Letter: Kelly coverage makes Trib less valuable

In recent weeks I've received a string of emails urging me to contribute money to "Save the Tribune." As a longtime Tribune reader, I had planned on contributing, until the Trib ran a series of front-page articles sensationalizing the LDS Church's excommunication of a woman for organizing a group of followers to oppose church leaders.

When similar opposition movements have occurred in other organizations (such as the state and county Republican parties), they have merited only a single article in the Tribune. When the LDS Church is involved, however, the Trib apparently can't resist sensationalizing the story, even to the point of dredging up old grievances of other disgruntled ex-Mormons.

I really don't want to see the Tribune die; much of its investigative reporting, such as the Shurtleff/Swallow scandals and the rotten joint operating agreement imposed by the Deseret News, has been top notch. This particular case, however, seems like a desperate attempt by a dying newspaper to increase its circulation.

Come on, Trib. You can do so much better. Please show us that the Tribune really is worth saving.

Blair Bateman

Provo