Lauren Gustus

Lauren Gustus became executive editor of The Salt Lake Tribune in the fall of 2020. The Utah news organization was the first and remains the only major metro to transition to a nonprofit. One of The Tribune’s long-term goals is to prove there is a successful model for sustainable local news.

Gustus previously worked for McClatchy as West Region Editor, overseeing 10 news organizations in Idaho, Washington and California, including the company’s flagship, The Sacramento Bee.

During her time at McClatchy, she helped launch funder-supported reporting labs focused on education, land and water issues and equity that served as models for community engagement and expansion. She also helped defend the organization in a targeted misinformation campaign California Rep. Devin Nunes started against his hometown news organization, The Fresno Bee.

Gustus led The Sacramento Bee’s participation in the Major Metro Table Stakes program, an outgrowth of MTC, in which The Bee focused on accelerating McClatchy’s prioritization of consumer revenue.

She worked with fellow MTC coach Robyn Tomlin, 2019 fellow Mackenzie Warren, Charlie Baum and Doug Smith to design and lead the Gannett/McClatchy Table Stakes program, a cross-company collaboration that helped grow a diverse cohort of coaches in the performance-driven change arena.