Support Local Journalism in Northwest Montana
Help sustain the reporters who cover your communities, hold institutions accountable, and tell the stories that matter across Northwest Montana
Local Journalism is Essential to Strong Communities
Every day, reporters from Hagadone Media Montana newspapers cover city halls, county commissions, schools, businesses, and the issues shaping life across Northwest Montana. That reporting helps residents stay informed, strengthens civic participation, and ensures that public institutions remain transparent and accountable.
This campaign invites community members to help sustain the local journalism that serves our region. Our mission is to pursue the truth wherever it leads and report it with accuracy, fairness, and a deep commitment to the communities we serve. Please donate if you support that mission.
Donations are made through the Inland Northwest Journalism Foundation, a nonprofit partner that helps communities support and strengthen local journalism. The fund is administered by Innovia Foundation, a community foundation serving the Inland Northwest.
Campaign Goal
We are launching a 100-day fundraising campaign to raise $100,000 in community support for local journalism.
This work requires ongoing investment. With your support, we can fortify our newsroom, expand our reporting, and ensure that strong, independent local journalism continues to serve our communities for years and decades to come.
These funds will help sustain reporting across Hagadone Media Montana newspapers serving Northwest Montana, including:
Daily Inter Lake, Whitefish Pilot, Hungry Horse News, Bigfork Eagle, Lake County Leader, The Western News, Mineral Independent and Clark Fork Valley Press.
Community support helps ensure that experienced local journalists continue covering the issues that affect our communities every day. Please donate and help bolster our mission.
Matching Challenge
Thanks to a partnership with Report for America, the first $25,000 raised will be matched.
Early donations will double their impact and help expand reporting capacity in Northwest Montana.
Your support helps sustain journalism that keeps communities informed and engaged. Please donate early to double your impact!
Reporter Impact
Community support sustains the reporters who cover the issues that matter most across Northwest Montana. Their work ensures local residents stay informed, public institutions remain accountable, and important community stories are not overlooked.
During Sunshine Week (March 15-21), we want to highlight reporting that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government.
Investigating alleged financial misconduct in a rural school district
In Hot Springs, reporting uncovered a case involving a school district employee accused of embezzling funds.
The coverage followed the story for months, documenting how the school board responded, how the community reacted, and how the investigation progressed after the issue was turned over to county officials.
Reporting inside the Flathead County jail ahead of a major public vote which provided an upgraded facility
To better inform voters about conditions inside the aging Flathead County jail, reporters spent hours inside the facility speaking with detention officers and documenting overcrowding, flooding, and infrastructure problems.
The reporting helped explain the issue to the public ahead of a ballot measure to fund a new facility. The bond ultimately passed, and local officials later credited the reporting with helping voters understand the urgency of the problem.
Stories like these happen because local reporters are present in the communities they serve. They attend the meetings others cannot, investigate issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, and take the time to explain complex decisions that affect everyday life in Northwest Montana.
Community support makes this work possible.
Your donation helps sustain the reporters who are holding institutions accountable, documenting the issues that matter most, and telling the stories that define our region. With your help, we can continue this work and expand our reporting to serve even more communities across Northwest Montana.
Support Local Journalism
Local journalism is the heartbeat of strong communities
Your gift helps sustain the reporting that serves communities across Northwest Montana.
While advertising and subscriptions remain an important part of sustaining our newspapers, they no longer fully support the level of local reporting our communities deserve. Community support helps fill that gap by funding in-depth reporting, coverage of rural communities, and stories that require time and resources to pursue.
Your support helps make journalism like the stories above possible. Contributions from readers and community members help ensure that experienced reporters continue covering local government, environmental issues, public safety, education, and the stories that shape life across our region.
Together, we can ensure that strong, independent local journalism continues to inform and strengthen our communities.
Donate today to support local journalism in Northwest Montana
Your gift supports:
- Coverage of rural communities across Northwest Montana
- Environmental, natural resource, and quality of life reporting
- Investigative stories that require time and in-depth reporting
- Watchdog reporting on city halls and county commissions
Editorial Independence and Donor Transparency
Our mission is to serve as the cornerstone of our communities through a steadfast commitment to community journalism and the delivery of factual information. We believe strong local news strengthens civic life, supports informed decision-making, and upholds the principles of the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate.
Support from readers, foundations, and community partners helps sustain this work. However, financial support does not influence our journalism. Our newsrooms maintain full editorial independence over the stories we pursue and the coverage we provide. Donors do not receive special access to our journalists, advance review of stories, or influence over editorial decisions.
We are committed to transparency in how this work is funded. Contributions that support our journalism do not constitute endorsement of a donor’s products, services, or viewpoints. All funds raised through this campaign are administered by Innovia Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that maintains legal control over all donations. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Independent local journalism depends on public trust. Upholding that trust through transparency and ethical reporting is a responsibility we take seriously.