Missoulian

Newspaper in Missoula, Montana, US

Missoulian

Type| Daily newspaper
Format| Broadsheet
Owner(s)| Lee Enterprises
Founder(s)| Joseph Magee, W.H. Magee,
and I. H. Morrison
Founded| September 15, 1870; 154 years ago (1870-09-15), as the Missoula and Cedar Creek Pioneer
Language| English
Headquarters| Missoula, Montana
Country| United States
Circulation| 16,652 Daily (as of 2023)[1]
ISSN| 0746-4495
OCLC number| 10049426
Website| missoulian.com

* Media of the United States
* List of newspapers

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 throughout the city of Missoula, and most of Western Montana.

## History

[edit]

### Early years

[edit]

The Missoulian was established as the Missoula and Cedar Creek Pioneer on September 15, 1870,[2] by the Magee Brothers and I. H. Morrison, under the Montana Publishing Company. Though strictly conservative politically, the paper was never intended to advance any particular "clique or party".[2] Slightly less than a year after removing "Cedar Creek" from the name, the paper's name was trimmed to simply The Pioneer in November 1871,[3] with W. J. McCormick, a prominent Montana politician and father of future Congressman Washington J. McCormick, as publisher. It served as a Democratic paper that was devoted to reporting on the development of western Montana. A month later, Frank H. Woody, who later became Missoula's first mayor, was named ad interim, and he lengthened the name to the Montana Pioneer.[4] On February 8, 1873,[4] Woody and his partner T. M. Chisholm purchased the paper and changed its name to The Missoulian. W. R. Turk replaced Chisholm and Woody sold out a year later, but the paper's name has more-or-less stayed the same until today. Turk died of tuberculosis in 1875, and the paper was published by Chauncey Barbour until August 15, 1879, when Duane J. Armstrong became editor and publisher.[5] The newspaper offered only a weekend edition until 1891, when new owner A.B. Hammond converted it to a daily newspaper with Harrison Spaulding from the Missoula County Times as editor and publisher.

### Republican era

[edit]

Daily Missoulian press room, 1923

Hammond's purchase of The Missoulian brought the newspaper into the republican fold and on the battle lines of the William A. Clark and Marcus Daly Copper Kings feud. Hammond was a lumber baron and business partner of Daly in the Montana Improvement Company, who saw the Democratic president, Grover Cleveland's public land policies as a detriment to his business. Hammond had become very wealthy over-logging unsurveyed public timberland and supplying lumber to the railroad and Daly's Anaconda Company's smelter. Hammond and his associates in Missoula convinced Daly to thwart Clark's 1888 bid for the Montana Territory's At-large congressional district and support Republican Thomas H. Carter instead. Despite Clark crying foul, Carter went on to win.[6][7]

Daly's election maneuvering created a major rift between the Copper Kings, and the next year he became chairman of the Montana Democratic Party. He asked for Hammond's support and Hammond responded by delivering a Republican sweep of the Missoula delegation. This infuriated Daly, who declared war on Hammond and threatened to "make grass grow in the streets of Missoula". Several years later, as Montana's press was divided on whether to keep the state's capital in Clark's choice of Helena or move it Daly's company town of Anaconda, Hammond who was worried that further empowered Daly would weaken Missoula loaned The Missoulian to Clark's team, who derided Anaconda. "What has Anaconda ever done for Missoula, anyway? If Christ came to Anaconda he would be compelled to eat, sleep, drink and pray with Marcus Daly." Though the majority of Missoula County voted for Anaconda as capital, enough voted for Helena for it to win the statewide contest.[6][7]

In 1900, Hammond began selling stock in the Missoulian to political rival Joseph M. Dixon, who later became a US Congressman, US Senator, and the state of Montana's seventh governor. In December 1906, Wilhelm's Magazine, The Coast, described the newspaper as "one of the best papers in the state of Montana and has the credit of being a strong paper in all matters pertaining to public and state affairs. It is large, well edited and a credit to Missoula."[8] Dixon gained control over the paper in 1907, and brought in Arthur Stone, a former Anaconda Standard reporter and managing editor, as well as former Democratic state legislator, as editor. His experience helped further modernize the paper and expand its reach.[9][6] The Republican Daily Missoulian (as it was called until 1961) was soon rivaled by the Democrat-leaning Missoula Herald, published by the Hassler Brothers and its successor, the Missoula Sentinel, that was purchased in 1912 (one year after its founding) by Richard Kilroy for the purpose of politically wounding Dixon, as he ran for re-election in the first year Senators were popularly elected. (*note. Though the 17th Amendment to the Constitution was not ratified until 1913, the Montana legislature provided for the direct election of US Senators in 1911, in anticipation of the amendment's ratification.)[10] Dixon lost the election in a Democratic sweep and lost the paper for financial reasons, five years later.

### Anaconda Copper

[edit]

Montana's press in 1912 was almost entirely under the influence and control of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, then known as "Amalgamated Copper Company" or, in a nod to its incredible clout in Montana politics and journalism, simply "The Company". The Missoulian was not a "Company paper"; according to Jerre Murphy, a former Amalgamated employee turned muckracker, it was the only major newspaper in Montana that was not.[11] After his election defeat, Dixon turned the Missoulian against Amalgamated with scathing editorials and "objectionable" news. With Dixon refusing to sell the paper, the Company chose bribery, by offering Dixon the Missoula Sentinel that Dixon felt was splitting the city's advertising dollars. Dixon accepted, but only on the condition that he would be "fair" to Amalgamated in the press. Pressure on advertisers for new anti-Dixon competition and Amalgamated itself pulling its advertising dollars, as well as having the Milwaukee Road cancel complimentary papers that it had given to passengers, however, forced Dixon to sell. Two newspapermen from the Chicago Journal, Martin Hutchens and Lester L. Jones, purchased the Missoulian and were soon part of the "copper press" (i.e. a "Company paper" known for using its pages to promote the Company's views and for suppressing news it didn't want reported) and remained as such, until Anaconda Copper sold all its Montana newspapers to Lee Enterprises, in 1959.[6]

### Lee Enterprises

[edit]

By the late 1950s, the Anaconda Company's newspaper model of toeing the company line and avoiding controversy had left the company's papers self-conscious and defensive to the point that Don Anderson commented in its appraisal of the newspapers that "They even refused to take a stand on the weather." When the papers were finally sold in 1959, only the Billings Gazette and Missoulian were profitable and in growing markets. Ultimately, the financial difficulties of the company's papers around the state may have helped Lee Enterprises, who faced competition from much larger organizations, such as the Cowles Media Company and the Ridder Corporation, purchase the newspaper block. Larger publishers were only interested in the two profitable papers, while the Anaconda Company insisted on selling the papers as a block, with an implicit guarantee that individual papers not be sold off to recoup losses. Also in Lee Enterprises' favor was that Don Anderson, publisher of the Wisconsin State Journal and later, president of Lee Newspapers in Montana, who in 2007 had the new University of Montana School of Journalism building named after him, was a Montana native who understood the political climate and had worked with Anaconda Company staff as a young reporter. He and Lee Enterprises' CEO, Phillip Adler, successfully purchased the papers despite not being the highest bidders with an agreement made in late May. The newspapers each announced the change in ownership with a "hello" on June 2, 1959, stressing that they would be accountable to the public and not their parent company.[6]

While most of Lee Enterprises' new newspapers retained their leadership, the Missoulian was an exception, where Lloyd Schermer, son-in-law of Phillip Adler, took over as publisher.[6]

In April 2023, at least three newsroom employees were laid off.[12] Then starting July 11, 2023, the print edition of the newspaper was reduced to three days a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Also, the newspaper transitioned from being delivered by a traditional newspaper delivery carrier to mail delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.[13][14] In September 2024, the paper laid off its statewide enterprise editor after eliminating the position.[15]

## Name and organization

[edit]

The Missoulian began as the weekly Missoula and Cedar Creek Pioneer in 1870, before being renamed The Missoula Pioneer in 1871, but under the Montana Publishing Company. It was rechristened The Pioneer, later in 1871, by the Pioneer Publishing Company and then, The Montana Pioneer near the end of 1872, by Washington J. McCormick Sr., before being purchased by Frank Woody and T. M. Chisholm a couple months later and renamed The Weekly Missoulian. This remained its incarnation, through 1898.[16]

The Weekly Missoulian continued for a year, from January 1899 to April 1900, as the still weekly The Missoulian, published by Bryan Bros. & Hauck.[17] The weekly newspaper was then purchased by the Fruit-Grower Publishing Company and existed as a horticulture and general news publication, until the mid-1910s. In 1889, Harrison Spaulding founded The Morning Missoulian, as a daily (minus Monday) paper to complement The Weekly Missoulian. By 1893, this was changed to The Evening Missoulian, and then, to the Daily Missoulian, under the Missoula Publishing Company with Harrison Spaulding as editor. After brief separate ownership, both the daily and weekly Missoulians were reclaimed by the Missoula Publishing Company, with The Daily Missoulian lasting until 1961, when it was once again called the Missoulian, after being purchased by Lee Enterprises.[18]

### Timeline

[edit]

Weekly[19]

* Missoula and Cedar Creek Pioneer (September 1870)
* The Missoula Pioneer (January 1871)
* The Pioneer (November 1871)
* The Montana Pioneer (December 1872)
* The Weekly Missoulian (February 1873)
* The Missoulian (January 1899)
* Edwards' Fruit Grower & Farmer (December 1901)
* Semi-weekly Missoulian (September 1902)
* Weekly Missoulian (January 1904 – 1915)

Daily

* The Morning Missoulian (1889)
* The Evening Missoulian (February 1893)
* Daily Missoulian (August 1894)
* The Missoulian (May 1900)
* The Daily Missoulian (November 1904)
* The Missoulian (June 1910)
* The Daily Missoulian (March 1915)
* Missoulian (September 1961)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Lee Enterprises. "Form 10-K". investors.lee.net. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
2. ^ a b "About Missoula and Cedar Creek pioneer. [volume] (Missoula City, Mont.) 1870-1871". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
3. ^ "About The Pioneer. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1871-1872". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
4. ^ a b "About The Montana pioneer. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1872-1873". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
5. ^ Leeson, Michael A. (1885). History of Montana. 1739-1885. Chicago: Warner, Beers & Company.
6. ^ a b c d e f Swibold, Dennis L. Copper chorus: mining, politics, and the Montana press, 1889-1959 (2006)
7. ^ a b Malone, Michael P.; Lang, William L. (2006). The Battle for Butte: Mining and Politics on the Northern Frontier, 1864-1906. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
8. ^ Wilhelm, Honor L. "Missoula, Montana" The Coast. Seattle. The Coast Publishing Company. 08- 1909. Vol. 12, No. 6. (Dec. 1906).
9. ^ Toole, Myers, & Fritz. Montana and the West: essays in honor of K. Ross Toole. (1984)
10. ^ Toole, Kenneth Ross. Montana: An Uncommon Land. University of Oklahoma Press (1984)
11. ^ Murphy, Jerre C. (1912). The comical history of Montana : a serious story for free people : being an account of the conquest of America's treasure state by alien corporate combine, the confiscation of its resources, the subjugation of its people, and the corruption of free government to the uses of lawless enterprise and organized greed employed in 'big business'. San Diego: E.L. Scofield. ISBN 978-1331171164. Retrieved October 26, 2020. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
12. ^ Ehrlick, Darrell (April 12, 2023). "Lee Enterprises eliminates at least 13 journalism positions among its Montana papers". Daily Montanan. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
13. ^ "Missoulian print edition shifts to 3-day format". The Missoulian. June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
14. ^ Bragg, Dennis (June 12, 2023). "End of an Era, Missoulian Cutting Back on Printing Days". Newstalk KGVO. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
15. ^ Szpaller, Keila (September 13, 2024). "Lee Enterprises lays off statewide enterprise editor, loses decades of experience". Daily Montanan. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
16. ^ "About The Weekly Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1873-1898". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
17. ^ "About The Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1899-1900". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
18. ^ "About The Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1961-current". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
19. ^ "US Newspaper Directory Search Results: Missoula, Montana". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 26, 2020.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Western Montana Progress Edition, 1864-1889-1964: Montana Territorial Centennial; Statehood Diamond Jubilee. Missoula Public Library: Missoulian Pub. Co. July 21, 1964. OCLC 823868017.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Lee Enterprises Inc.

Newspapers|

* Albany Democrat-Herald
* Arizona Daily Star
* Ashland Gazette
* Baraboo News Republic
* Beatrice Daily Sun
* Billings Gazette
* The Bismarck Tribune
* Bristol Herald Courier
* The Buffalo News
* The Capital Times
* The Casper Journal
* Casper Star-Tribune
* The Chippewa Herald
* The Citizen
* Clarinda Herald-Journal
* Columbus Telegram
* Corvallis Gazette-Times
* The Philomath Express
* Culpeper Star-Exponent
* The Daily News (Wash.)
* The Daily Nonpareil
* The Daily Progress
* Danville Register & Bee
* Denison Bulletin & Review
* The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus
* Dothan Eagle
* The Eagle
* Elko Daily Free Press
* The Franklin News-Post
* The Free Lance–Star
* Fremont Tribune
* Globe Gazette
* The Grand Island Independent
* Herald & Review
* Hickory Daily Record
* Independent Record
* Independent Tribune
* Iowa Farmer Today
* Journal Gazette / Times-Courier
* Kearney Hub
* Kenosha News
* La Crosse Tribune
* Lake Geneva Regional News
* Lebanon Express
* Lexington Clipper-Herald
* Lincoln Journal Star
* Martinsville Bulletin
* The McDowell News
* Missoulian
* The Montana Standard
* Mooresville Tribune
* The Morning News
* Muscatine Journal
* Napa Valley Register
* The News & Advance
* News & Record
* The News Herald
* The News Virginian
* The North Platte Telegraph
* Omaha World-Herald
* Opelika-Auburn News
* The Pantagraph
* The Plattsmouth Journal
* Portage Daily Register
* The Post-Star
* The Press of Atlantic City
* Quad-City Times
* Racine Journal Times
* Rapid City Journal
* Ravalli Republic
* The Reidsville Review
* Richmond Times-Dispatch
* The Roanoke Times
* Laker Weekly
* The Sentinel
* Sioux City Journal
* Star-Herald
* Statesville Record & Landmark
* St. Helena Star
* St. Louis Post-Dispatch
* SWVA Today
* The Times and Democrat
* Times-News
* The Times of Northwest Indiana
* Tulsa World
* Twiner-Herald
* The Valley News
* Waco Tribune-Herald
* The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
* Winona Daily News
* Winston-Salem Journal
* Wisconsin State Journal
* Woodford County Journal / Woodford Star
* York News-Times

Acquisitions|

* Howard Publications
* Pulitzer
* Scripps League Newspapers
* BH Media Group

* v
* t
* e

Missoula, Montana

* Climate
* Demographics
* Economy
* Mayors
* History
* Culture
* Downtown Missoula

Suburbs|

* Bonner-West Riverside
* Clinton
* Evaro
* Frenchtown
* Lolo
* Orchard Homes
* Wye

Missoula, Montana

Education|

| High schools|

* Big Sky
* Hellgate
* Sentinel
* Seeley-Swan
* Loyola Sacred Heart High School
* Valley Christian

|

Higher education|

* University of Montana
* Missoula College University of Montana

Libraries|

* Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
* Missoula Public Library

Museums|

* Fort Missoula
* Montana Museum of Art & Culture
* Missoula Art Museum

Geography|

| Mountains|

* Blue Mountain
* Mount Jumbo
* Mount Sentinel
* South Hills
* Lolo Peak
* Montana Snowbowl

|

Rivers|

* Bitterroot
* Blackfoot
* Clark Fork

History|

| Places|

* Glacial Lake Missoula
* Fort Missoula
* Missoula Cemetery

|

People|

* Christopher P. Higgins
* Frank Worden
* Judge Frank Woody
* Andrew B. Hammond

Media|

| Television|

* KPAX (8.1 CBS/MTN, 8.2 CW)
* KUFM (11.1 PBS, 11.2 Kids, 11.3 Create, 1.4 World, 11.5 MPAN)
* KECI (13.1 NBC)
* KTMF (23.1 ABC, 23.2 Fox)
* K32EU 32 (PBS)

|

Print|

* Missoulian
* Montana Kaimin

Breweries|

* Bayern Brewing
* Big Sky Brewing
* Draught Works Brewery
* Kettle House Brewing
* Taproom only: Tamarack Brewing
* Flathead Lake Brewing

Services|

| Healthcare|

* St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center
* Community Medical Center

|

Transportation|

* Missoula Montana Airport
* Mountain Line (bus)
* Interstate 90
* Highway 12
* Highway 93
* Former Milwaukee Road station
* Former Northern Pacific/Amtrak station

Sports|

| Teams|

* Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz
* PaddleHeads (baseball)
* Hellgate Roller Derby

|

Venues|

* Washington–Grizzly Stadium (football)
* Ogren Park at Allegiance Field (baseball)
* Glacier Ice Rink (hockey)
* Dornblaser Field (soccer)
* Dahlberg Arena (basketball)
* Missoula County Fairgrounds (horse racing)

University of Montana|

* Schools and Colleges
* Athletics
* Research Centers and Institutes

* Category
* People from Missoula
* User Missoula Template

* v
* t
* e

Newspapers in Montana

Glacier Country
(Northwest)|

* Bigfork
* Bigfork Eagle
* Kalispell
* Daily Inter Lake
* Flathead Beacon
* Libby
* The Western News
* Missoula
* Missoulian
* Montana Kaimin
* Stevensville
* The Bitterroot Star

Southwest Montana
(Southwest)|

* Anaconda
* Anaconda Leader
* Boulder
* The Boulder Monitor
* Butte
* The Montana Standard
* Helena
* Independent Record
* Lincoln
* Blackfoot Valley Dispatch

Central Montana
(North Central)|

* Cascade
* Cascade Courier
* Chinook
* Blaine County Journal News-Opinion
* Great Falls
* Great Falls Tribune
* Havre
* Havre Weekly Chronicle

Yellowstone Country
(South Central)|

* Belgrade
* Belgrade News
* Big Timber
* The Big Timber Pioneer
* Bozeman
* Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Missouri River Country
(Northeast)|

* Sidney
* Sidney Herald

Southeast Montana
(Southeast)|

* Billings
* Billings Gazette
* Billings Times
* Broadus
* Powder River Examiner
* Hardin
* Big Horn County News
* Miles City
* Miles City Star
* Red Lodge
* Carbon County News

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template