News Dispatch editor