Montana Standard publisher apologizes with ice cream

Delivery of the Montana Standard was late on Aug. 1. A week later, publisher Randy Rickman gave away 700 ice cream cones to readers who took a copy of his apology to a Dairy Queen in Butte.

Montana papers refuse to run union ad

Five Lee papers in Montana refused to run an ad from the United Food and Commercial Workers. Ten other Montana papers ran the ad, which asked readers to call for insurance information. UFCW doesn't sell insurance; it does offer coverage to union members. (Lee has made its anti-union stance pretty well known. Last year it launched Lee Union Free.)

Billings Blog has more on the article that the Butte Weekly (which does not have a website) wrote about the incident, including a very short interview with the publisher of the Helena Independent-Record and Montana Standard.

(Via e-mail)

New publisher at Montana Standard, Independent Record

Randy Rickman was appointed regional publisher for two Montana papers, The Montana Standard in Butte and the Helena Independent Record, on May 13. Rickman had been the publisher of Lee's central California newspapers since 2003.

(Via e-mail)

2 Lee papers outsource printing

The Chippewa Herald in Chippewa Falls, Wis., and the Montana Standard in Butte, Mont., are outsourcing printing to other Lee papers.

The Montana Standard moved press operations to Helena on July 13. The Standard's six pressmen were offered jobs in Helena; most of them declined.

The Chippewa Herald will outsource its press and insertion operations to the LaCrosse Tribune in LaCrosse, Wis., on Aug. 11.

(Via e-mails)

Montana Standard names interim publisher

Controller Lynn Lloyd has been named The Montana Standard's interim publisher. Lee is expected to name a permanent publisher in May.

Publisher Janet Taylor's last day is April 10.

Montana Standard publisher quits

Montana Standard publisher Janet Taylor will leave in April. Taylor will become publisher at a "northwest publishing group" -- it must be a competitor since it wasn't named. An interim publisher will be appointed.

(Via e-mail)

Montana Standard lays off 6

The Montana Standard in Butte laid off two full-time and four part-time employees Monday. Circulation customer service calls for the Standard, Helena Independent Record and Casper Star Tribune will be outsourced to a call center at the Billings Gazette.

The Standard laid off seven people in September.

26 more layoffs in Montana, Wyoming, Oregon

In Montana, the Billings Gazette laid off 7 full-time workers -- 2 in the newsroom, 2 in advertising, 2 in production, 1 in circulation -- and 2 part-time production workers last week.

In the same state, the Montana Standard in Butte laid off 7. The Helena Independent-Record laid off 5. In Wyoming, the Casper Star-Tribune laid off 4. In Oregon, Western World laid off 1.

An article in the Gazette quotes Lee VP for publishing Mike Gulledge (also the Gazette's publisher) saying Lee is adopting a "regional approach to providing financial services." Of course, there's been no such announcement -- or mention of layoffs -- on Lee's corporate site.

Graphicdesignr.net blogger Erica Smith -- a Lee employee at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch -- called out Lee for not reporting layoffs. She also does the Paper Cuts site that lists layoffs and buyouts across the industry.

See previous Lee layoffs