HAVRE — The Havre Weekly Chronicle has been merged into a broader regional publication under Mullen Newspaper Company of Deer Lodge, a move its owner says is aimed at keeping journalism alive in Havre amid rising costs and industry-wide challenges.
Jesse Mullen, owner of Mullen Newspaper Company, purchased the Havre Weekly Chronicle last year when the paper was on the verge of closing.
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He says increasing printing expenses and the loss of newspaper presses across Montana made it difficult to continue operating the Chronicle as a standalone publication.
“Short of shutting it down, we found that this would be the best way to ensure that we kept local journalism alive in Havre,” Mullen said.
Under the merger, Havre readers will now receive coverage from other Hi-Line communities, including Chester, Shelby, Conrad, Cut Bank, Browning, and Valier. At the same time, most national wire content has been removed from the print edition in favor of locally produced reporting.
Mullen says the goal is to prioritize Hi-Line-focused stories while reducing operational costs, particularly printing, which has increased significantly over the past several years.
“It allows us to keep reporters in that community, keep advertising and marketing staff in that community, while cutting down our costs on printing fairly significantly,” he said.
Reaction in Havre has been mixed. Some residents say they understand the need to adapt to preserve a local news source, while others express concern about changes to how community-specific information is presented.
“I understand the merging thing due to keeping prices and subscriptions to keep it afloat,” said Havre resident Larry Larson. “The only thing I don’t like was I would like to see the cities have their own page in the paper instead of having to try to read the whole thing to find out what’s happening in my community.”
Mullen says consolidation has become increasingly common as community newspapers across the country struggle to remain financially viable. He argues that regional collaboration can help preserve local reporting rather than eliminate it.
“Every day that we still have a newspaper in Havre is another day that local journalism exists there,” Mullen said.
While the long-term success of the merger remains to be seen, Mullen says the focus moving forward is stability and keeping reporters embedded in the communities they cover.
