The ''Billings Gazette'' is a daily newspaper based in

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

, that primarily covers issues in southeast Montana and parts of northern Wyoming. Historically it has been known as the largest newspaper in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and is geographically one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the nation. The paper frequently exchanges content with its four sister papers in the state – the ''

Missoulian The ''Missoulian'' is a daily newspaper printed in Missoula, Montana, United States. The newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises since 1959. The ''Missoulian'' is the largest published newspaper in Western Montana, and is distributed through ...

'', the '' Helena Independent Record'', ''

The Montana Standard ''The Montana Standard'' is a daily newspaper in Butte, Montana, owned by Lee Enterprises Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 72 daily newspapers in 25 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, ...

'' and the '' Ravalli Republic'' — all of which, along with the ''Gazette'', are owned by

Lee Enterprises Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 72 daily newspapers in 25 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...

. Lee announced a Montana State News Bureau near the end of 2020 that serves the ''Gazette'' and its sister papers.

History

The first edition of the ''Gazette'' was published May 2, 1885, on a single sheet of paper. In 1959, the

Anaconda Copper Mining Company The Anaconda Company, also known historically as the Anaconda Gold and Silver Mining Company (1881–1891), Anaconda Mining Company (1891–1895), Anaconda Copper Mining Company (1895–1899), Amalgamated Copper Company (1899–1915), and Anacon ...

sold the paper to Lee Enterprises. 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 Unionization is the creation and growth of modern trade unions. Trade unions were often seen as a left-wing, socialist concept, whose popularity has increased during the 19th century when a rise in industrial capitalism saw a decrease in motives ...

. Their first contract was ratified in November, making the ''Gazette'' the only unionized newspaper in the state of Montana.

Headquarters

The ''Gazette'' moved to a facility at 401 N. Broadway in Billings on 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. In 2025, the ''Gazette'' announced that its headquarters had been sold to Stockman Bank, and the newspaper would be printed in

Bozeman Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...

Circulation

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

Press

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

References

External links

*
Lee Enterprises profile of the ''Billings Gazette''
{{Authority control Newspapers published in Montana Lee Enterprises publications Mass media in Billings, Montana 1885 establishments in Montana Territory Newspapers established in 1885 Daily newspapers published in the United States