John W. Gallivan (June 28, 1915 – October 2, 2012) was an American newspaper publisher, cable television pioneer, and civic leader.

His many contributions to the economic and cultural life of the city were recognized by the community in the naming of the John W. Gallivan Plaza near the center of downtown.

Gallivan spent part of his early life in the Kearns home on South Temple Street in Salt Lake - now the Utah State Governor's Residence.

"[3][4] Jack Gallivan began working for the Kearns Tribune Corporation in Salt Lake City in 1937 and would continue at the paper for the next 60 years.

In 1955, while serving as promotion and special projects director for the Kearns-Tribune Corporation, Gallivan procured a franchise license to build a cable TV system for Elko, Nevada, the first in the Western United States.

Following the death of John F. Fitzpatrick on September 11, 1960, Gallivan became the Tribune's publisher, a position he would hold until his retirement from that office in 1984.

[12] Although initially proposed as little more than a publicity stunt for the struggling resorts, the effort slowly gathered momentum and after thirty years of rejection Salt Lake City was finally awarded the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

He was named "lifetime honorary director" of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce in 1975 and in 1981 that same organization honored Gallivan with the title: "Giant in Our City.

"[2] In 1988 Gallivan was named by Pope John Paul II as a Papal Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great.

[2] In 1998 his alma mater University of Notre Dame named The John W. Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics & Democracy in his honor.

[18] He spearheaded campaigns to build the Sunrise Metro Apartments, Grace Mary Manor, and Palmer Court, providing nearly 400 supportive housing units for the chronically homeless in Salt Lake.