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We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this Lowdown newsletter on Wednesday this week, instead of the usual Friday. Why? The Thanksgiving holiday, of course. The MTFP staff will be off work Thursday and Friday in observance of the holiday, though we’ll be scheduling a few new stories to run on the website and in our daily email newsletters before we sign off.
We do a lot of lower-case thanksgiving around here — and not just this time of year. It comes with the territory in a reader-supported newsroom, where we have occasions literally every single day to be grateful for the opportunity to serve a meaningful professional purpose in our communities, grateful to the neighbors who entrust us with their stories, and grateful for your partnership and support. I’ve said it before and I’ll never get tired of saying it again: Thank you.
I spent a few minutes this afternoon proofreading MTFP’s 2022-2023 Growth and Gratitude Report before it goes to the printer and put in the mail for donating members. It’s a catalog of the large and small ways in which Montana Free Press has moved its mission forward this year. Like, for instance, building that audience of donating members by 30% over last November, to almost 4,000 this week. And signing up 39% more newsletter subscribers this year, to almost 24,000 — one of whom is you. Today, montanafreepress.org puts accurate, thorough, in-depth news in front of almost 200,000 visitors each month — a number equivalent to about 1 in 5 Montanans. On top of that, more than 50 Montana newspapers and broadcasters republished more than 800 MTFP stories in 2023. If you read the work our reporters produce, you are in increasingly good company.
Those numbers tell us that there’s a growing audience of Montanans who value fact-based journalism and are willing to help pay for the costs of producing it. It’s easy to forget that when Montana Free Press started almost eight years ago, the idea that we could draw that sort of civic-minded audience together was just a theory. We’ve been grateful to watch it become a reality.
This year, that audience made it possible for MTFP to produce exceptionally thorough coverage of the 2023 legislative session, collaborate with the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Flathead Beacon to produce and distribute top-notch climate reporting, and place our writers in prestigious national fellowships that are set to bear investigative fruit in the new year. We’ve also concluded the first summer of our Reporter Residency program, where newsrooms around the state hosted MTFP reporters and helped co-produce some of our favorite stories of the year (like this one, just for instance).
That support has let us expand our team as well. We hired long-time contributing editor Nick Ehli to a full-time position overseeing the continued expansion of MTFP Local, our developing portfolio of reporting on local communities, in June. And just this month we hired JoVonne Wagner — who through a partnership with ICT spent this spring’s legislative session as MTFP’s inaugural Indigenous Legislative Fellow — as our first full-time MTFP Local reporter in Helena.
That’s a lot to look back on. Happily, it all points toward plenty more to look forward to. That’s good news, because we can only make the organization we’re assembling here work in the long run if you value what we’re building as much as we value the chance to build it. So far, you’ve told us you do. We’re awfully grateful to hear it.
—Brad Tyer, Editor
Giving Thanks 🙏
Amanda — I’m grateful for my twin sons, who turned 4 in September. They’re playful, funny and deeply bonded. They’re also very curious. I’ve recently learned that there’s unfortunately no definitive answer that will stop a “Why?” line of questioning coming from them. (If you have one in your back pocket, please do send it my way.) Rex and Wiley also share my love of books and spending time outside — I sure hope that sticks as they get older.
Alex — Journalism is an amazing profession. But the rush of deadlines, verifying facts and juggling multiple projects — all of it on top of non-work slings and arrows — can get a tad stressful. That’s why I’m thankful for all the people who let me gripe: the fellow brewery regulars who instinctively know when not to ask me about work. The friends who pepper my days with deep conversations or distracting shenanigans. And my family who, despite the stresses in their own lives, are always in my ear when I need them most.
Arren — I’m thankful for all my fellow members of the Helena press corps. As a collective, we uphold each other, entertain each other, console each other, drink together and make the shared work of journalism possible.
Brad — I have always had a dog, often two. I’ve had to bury some, and this year I’ve watched helplessly as good friends went through that miserable inevitability. Today I live with my wife, whose presence in my world inspires my endless gratitude, and our three dogs, all of whom have been healthy and happy this year. That’s no small thing, and there’s never any guarantee of it, so I wouldn’t tempt fate by letting it pass unnoticed.
Nick — As a professor in the Honors College at Montana State, I’m thankful for thoughtful and engaged students who are willing to challenge themselves and consider opinions contrary to their own. Their desire and ability to think critically steeps me with optimism, which very much goes against my nature.
Kristin C — As I get older, I find that I’m increasingly grateful for the people I have in my life more so than the physical things. While my family rightfully holds the top spot on that list, this year has brought a special emphasis on other families sharing that space. That includes my incredible work family, composed of some of the most compassionate and brilliant individuals I’ve ever spent time with, and the larger MTFP family, which includes wonderful members and readers like you. You consistently show up for MTFP, offer unwavering words of support, and genuinely make my job incredibly enjoyable.
Claire — As a Billings-based staffer who works for MTFP remotely, I spend a lot of time utilizing libraries as my office space. From my local two-room Laurel Public Library with its resident cats to the jaw-dropping multi-story building in Missoula, I’ve seen libraries help people research their family history, make sense of property taxes, connect with support groups, learn from public presentations and find a safe place to relax. I often think about how that work parallels what we do here at MTFP. I’m so grateful for those spaces — and the library staff who steward these information resources in our communities.
Sarah — Last month marked a year of me working at MTFP. As I reflect on the year and look forward to 2024, I feel immense gratitude for all of the things I’ve learned, the people I’ve met and the places I’ve gone. So much of that has included you – Montana Free Press supporters and staff. Thank you.
John — Earlier this year, our friends Dylan and Sarah presented my wife and me with the invitation of a lifetime: “Do you want to float the Grand?” Not only am I grateful for that invitation — and for my adventure-loving wife, Sierra, who enthusiastically said “yes!” — but I’m incredibly grateful to whoever fished my iPhone out of the river after I lost it seven days into the trip. I’m also thankful for Martha at the Grand Canyon lost-and-found warehouse for tracking us down. I was sure the 700-or-so photos I’d taken were forever lost to the mighty Colorado.
Mara — My family was gifted with an amazing baby this year — she’s my sister and brother-in-law’s first kid, my first niece, my parents’ first grandbaby and an absolute light in all of our lives. We love you endlessly, Arden!
JoVonne — This time last year I was gearing up to graduate from the University of Montana. The past 11 months have offered me many opportunities and blessings as I’ve widened my skill set as a reporter. As I end the year back with Montana Free Press, I feel grateful for local journalism, hard work, and most of all support and encouragement from family and friends as I start a new chapter here in Helena.
Shawn — I’m most thankful for spending another year watching MTFP grow and thrive. The evolution of the organization since I started here is astounding. It’s so much fun to watch smart people do smart, important work. I am constantly in awe of my colleagues, who I can also call friends.
Nate — This year, I am most thankful for the wonderful organizations MTFP partnered with throughout the year. My sincerest gratitude to among others Montana Public Radio and Yellowstone Public Radio for collaborating on The Session podcast; to the Flathead Beacon for our partnership covering the historic Held v. Montana youth climate trial; to our reporter residency host papers — the Bitterroot Star, Char-Koosta News, Choteau Acantha, Glendive Ranger-Review, and Miles City Star; and to all of the incredible newsrooms who have collaborated with us on reporting and republishing our work. Thank you for all the work you do helping quality journalism thrive in our state.
Stephanie — This Thanksgiving, my heart is overflowing with gratitude, with my 1-year-old daughter at its center. Each day with her is a new adventure, watching her discover the world with wide-eyed wonder. I’m also thankful for the MTFP team’s support over the past year as I navigate all the joys and challenges of first-time parenthood.
Eric — Over the last few months, I’ve taken on editing duty for this weekly Lowdown newsletter. The experience has left me increasingly thankful for newsroom colleagues who reliably hit their deadlines. (To the rest of our team: I of course love you anyway!)
