News, KSL unveil newsroom

OREM — In an unprecedented move, the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV and radio unveiled the first commercially integrated newsroom in Utah County Thursday night.

Though the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV and KSL News Radio 1160 have individually had a presence in Utah County for some time, the new office marks the first time for a newsroom in Utah to house all three media outlets.

"We've thought for a long, long time that it would be extremely nice to have a television station (presence) in Utah County," said Steve Densley, president of the Provo Orem Chamber of Commerce. "We worked for several years to try and at least acknowledge the fact that we're the second largest county in the state, and it grows larger every year."

The significant growth of the county has brought attention, and an increase in the number of media outlets, to the area. The Utah County Bureau of the Deseret Morning News was established 21 years ago, in an effort to more thoroughly cover the community.

Since then, the bureau has moved three times, most recently into the Bank of American Fork building located on University Parkway in Orem. The paper also recently launched a new weekly section, called Utah Valley Life, which focuses on local entertainment and prep and college sports news. The section, which began in August, runs each Thursday.

"Since (The Deseret Morning News) went to a morning publication and launched the daily Utah Valley edition, we've seen increased circulation," said Tad Walch, Utah County bureau chief. "Now that we have this location, we hope the increased visibility brings even more attention to what we think is the best local news coverage in Utah Valley, wrapped inside the Deseret Morning News."

Employees involved with the Utah Valley edition live in Utah County, many having worked in the area for more than 12 years. Though the Utah County edition competes directly with another local newspaper, the Daily Herald in Provo, representatives from both papers say variety can only be a positive thing.

"We feel very pleased with our coverage here," said Deseret Morning News editor John Hughes. "I think the readers in the area are well served by having two papers that go head to head to cover the news. We're not seeking to put anybody out of business, but there's lots of room for growth from both papers."

Other members of the community agreed with the benefits of having more than one news source available, including Daily Herald editor Randy Wright.

"Typically, if you look at competition around the country, it's very difficult for a metropolitan newspaper to make a lot of headway against an established local newspaper," Wright said. "But it's good for the people in the area to have different voices."

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E-mail: achoate@desnews.com