Montana Free Press is hiring its first permanent staff photojournalist this July as part of a continued effort to provide relevant, in-depth journalism at the state and local level.
Lauren Miller, a Montana-based photojournalist with experience at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming, will begin her tenure at MTFP on July 7
The new hire is possible through support from Report for America and CatchLight, a San Francisco-based visual media organization that specializes in accessible image-based reporting.
“High-quality visual journalism is essential to telling a more complete story of Montana,” said John Adams, MTFP founder and executive director. “We’re thrilled to welcome Lauren Miller as our first full-time photojournalist. Her talent and experience will help us bring a new level of depth and humanity to our reporting at a time when visual storytelling is more important than ever.”
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Montana Free Press chosen for 2025 CatchLight cohort of newsroom partners
This spring, Montana Free Press will join local news outlets across the United States in the first cohort of a national visual journalism initiative led by CatchLight, a San Francisco-based visual media organization that seeks to provide inclusive, accurate, and locally contextualized information to the public through accessible and high-quality visual journalism.
Montana has experienced a drop in local newsroom-based photojournalists over the last decade. According to a 2022 report from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, the number of on-staff photographers nationwide has declined by 80% since 2005.
MTFP is one of 14 newsrooms across the country to receive support for a photojournalist through CatchLight and RFA. Ben Brody, Report for America’s director of photography, said the two organizations work in tandem to offer photojournalists “professional development and mentorship,” regardless of a newsroom’s location.
“While we do support photographers in major cities, we pay special attention to rebuilding rural photojournalism, as the need is especially great there,” Brody said. “Montana Free Press provides critical information and analysis to its audience, and with Lauren Miller starting there in July, I’m looking forward to the proximity, intimacy, and artistry her work will bring to the Free Press’ pages.”
Coburn Dukehart, CatchLight’s local managing editor, said the two national organizations were well-aligned to collaborate on this program.
“Report for America, most of the journalists they place are writers [or] reporters, and they have a very small score of visual journalists. We saw this as a natural partnership,” Dukehart said.
In addition to traditional MTFP editorial oversight, Miller will get editorial and design support from the CatchLight Local Visual Desk, with editing, training and other skills.
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