Inside the newsroom: Flake, Trump, right, left and just what it is we are doing at the Deseret News

Former Sen. Jeff Flake talks about what he is doing a year after he stepped down from the Senate and how he plans to remain a voice for conservatism during an interview in Provo on Wednesday, July 31, 2019. | Steve Griffin

Deseret News has a new look to extend our reach

SALT LAKE CITY — Deseret News reporter Matt Brown sat down with former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake to explore the future of the country, the Republican Party and what’s next for him in an article we headlined: “Will the face of the Republican resistance vote for Donald Trump?”

That intriguing story was quoted across the nation last week. It also had some Deseret News readers claiming that the fact that we would pursue the story itself is proof that the Deseret News is a liberal publication, because why else would we talk to Jeff Flake, the man who said he won’t vote for President Donald Trump.

The day before, reporter Kelsey Dallas detailed the effort by some Democratic lawmakers to include language in federal budget bills that could quietly unravel long-standing protections to religious liberty. She wrote:

“Buried in the dry, complicated appropriations bills passed by the House this summer are regulations that would restrict religious organizations’ access to government funds. The proposals aim to expand protections for gay and transgender Americans and eliminate faith-based exemptions to nondiscrimination rules.”

This intriguing story, with all its implications, also caught the attention of political watchers across the country and had some Deseret News readers claiming that the fact that we would pursue the story is itself proof that the Deseret News is a conservative publication trying to tear down the progressive agenda.

A third story, by reporter Erica Evans, explored a topic that is often also cast in political, liberal-versus-conservative terms: our changing climate. Her story, “Can religion save us from a global environmental crisis?” detailed how religious faith informs the efforts of eight separate community leaders from around the globe to save the Earth for future generations. It’s a series we’ve started and named, “Stewards of the Earth.” Our goal is to get beyond political debate in environmental coverage (read climate change) and to bring the power of religion and science together into our news and commentary.

As Erica wrote: “Most major religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism, have doctrine that points to the sanctity of Earth. And yet, humanity’s reckless abuse of our planet’s resources has led to a global environmental crisis.”

Add in compelling Salt Lake City primary election coverage and the news we broke about Vice President Mike Pence planning a trip to Utah this week (among dozens of other local stories) and it’s apparent what the Deseret News is working to accomplish: We are raising the bar to give our readers the most vital, credible and interesting news and information so they can make informed decisions and better navigate their lives.

Through news and commentary we also bring a world view that is based on principles and values, providing a perspective that is often overlooked by lawmakers and others in power.

That effort was enhanced this week with the introduction of a new website design that organizes our stories in a way for you to easily access them on all devices and will help extend our reach throughout Utah and the nation.

As Deseret News head digital officer Burke Olsen explained: “The new site will deliver content to you faster, with a better mobile experience. It will also more easily integrate with new and emerging news platforms, such as Google News, Apple News and more.”

We also want to hear from you about the news we are covering and the choices we are making in that coverage, whether you’re liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between. Our new website includes a higher character limit for posts as well as threaded responses, which means the comments will read more like conversations than simply random individual comments.

Journalists are sometimes accused of being arrogant. Sometimes that is deserved. But it is our goal to be humble in our approach and empathetic to those individuals we are covering. Our reporters and writers are watchdogs over government, watchdogs for the concerns of individuals and families, and we are focused on issues of national importance.

We’ve enhanced our sports coverage of BYU and Utah and high school sports, and hope you’ll forgive us if we root a bit too loudly for the Utah Jazz.

Work in media is difficult in today’s environment. Journalists report from different camps, bringing their own experience (and at times bias) to the job. Readers come at each story from their own point of view, often not wanting to even read information counter to their own world view, which explains some of the reasons the Deseret News can be perceived as both liberal and conservative.

I’ve said many times in this column that I don’t like titles. They are limiting and left to interpretation. We hope we can continue to earn trust as an honest, credible news source providing in-depth coverage of the most important issues and events.

I look forward to hearing from you.

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