BILLINGS, Mont. – The grand newspaper that once was the Billings Gazette, like all dailies owned by Lee Enterprises in 26 states, has been shrinking for decades. The newsroom staff count has been halved in the past 20 years. Page design has been shifted to an out-of-state central facility that the Billings staff says is understaffed and knows neither Billings nor Montana. The in-house bookkeeping staff has been eliminated. In Februarythe paper’s longtime editorial page writer and chief editor was fired, which left the Gazette newsroom reporting to a regional editor 200 miles away in Butte. The Gazette building is still dominant downtown but half empty.
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