Lee Enterprises

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Gazette acknowledges bureau closure, more or less

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In David Crisp’s column this morning, he said he was unable to find any references in any of Montana’s Lee newspapers to the Great Falls Tribune story about the closing of Lee’s Capitol bureau. In David’s defense, he did say he couldn’t find any such reference “as of this writing,” which was Tuesday night. In fact, as I have just belatedly discovered, there are references to the bureau shutdown in the Billings Gazette today. Oddly enough, however, all of them are on the opinion page—guest editorials from Jim Elliott and James Nelson and a letter to the editor from Don and Mary Ann Dunwell. As far as I know, the Lee papers have yet to run a news story on the decision to close the bureau and send their two excellent reporters, Chuck Johnson and Mike Dennison, packing. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Billings Gazette, Chuck johnson, Lee Enterprises, Mike Dennison

Papers go dark when news is about them

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Crisp

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

Prairie Lights: A long-overdue adios to North Dakota

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Sky

Five hundred trips later, I may have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. The number could be an exaggeration. Maybe I’ve only driven between Montana and the Twin Cites 70, 80 or 90 times. However many it’s been, we will be making the drive a lot less often. Our daughter and her husband and their daughter will be moving to California this summer. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Prairie Lights, Lee Enterprises, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Twin Cities

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

From the Outpost: Looking for the ever-elusive truth

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Crisp

Truth can be slippery, as last week’s news showed. Sometimes, the truth comes without relevant facts. In his Sunday column, Billings Gazette editor Darrell Ehrlick noted the decline of press coverage of the federal government in Washington, D.C. It’s a common, and worthy, complaint. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: From the Outpost, Billings Gazette, Darrell Ehrlick, Lee Enterprises, Media Trackers, Miles Avenue Elementary School, Steve Daines

Prairie Lights: Good news, bad news & lipstick on a pig

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Newsroom

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

A few thorns amid Lee’s rosy outlook

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The Motley Fool is reporting today that Lee Enterprises, publisher of the Billings Gazette, as a member of the “specialist media,” “will be better positioned than their generalist peers to survive and even thrive in the new media landscape.” This could be good news for investors, the Motley Fool’s audience, but it remains to be seen whether readers of Lee Enterprise-owned newspapers and the people who work for them will see any benefits if Lee does outperform its “generalist peers.” So, how does Lee Enterprises qualify as a “specialist” media company anyway? Quoth the Fool: “Lee Enterprises is a publisher specializing in community newspapers that are focused on mid-sized to small markets. Community newspapers belong to a specialized category with unique characteristics.” Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Billings Gazette, Lee Enterprises, Motley Fool

Carpenter quits St. Louis newspaper over Lee bigwig’s bonus

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This is too good to pass up: Jim Romonesko, the media blogger who rightly gave the Billings Gazette grief for getting all squeamish about posting the affidvait in the Jason Priest assault case, is now relaying more news about Lee Enterprises bonuses. It seems that the head carpenter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, like the Gazette a Lee-owned newspaper, recently quit in disgust because of the $700,000 bonus award to CEO Mary Junck. First of all, what? A head carpenter? Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Bill McClellan, Billings Gazette, Jim Romonesko, Lee Enterprises, Mary Junck, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Another day, another dollar for Lee’s top exec

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When I saw the news yesterday that Mary Junck, CEO of the newspaper chain that owns the Billings Gazette, had received another substantial bonus, I didn’t think I’d write anything. I mean, this is the news business, right? Mary Junck getting a substantial bonus for questionable work stopped being news a couple of years ago. I was also hesitant to say anything because I don’t want the scent of sour grapes hanging over Last Best News. As I have said before, I have few regrets about my nearly 25 years with the Gazette. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Billings Gazette, Dylan Smith, Lee Enterprises, Mary Junck, Pultizer, TucsonSentinel.com

Goodbye to another Gazette reporter

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Another Gazette colleague has joined the exodus. Jan Falstad’s last day was Friday and her final Have You Heard column — the last of some 840 columns — ran this morning on the Business page. Jan was a hell of a business reporter. She understood the nuts and bolts of finance and the stock market, but she was alive to the human aspect of every story, too. She made her column, which could have been a dry, narrow-interest feature, into a must-read piece that was one of the more popular parts of the Gazette week after week, year after year. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Billings Gazette, Darrell Ehrlick, Jan Falstad, Lee Enterprises