Iowa-based Lee Enterprises has eliminated at least 13 newsroom positions across its Montana papers during the past week.
The affected papers include:
- The Billings Gazette
- The Missoulian
- The Helena Independent-Record
- The Montana Standard
- The Ravalli Republic
“Lee Enterprises declined to answer questions, provide details or confirm current Lee Montana newsroom headcounts,” reported KTVQ.
The Montana News Guild tweeted:
“We’re devastated by today’s news that six of our members were laid off. We were cautiously optimistic that @LeeEntNews was starting to realize the importance of investing in local journalism, but today proves Lee only cares about short term profit margins.
“This infuriating decision will not deter us from our mission. We’re more motivated than ever to improve working conditions for our members and unionized journalists everywhere.”
Read more here.
