Fewer screens. More people.
Hi, I'm Cale. I was born at the University of Utah Hospital, grew up here, and graduated from Alta High. Salt Lake County is home. I started Salt Lake Monthly because I think the best thing about this place is the people in it, and we're spending less and less time with each other.
Why I started this
We spend too much time alone on screens. Even when we feel connected, we're usually by ourselves, scrolling. Like a lot of people, I work in front of a screen all day, and I know how much I need time away from one.
At the same time, a lot of good things happen here that nobody hears about. A while back I ended up at a free mariachi concert downtown. It was a blast, and I kept thinking how many more people would have come if they'd known about it. It was nearly impossible to find.
So I put those two things together. The paper gives people a reason to put the phone down, and it shows them where to go once they do.
What it is
Salt Lake Monthly is a printed newspaper that arrives in your mailbox at the start of each month. Each issue lists free in-person events and volunteer opportunities across Salt Lake County, plus a few bigger things worth the drive. Each listing is a chance to get out and meet people. Showing up matters too: every person at a free concert or a cleanup day helps keep those things going.
Why paper
I could have built an app. But an app keeps you on your phone, and once you're on your phone, there's a good chance you end up doom scrolling. I'd be one more thing competing for your attention. A paper you read over breakfast or on the couch has no feed. When you finish it, you put it down and go do something.
It's always printed on recycled paper.
Why no ads
There isn't a single ad in here. Everywhere else, someone is trying to sell you something: your phone, your TV, every billboard on I-15. Most of what's out there treats you as the product.
Readers pay for this paper, so you're the only person I'm building it for. If I took advertiser money, it would slowly turn into an advertisement. The point is to build community, not to sell access to it.
Why it matters to me
Salt Lake has changed a lot in my lifetime, and a lot of new people are moving here. I think keeping this place special comes down to knowing each other. Most of us are here for the mountains, and we can't keep the Wasatch wild, or each other healthy and happy, unless we show up for one another.
We're social creatures. We need to look people in the eye, share a meal, and have real conversations. Scrolling never gives us that. And when you meet people outside your usual circle, it's easier to remember that everyone out there is human, even when they're different from you. We're all in this together.
One newspaper won't fix loneliness. But I want to be part of the movement toward fuller lives off our screens, and this is my piece of it.
Get involved
This paper is for you, and I'd love for part of it to be written by you. Send in:
- Events you love going to
- Photos of you out doing things
- Writing about what helps you get off screens and connect with people (no expertise required)
The best submissions run in the From You section. Email saltlakemonthlypaper@gmail.com, or scan the QR code in any issue.
See you out there.
— Cale