Montana Newspaper Landscape: Montana features a robust newspaper industry serving communities across the state's vast geography. The Billings Gazette holds the distinction of being geographically one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the nation. Montana has 19 free circulation and 73 paid circulation newspapers, with extensive historical archives maintained by the Montana Historical Society.
Major Daily Newspapers
Montana's daily newspapers serve cities and regions across the state with comprehensive local news coverage, state government reporting, and regional journalism.
Billings & Southeast Montana
Billings Gazette - Billings Founded: 1885 | Circulation: 39,405 daily / 44,000 Sunday Montana's largest newspaper by circulation. Covers southeast Montana and northern Wyoming. Geographically one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the nation. Owned by Lee Enterprises. Website: billingsgazette.com
Missoula & Western Montana
Missoulian - Missoula Founded: 1873 | Circulation: 30,466 daily / 34,855 Sunday Montana's oldest continuously operating newspaper and largest published newspaper in western Montana. Print edition reduced to three days per week with active e-editions. Owned by Lee Enterprises. Website: missoulian.com
Great Falls & North-Central Montana
Great Falls Tribune - Great Falls Founded: 1885 | Part of USA Today Network Daily morning newspaper covering Great Falls and Cascade County. One of Montana's largest newspaper companies. Covers north-central Montana news and public affairs. Website: greatfallstribune.com
Helena & State Capital Region
Independent Record - Helena Founded: 1867 | Circulation: Covers Lewis & Clark, Jefferson, and Broadwater counties Daily newspaper serving Montana's capital city. Coverage includes state government, courts, and community affairs. Print edition three times weekly with digital continuity. Website averages 2.1 million monthly page views. Website: helenair.com
Butte & Central-Western Montana
The Montana Standard - Butte Founded: 1881 | Circulation: 13,780 daily / 14,044 Sunday Daily central-western Montana broadsheet focused on local news, mining, environment, and courts. Print edition three days weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) as of July 2023. Owned by Lee Enterprises. Website: mtstandard.com
Other Major Daily Newspapers
Daily Inter Lake - Kalispell Circulation: 15,600 Daily newspaper focused on Kalispell and the Flathead Valley. Covers regional news, outdoor recreation, and Columbia Falls area including Glacier National Park. Website: dailyinterlake.com
Bozeman Daily Chronicle - Bozeman Founded: 1883 Daily newspaper covering Gallatin Valley. Morning print editions six days weekly with full digital site. Known for local features, "Police Reports" section, and Montana State University coverage. Website: bozemandailychronicle.com
Ravalli Republic - Hamilton Founded: 1889 | Circulation: 5,000 Daily newspaper serving Ravalli County. Mixes local reporting, outdoor news, and community events in print and digital formats. Website: ravallirepublic.com
Havre Daily News - Havre Daily news source serving Havre and surrounding areas in north-central Montana.
Weekly & Community Newspapers
Montana has over 80 weekly and community newspapers providing essential local coverage to towns and rural areas across the state's 56 counties.
Western Montana Weeklies
Livingston Enterprise - Livingston Park County's main weekly newspaper with afternoon print format. Covers community stories, events, and civic coverage with online access.
Seeley Swan Pathfinder - Seeley Lake Community weekly serving Seeley Lake and Swan Valley areas.
Western News - Libby Weekly newspaper covering Lincoln County and northwest Montana communities.
Whitefish Pilot - Whitefish Community weekly serving Whitefish and northern Flathead County.
Tobacco Valley News - Eureka Weekly newspaper covering Eureka and Lincoln County communities.
Philipsburg Mail - Philipsburg Community weekly serving Philipsburg and Granite County.
Central & Eastern Montana Weeklies
Lewistown News-Argus - Lewistown Weekly newspaper serving Fergus County and central Montana.
Miles City Star - Miles City Weekly newspaper covering Miles City and eastern Montana.
Sidney Herald-Leader - Sidney Weekly newspaper serving Sidney and Richland County in eastern Montana.
Lake County Leader - Polson Weekly newspaper covering Polson and Lake County.
Laurel Outlook - Laurel Community weekly serving Laurel and Yellowstone County.
Yellowstone Region Weeklies
West Yellowstone News - West Yellowstone Community weekly serving West Yellowstone gateway community.
Yellowstone Net Newspaper - Belgrade Weekly publication covering Belgrade and Gallatin Valley communities.
Yellowstone County News - Huntley Weekly newspaper serving Huntley and Yellowstone County communities.
College & University Newspapers
Montana's colleges and universities maintain student newspapers that provide training in journalism and serve campus communities.
Montana Kaimin - University of Montana, Missoula Founded: 1898 | "UM's Independent Campus Newspaper Since 1898" University of Montana's official student newspaper. Published monthly from 1898-1909, became weekly in December 1909, and near-daily in January 1939. Returned to weekly format in April 2015. Website: montanakaimin.com
MSU Exponent - Montana State University, Bozeman Founded: 1895 | "Montana State University's Student Newspaper since 1895" Provides MSU's community with relevant news, sports, culture, and opinion coverage. Website: msuexponent.com
The Retort - Montana State University Billings Founded: 1960 (originally "EMCOE") MSUB student news outlet. Shifted from physical newspaper to online publications. Now delivers news through Hive Podcast and social media. Website: msubillings.edu/retort
The Amplifier - Montana Tech, Butte Montana School of Mines student newspaper covering campus news and events.
Alternative & Digital-Only Publications
Digital News Organizations
Montana Free Press - Helena Founded: 2016 by journalist John S. Adams Independent, nonprofit digital news site covering statewide news, politics, and policy. Focuses on investigative journalism, government accountability, natural resources, energy, social justice, healthcare, and environment. Featured in 2018 Sundance documentary "Dark Money." Website: montanafreepress.org
The Pulp - Missoula Independent, nonprofit news organization covering people, politics, arts, and culture in Missoula and western Montana. Founded by former Missoula Independent staff as spiritual successor. Website: thepulp.org
Daily Montanan Digital news publication covering Montana statewide news and politics. Website: dailymontanan.com
Former Alternative Weekly
Missoula Independent - Missoula (Ceased Publication 2018) Founded: 1991 | Closed: September 11, 2018 Montana's largest weekly newspaper with circulation of 20,000 distributed at 500 locations throughout Missoula, Ravalli, and Lake counties. Known for investigative journalism, political analysis, music and culture coverage. Acquired by Lee Enterprises in 2017 and shut down without notice in 2018. Former staff launched The Pulp as nonprofit successor.
Historical Newspaper Resources
Montana has extensive historical newspaper archives available for research, genealogy, and public access.
Montana Historical Society - Digitized Newspapers
The Montana Historical Society provides free access to nearly 2.5 million pages from over 150 Montana newspapers spanning 1864-2018. The collection is keyword-searchable and freely available to the public.
2.5 million pages digitized and searchable
Over 150 Montana newspapers archived
Coverage from 1864-2018
Additional 450,000+ pages from 100+ newspapers (1864-1963) via Chronicling America
Downloadable XLSX index filterable by city and county
Lee Enterprises owns five major daily newspapers in Montana that frequently exchange content and share resources:
Billings Gazette (Billings)
Missoulian (Missoula)
Helena Independent Record (Helena)
The Montana Standard (Butte)
Ravalli Republic (Hamilton)
Lee Enterprises acquired these newspapers from the Anaconda Copper Mining Company in 1959, ending decades of copper company control over Montana's newspaper editorial policies.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Billings Gazette is Montana's largest newspaper by circulation with 39,405 daily and 44,000 Sunday circulation as of 2013. Founded in 1885, it has held the distinction of highest circulation among Montana daily newspapers since 1934. The Gazette covers southeast Montana and northern Wyoming and is geographically one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the nation. The newspaper is owned by Lee Enterprises and frequently exchanges content with four sister papers across Montana.
Montana has 92 newspapers in circulation, including 19 free circulation newspapers and 73 paid circulation newspapers. This includes approximately 10 daily newspapers and over 80 weekly and community publications. Montana newspapers serve communities across all 56 counties in the state, from major metropolitan areas like Billings and Missoula to small rural towns and county seats.
The Missoulian represents the oldest continuously operating newspaper in Montana, publishing its first issue in 1873. The newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises since 1959 and serves as the largest published newspaper in western Montana. The Helena Independent Record also dates back to 1867 when it was founded as the Weekly Independent in Deer Lodge before moving to Helena in 1874. Both newspapers have served Montana communities for over 150 years.
Several major Montana newspapers have reduced print schedules in recent years. The Montana Standard reduced its print edition to three days per week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) starting July 11, 2023. The Missoulian reduced its print edition to three days per week while maintaining active e-editions. The Helena Independent Record now prints three times weekly with digital continuity. These changes reflect nationwide trends in the newspaper industry as publications adapt to digital consumption patterns while maintaining comprehensive online presence.
The Missoula Independent, Montana's largest weekly newspaper, was shut down by Lee Enterprises on September 11, 2018, without notice. Founded in 1991, the Independent had a circulation of 20,000 and was distributed from 500 locations across Missoula, Ravalli, and Lake counties. Lee Enterprises acquired the newspaper in 2017, and staff unionized shortly after. On the morning of September 11, 2018, staff received emails informing them the newspaper was closed effective immediately and were locked out of the building. Former staff members later founded The Pulp, an independent nonprofit news organization, as a spiritual successor to continue covering Missoula and western Montana.
The Montana Historical Society provides free access to nearly 2.5 million pages from over 150 Montana newspapers spanning 1864-2018 through their digitized newspapers collection. The collection is keyword-searchable and freely available online. Additionally, over 450,000 pages from more than 100 Montana newspapers dated 1864-1963 are available through Chronicling America from the Library of Congress. The Montana Historical Society also maintains a downloadable XLSX index that allows users to filter newspapers by city and county. University libraries and the Montana Historical Society also maintain extensive microfilm collections for in-person research.
Montana Free Press is an independent, nonprofit digital news organization founded in 2016 by veteran journalist John S. Adams, who previously served as capital bureau chief for The Great Falls Tribune. Unlike traditional newspapers, MTFP operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with offices in Helena focusing exclusively on investigative journalism, government accountability, and in-depth policy coverage. The organization covers statewide news with emphasis on government, politics, natural resources, energy, social justice, healthcare, and environment. Adams was featured in the 2018 Sundance documentary "Dark Money," which uncovered corporate influence on Montana elections. MTFP produces text stories, data analysis and visualization, and podcasts, all available free to the public.
The Anaconda Copper Mining Company dominated Montana newspaper editorial policy for decades, controlling the Helena Independent and eight other Montana dailies well into the 20th century. The company used its newspaper holdings to influence Montana politics and public opinion on mining and business issues. This era ended in 1959 when the Anaconda Company sold its newspapers, including the Gazette, to Lee Enterprises. The Great Falls Tribune, founded in 1895 by William Bole and Oliver S. Warden, established itself as one of the few voices independent of Anaconda Copper Mining Company control during this period.
Montana's major universities maintain student newspapers that provide journalism training and campus coverage. The Montana Kaimin at the University of Montana in Missoula is the state's oldest college newspaper, founded in 1898 and publishing continuously for over 125 years. The MSU Exponent at Montana State University in Bozeman has served the campus since 1895. Montana State University Billings publishes The Retort, founded in 1960, which has transitioned from print to digital delivery through podcasts and social media. Montana Tech in Butte publishes The Amplifier, serving the Montana School of Mines community. These student newspapers provide hands-on journalism training and cover campus news, sports, culture, and student issues.
Rural Montana communities are primarily served by weekly community newspapers covering local government, schools, agriculture, and community events. All 56 Montana counties have newspaper coverage. The Montana state government maintains a list of official state newspapers at mt.gov/residents/state_newspapers. The Montana Historical Society's newspaper index allows filtering by city and county to find publications serving specific areas. Weekly newspapers like the Livingston Enterprise (Park County), Lake County Leader (Polson), Sidney Herald-Leader (Richland County), and dozens of others provide essential local coverage to rural Montana communities. Most rural newspapers are family-owned operations with deep roots in their communities.