The Billings Gazette is a daily newspaper based in Billings, Montana, that primarily covers issues in southeast Montana and parts of northern Wyoming. Historically it has been known as the largest newspaper in Montana and is geographically one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the nation.

Billings Gazette
The logo of the Billings Gazette
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Lee Enterprises
PublisherDave Worstell
EditorChris Jorgensen
FoundedMay 2, 1885; 139 years ago (1885-05-02) (as Billings Daily Gazette)
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters401 North Broadway Avenue
Billings, Montana 59101
United States
Circulation26,418 Daily
28,541 Sunday (as of 2023)[1]
ISSN2372-868X (print)
2372-8698 (web)
OCLC number10317615
Websitebillingsgazette.com

The paper frequently exchanges content with its four sister papers in the state – the Missoulian, the Helena Independent Record, The Montana Standard and the Ravalli Republic — all of which, along with the Gazette, are owned by Lee Enterprises. Lee announced a Montana State News Bureau near the end of 2020 that serves the Gazette and its sister papers.[2]

In 2013, circulation of the print edition was around 39,405 copies, and that number increased to more than 44,000 on Sundays.[3] The Gazette website, billingsgazette.com, receives over 10 million page views per month.[4]

The Gazette has been located in its 94,000 sq ft facility at 401 N. Broadway in Billings since July 20, 1968. On September 15, 2021, it was announced that the Gazette's downtown headquarters would be listed for sale, as most of the building was by then vacant as a result of a rapidly shrinking staff.[5]

In May 2020, non-managerial employees at the paper, including reporters, copy-editors and photographers, announced the formation of the Montana News Guild, and in July of that year they unanimously voted to unionize. Their first contract was ratified in November, making the Gazette the only unionized newspaper in the state of Montana.[6]

  • The first newspaper in Billings was published in 1882.[4]
  • The first edition of the Gazette was published May 2, 1885, on a single sheet of paper.[7]

Press

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The press runs from around 10:30 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. daily and prints approximately 45,000 copies of the Billings Gazette; as of 2013, non‑Sunday circulation was 39,405, the highest in Montana;[8] on Sunday, the press runs from around 9:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. and 44,937 copies are printed.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Lee Enterprises. "Form 10-K". investors.lee.net. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ [email protected], DAVID McCUMBER. "Lee announces investment in state government reporting bureau". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  3. ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  4. ^ a b "About Us". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  5. ^ Rogers, Rob. "Billings Gazette puts its downtown building up for sale at $7.8M". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  6. ^ Guild, Montana News (2020-07-02). "Billings Gazette news staff unanimously votes to unionize". Montana News Guild. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  7. ^ "The Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919". Library of Congress. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b "2013 Media Directory" (PDF). Montana Newspaper Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
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