Editor column: Some changes you will notice in The Tribune

Buddhists have a word for it — impermanence.

It is the notion that life constantly changes, and it perfectly describes today's newsrooms.

Life here at The Salt Lake Tribune is in perpetual flux. As news gatherers and presenters, we are part of the Corps of Discovery navigating the digital frontiers of information. It can be daunting, and exhilarating.

Our jobs change constantly as new tools are developed to report and present the news, and as you, our audience, move more and more to digital news platforms. We are committed to delivering the news in whatever format you choose — laptop, handheld and good old paper.

At the same time, we must be nimble and react to the changing flow — there are costs to contain, efficiencies to be realized and, most important, quality watchdog journalism to be maintained and improved upon.

Many changes we make, readers never notice. This week, however, there are some you will.

Peg McEntee, our wise wordsmith, will no longer write her thrice-weekly column. She's returning to a place where we need her — reporting. Her decades of news experience, her abilities to be both tough and fair, will serve our readers well as she joins our team of politics and government reporters.

Robert Kirby, our wise curmudgeon and sometimes wiseacre, will continue his column, but with some changes. On Tuesday and Sunday, he will run on the Utah cover. His Saturday Faith column stays put. Columnist Ann Cannon, who helped start our Saturdays, will do the same, but on Wednesdays in the Mix section.

Close-Up, our Thursday sections devoted to community news, prep sports and schools, no longer will be published. We will work to include that neighborhood coverage in our Utah and Sports sections, and prep sports will see a greater emphasis online.

While we take away Close-Up, we are adding content in another section. Beginning July 11, our Thursday Sports pages will expand to add a focus on participatory sports such as running, hiking, cycling, skiing, hunting and fishing. We know that, for many, life in Utah is about what you do before and after work, and on the weekends. Some of the features from Close-Up — Hook Shot, Hike of the Week, Outtakes — will migrate to the section.

Tom Wharton, a Close-Up and Tribune fixture, will continue to travel Utah's byways to find the colorful people and places that speak to the unique character of our state. Look for his stories in all sections of the paper and, of course, online.

Other fixtures, such as the Utah's Right statistical snapshot and Where Is It? (the interactive photo quiz), will find homes in our news pages.

Whenever we make changes, we know the potential for disrupting reading habits. We don't do it lightly. Reader Frank Millsaps' letter to The Public Forum on Friday bemoaned the shrinking newspaper. We share his feelings. At the same time, we must acknowledge the evolving nature of our business, and we work hard to make the very most of our resources — including newsprint.

These changes and others that inevitably will follow are done with an eye to keeping our print and digital news reports strong, and endeavoring to make them stronger. We are serving a changing audience, and it is incumbent upon us to change along with it.

Of course, you are the judge on whether we succeed. Give these changes a few weeks to settle in, and then let us know what you think.

Terry Orme is a managing editor. Contact him at orme@sltrib.com.