Utah's award-winning, alternative newspaper,
Salt Lake City Weekly
is proud to announce the recent promotion of Rachel Piper as its new Editor.
At just 27 years of age, Piper is also the youngest Editor in the newspaper's 30-year history.
In April 2014, Piper
was named as one of Editor & Publisher's "25 Under 35", nationally
recognized as on of the "people who are young, bright, and capable of tackling whatever
the changing newspaper climate throws at them."
Says Piper, "When I worked at my college paper, I was always marveling at how much
freedom we had as student journalists to reinvent the paper each day. I figured I'd never
have that opportunity again, but then I began working at City Weekly and discovered
alternative journalism, which is all about fearlessness and experimentation. And there's
nothing better than long-form journalism, which allows us to tell stories in new and
fascinating ways that really connect with readers.
"I think it's fair to say City Weekly is not only important, but increasingly important. The
challenges facing the local dailies mean that they're not going to be able to cover some
things the way they once did. We're cognizant of that, and I think that, more than ever,
we're better positioned to report the stories that have real value to Salt Lake City and to Utah.
City Weekly hired Piper in 2010, shortly before she graduated from the University of
Utah and while she was still editor-in-chief of the school's nationally lauded Daily Utah
Chronicle. She began as part-time as a copy editor, but quickly progress to assistant
editor, managing editor and now editor.
"It was clear very early that Rachel has serious talent coupled with the right chops and
sensibilities to be a great editor," says John Saltas, City Weekly's Founder and Publisher,
"but none of us knew how long it would take her to really grab the reins and take charge.
As it turns out, it was much sooner than we thought.
"We fully expect Rachel to ably continue the independent legacy of other notable City
Weekly editors like Tom Walsh, Christopher Smart and Jerre Wroble. We also fully
expect that she will rise to the challenge of steering City Weekly into the next great era
of independent journalism, one that marries traditional print with the digital world while
remaining a vital voice in the Salt Lake City community."
