He's a proud man, and rightly so. He's been his own boss for over 40 years. In that time, he founded a publication that's considered the alternative voice for Salt Lake City. He sought out writers, graphic designers, sales professionals and a delivery team that distributed newspapers to 1,800 racks and businesses throughout northern Utah every week.
In so doing, he created jobs for dozens upon dozens of dedicated and talented souls, including his own family.
In case you haven't guessed, the man I'm talking about is my boss—John Saltas, founder of City Weekly.
Saltas has always been proud of City Weekly's independence. And rightly so. The paper is beholden to no one. Our publication is still free of charge for those who pick it up, with printing and delivery costs borne by advertisers. We have no paywall on our website, despite many of us urging our boss to employ a subscription model. City Weekly is basically Saltas' gift to the community (courtesy of our advertisers), making coverage of local news, arts, dining and music available to one and all. Oh, and a crossword puzzle and astrology column are also yours for the asking.
I was lucky enough to come to work for the paper in 2003, when City Weekly's fortunes were on the rise. Our weekly editions were usually between 68 and 72 pages in those days (a reflection of the ads booked). We employed two to three full-time newswriters who each produced a weekly news story or column, plus a monthly 4,000-word cover story (twice the length of the typical cover stories you read today). We had an A&E editor, a music editor and an editorial assistant (which was me back then), plus a full quiver of freelancers.
I eventually attained the job of managing editor (a new position), and we added a web editor, listings editor plus a robust internship program with two or three interns per semester. I made editor during the years 2009 to 2013 and later served as relief pitcher when future editors would come and go. Now I'm a part-time contributing editor.
In the late teens, Saltas seized upon the idea to publish two monthly magazines: Devour Utah, a foodie publication and Vamoose Utah, an outdoor and travel publication. These eye-popping publications were printed and distributed free of charge up through the early days of COVID.
COVID was indeed a turning point. Like all print media, we'd already started to scale back. And by then, John Saltas bequeathed the publisher duties to his son, Pete, who has ably taken the reins and moved us all forward.
There may be fewer of us but the edit staff we have is still the best: The politically savvy Benjamin Wood is our news editor; Scott Renshaw, the longest-tenured member of the edit staff, remains A&E editor. We also love having Emilee Atkinson as music editor and Wes Long as listings editor. Of course, where would we be without our dining reviewer, Alex Springer, and our resident beer nerd, Mike Riedel? Katharine Biele brings the snark with her Hits and Misses column while Babs De Lay scribes a weekly column on housing and city developments. And, of course, Saltas continues to prod and provoke via his Private Eye column. Online, we groove to the columns of Chris Smart and Michael Robinson.
Our newsroom is sadly rather quiet these days, as most of us work remotely. We depend on our beloved freelance writers to fill many editorial columns. Many jobs have been combined, with some folks wearing multiple hats. City Weekly's internship program remains on hiatus.
Yes, it hurts my heart, not just to see the shrinkage of our once grand newsroom but for the general decline of print news in our fair city. Between all the layoffs at local print outlets, and with many newer hires brought in via grant funding that only allows them to cover certain niche topics, it is little wonder that print news is not getting the job done like it used to do.
Now, to be relatively informed, one must go on a veritable Easter egg hunt of local websites, blogs, podcasts plus scanning the news hours of TV and radio. And even with all that, most of what we glean seems a mile wide and an inch deep.
Many publications have made valiant efforts to survive. Some achieved it with massive reductions in staff. Others, like the two local, formerly daily, papers, have drastically reduced their print frequency. The Salt Lake Tribune became a nonprofit and now must dedicate considerable financial resources to fundraising while working with a "many masters" board of directors that, like it or not, makes independence even more difficult.
Saltas did see fit to establish a nonprofit arm of City Weekly. Called the Galena Fund (a nod to his roots in the Bingham copper mines), he still doesn't have fundraising staff in place to fill the coffers as they should be filled. So, lucky you: You don't have to put up with those annoying commercial breaks like you see on public broadcasting stations. You know the ones—where enthusiastic volunteers rave about the benefits of public broadcasting, noting that people are "standing by for your call," while promising you T-shirts and mugs for your pledge. Such antics somehow make it rain.
It's just not Mr. Saltas' style. He's too proud to ask.
But I'm not. City Weekly has a vital role in this community, and it needs your help. If City Weekly is not at the top of your "donate-to" list, please make it so.
We're not offering mugs or T-shirts, but a hell of weekly paper will be your reward. It's simple to give: Just visit our website at cityweekly.net and click on the "donate" button at the very top of our home page. Or snail mail a check (P.O. Box 2755, Salt Lake City, UT 84110). Show us the money and feel the good vibes.
Private Eye is off this week. Reply to comments@cityweekly.net