Utah Political Watch exists to hold every politician, bureaucrat, and power broker in Utah accountable—no exceptions, no sacred cows, no pulled punches.
We answer to readers, not advertisers. We answer to the truth, not access. We don't bow, we don't flinch, and we sure as hell don't ask permission.
We Don't Play Nice
Utah Political Watch is independent political journalism with teeth. No corporate owners telling us to soften the blow. No billionaire overlords with political agendas. No special interests greasing the wheels. Just reporting that makes powerful people uncomfortable—which is exactly how it should be.
Publisher and Managing Editor Bryan Schott has covered Utah politics for over 25 years. He's seen enough backroom deals, enough spin, and enough outright bullshit to know that Utah needs a news outlet that can't be bought, can't be intimidated, and won't shut up when things get messy.
Without Fear or Favor
Here's what you need to know about how we operate:
We don't pick sides. We pick facts. Republican or Democrat, urban or rural, business or labor—if you're doing something shady, we're reporting it. Party affiliation isn't a shield here. Neither is being "on the right side." We're not your cheerleaders or your attack dogs. We're journalists.
We're not here to make friends. The powerful don't like accountability journalism because accountability journalism costs them something: their reputations, their ambitions, sometimes their careers. Good. If an elected official is more worried about our coverage than their constituents' trust, they're probably doing something worth investigating.
No bootlickers. You know what's pathetic? Journalists who are more concerned with maintaining relationships than breaking stories. Reporters who soften coverage because they don't want to burn bridges. News outlets that kill stories to protect advertisers or political allies. That's not journalism—that's PR with a byline.
We don't do that here.
The Business Model Is the Firewall
Utah Political Watch runs on reader subscriptions and donations. Period. That's not just a funding model—it's a firewall between us and anyone who might want to influence our coverage.
No corporate advertisers threatening to pull their money if we report the wrong story.
No hedge fund owners demanding we cut staff and churn out garbage.
No billionaire saviors buying us up and turning us into their personal propaganda outlet.
Just readers who want the truth.
Right now, fewer than 1% of our readers are paid subscribers. They're subsidizing everyone else. They're the ones making it possible for us to spend hours chasing leads, filing records requests, and writing stories that piss off the wrong people—which is to say, the right people.
Why This Matters Right Now
Let's be blunt: journalism is in crisis, and it's not just a business problem—it's a democracy problem.
Corporate media outlets are gutting newsrooms and killing investigative reporting. Billionaires are buying newspapers and magazines to control the narrative. Editorial boards are being muzzled by ownership. TV news is more concerned with access and ratings than truth-telling. Social media has turned everyone into their own propaganda minister.
And in the middle of all this, the people who actually wield power—the elected officials, the lobbyists, the special interests—are loving it. Less scrutiny means more opportunity to get away with things.
We're not playing that game.
Utah Political Watch will keep reporting without fear or favor as long as we possibly can. We will not bow to pressure. We will not soften our coverage to make anyone comfortable. We will not become another casualty of a media landscape that's more interested in profit margins and access than accountability.
