Newspapers may be in their death throes, but they aren’t dying quietly. (more…) Continue Reading →
Great Falls Tribune
Recent Posts
News fails to report what’s up with news
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You probably haven’t heard much lately about newspaper layoffs. That could lead you to believe that the worst is over. You would be wrong. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion, Billings Gazette, Great Falls Tribune, Missoulian
Ex-Tribune reporter launches news site in Great Falls
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Montana has another online news site started by a former daily newspaper reporter. The Electric, dedicated to covering the city of Great Falls and Malmstrom Air Base, was launched in early May by Jenn Rowell, who was laid off by the Gannet-owned Great Falls Tribune last October. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, Gannett, Great Falls Tribune, Jenn Rowell, The Electric
Remembering a time when passing remarks were free
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The recent death of Billings Outpost columnist Roger Clawson created pause for reflection—not just about Roger—but life, death, obituaries and newspapering in general. The Outpost had a tribute to Roger as well as a formal just-the-facts-ma’am obituary. Outpost editor David Crisp’s account, and the obituary, appeared online via Last Best News even before the Outpost went to press. Later, Ed Kemmick of Last Best News published his own reflections on Roger. Neither charged a cent for the coverage. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Culture, Billings Gazette, Billings Outpost, David Crisp, Great Falls Tribune, Roger Clawson
Papers go dark when news is about them
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If you are still an old-fashioned reader of Montana newspapers published by Lee Enterprises, then you missed last week’s most intriguing story. News that Lee was closing its Capitol bureau this week and letting go two of the state’s most respected journalists, Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison, appeared first on the front page of the Great Falls Tribune. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: From the Outpost, Butte Weekly, Chuck johnson, Great Falls Tribune, Jim Romenesko, John Adams, Lee Enterprises, Mike Dennison
Second time’s no charm: Lee papers shutter State Bureau
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The news is out that news coverage in Montana is taking a huge hit. Lee Newspapers is closing its State Bureau in Helena, the Great Falls Tribune has reported, and KXLH TV in Helena has a story that adds some details. Chuck Johnson, who has been covering Montana politics for more than 40 years, will take a buyout and retire. Mike Dennison, who has done the same kind of reporting for almost 25 years, will be taking a buyout while he looks for a new job. I couldn’t reach Johnson, but Dennison told me Lee offered the two veteran reporters continued employment—if they would accept quite substantial pay cuts. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Last Best Blog, Art Wittich, Chuck johnson, Darrell Erhlick, Gannett, Great Falls Tribune, John Adams, Larry Abramson
Prairie Lights: Good news, bad news & lipstick on a pig
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There’s lots of news about the news in Montana, though some of it is rather old by now. The most surprising news, to me, is that the Montana Standard in Butte has hired David McCumber as its new editor. The Standard, where I landed my first newspaper job 35 years ago, has had a lot of editors in its long history, but for decades most of its editors have come from within Lee Enterprises, the Iowa-based chain that owns the Standard (and the Billings Gazette). (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Prairie Lights, Aaron Flint, David McCumber, Gannett, Great Falls Tribune, John Adams, Lee Enterprises, Mary Junck
Prairie Lights: Refining the Montana bucket list
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Excuse me for being late on this, but I just discovered (on Facebook, the unsleeping recycler of pop culture) that the Great Falls Tribune published a Big Sky bucket list in December. The Tribune presented “100 activities every Montanan should have on a bucket list of things to do in a lifetime.” I found it impossible not to read the article from start to finish, and impossible not to keep a running tally of how many of the activities I had already done. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Prairie Lights, Brockway Dairy Day Rodeo, Crazy Mountain Inn, Great Falls Tribune, Magic City Blues, Missouri Headwaters State Park, Montana Folk Festival, Oxford Saloon
Prey animals know which species to fear
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I have this sneaking suspicion that a lot of wolf-haters deliberately say outrageous things solely in hopes of provoking reasonable people to anger, and therefore should be ignored. That’s what the rational part of me says. But I find it hard to be rational when my blood’s boiling, as it was last week when I read about the Missoula “man,” as he was described in news stories, who bragged on Facebook about deliberately hitting two wolves with his van. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Prairie Lights, David Quammen, Great Falls Tribune, Hitler, ISIS, Paul Colinvaux, Saddam Hussein, Toby Bridges
Good column, great advice
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Kristen Cates, the education reporter for the Great Falls Tribune, has written a brave, funny column on a sensitive subject. Here’s the best part, a perfectly succint, very useful piece of advice:
I’ve come up with this tip on when it’s OK to ask a woman if she’s pregnant:
• Never (unless you are in the labor and delivery room while she’s having that baby). I would even make sure you see the little head beginning to emerge before you ask. I am a dummy in countless ways, but my wife taught me well on this subject. Continue Reading →
