“Rhett is a native of Utah, and understands the value the residents here place on solid community journalism — good, balanced reporting that tells the stories of these communities,” Christman said. “He has done a great job in working to strengthen the position of the Daily Herald in Provo, and we expect him to continue to do the same here in Ogden. We are excited to have him leading our team at the Standard-Examiner.”
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to engage with the people here, get to know the community, learn more about the county, and venture into the beauty of Northern Utah. I am committed to local content that is relevant to both readers and advertisers with a focus on the arts, small business and education,” Long said. “I’m also a firm believer in building relationships with the advertisers because advertisers love great content. The more local we can make the content, the better off we are.”
Under his leadership, the Standard-Examiner’s focus will be on strong community journalism, in telling the stories that matter most in Weber County and the surrounding region. He said the newspaper also will continue to provide in-depth coverage of important issues affecting its readers, noting the newspaper’s recent work to investigate deaths in Northern Utah jails as an example of the role the Standard-Examiner will continue to play. In addition, readers in greater Weber County will benefit from the newspaper’s sister publication, the Daily Herald in Provo, through enhanced regional and statewide coverage.
“The issues that impact readers here also impact our readers in greater Utah County, and we believe through increased content sharing that readers of both publications will be better informed of what’s happening not only locally, but throughout the state,” Long said.“I am confident the synergies of the two papers will improve efficiencies to benefit both our readers and the business owners we serve. We are committed to a strong print product and a strong digital product so we reach all our readers. Our digital continues to grow, and with the Ogden printing unit, we can help others across the state.”
Along with publishing the Daily Herald, Long is a former publisher and president of The Spectrum in St. George and Spectrum Media. During his time at Spectrum Media, Long oversaw not only the Spectrum in St. George, but also the Daily News in Cedar City and the Desert Valley Times in Mesquite, Nevada. Prior to that, Long worked at Gannett on its digital side of operations and helped develop a series of travel, health and community magazines in several markets. He has also previously worked in gaming in northern Nevada.
Long was born in Richfield and said he appreciates being able to serve readers throughout the state. He is married to Suzanne Long, and has five children and four grandchildren.
