# Local news in Montana

Source: https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-montana
Published by NewsUSA. Updated 2026-11-14.

> Short answer: In Medill's 2026 data, Montana has 64 newspapers, 8 digital-only news sites, 4 public broadcasters and 8 local TV newsrooms. Of its 56 counties, 11 have no local news source, and 29 have only one source. That is 5.6 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 nationally.

| Measure | Montana | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers | 64 | 5,523 |
| Digital-only news sites | 8 | 1,926 |
| Public broadcasters | 4 | 342 |
| Local TV newsrooms | 8 | 678 |
| Newspapers per 100,000 residents | 5.6 | 1.6 |
| Counties with no local news source | 11 | 238 |
| Counties with only one | 29 | 1,478 |
| Counties | 56 | 3,144 |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, 2026 data; population from the US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025. The national county figures come from Medill's county data.

## How Montana compares

- Montana has 5.6 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, the 6th highest of the 50 states and DC. The national figure is 1.6.
- Of the other states, five have more counties with no local news source than Montana.
- The county with the most local news sources is Missoula, with 8.

## Map: local news by county

![Map of Montana's 56 counties, shaded by number of local news sources: 11 with none, 29 with one, 12 with two to four and 4 with five or more. Source: Medill Local News Initiative, 2026 data.](https://trynewsusa.com/charts/map-local-news-montana.png)

## Counties with no local news source

In Medill's 2026 data, these counties have no newspaper, digital news site, public broadcaster or local TV newsroom: Daniels, Deer Lodge, Garfield, Golden Valley, Granite, Hill, Liberty, Petroleum, Pondera, Toole, Treasure.

## Every county in Montana

| County | Newspapers | Digital sites | Public broadcasters | Local TV | Local news sources | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaverhead | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Big Horn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Blaine | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Broadwater | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Carbon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Carter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Cascade | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Two or more |
| Chouteau | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Custer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Daniels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Dawson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Deer Lodge | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Fallon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Fergus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Flathead | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Two or more |
| Gallatin | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Two or more |
| Garfield | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Glacier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Golden Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Granite | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Hill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Jefferson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Judith Basin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Lake | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Lewis and Clark | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Two or more |
| Liberty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Lincoln | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Madison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| McCone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Meagher | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Mineral | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Missoula | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | Two or more |
| Musselshell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Park | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Petroleum | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Phillips | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Pondera | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Powder River | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Powell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Prairie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Ravalli | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Richland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Roosevelt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Rosebud | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Sanders | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Sheridan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Silver Bow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Stillwater | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Sweet Grass | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Teton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Toole | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Treasure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Valley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Wheatland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Wibaux | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Yellowstone | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | Two or more |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, county data behind its 2026 map, read November 9, 2026. A county's local news sources are its newspapers, digital sites, public broadcasters and local TV newsrooms.

## Neighboring states

Montana borders [Idaho](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-idaho), [North Dakota](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-north-dakota), [South Dakota](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-south-dakota) and [Wyoming](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-wyoming).

Closest to Montana (5.6) on newspapers per 100,000 residents: [Kansas](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-kansas) (4.8) and [Nebraska](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-nebraska) (6.4).

## Use this data

Montana alone: [Montana by county, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-montana-2026.csv). Every county in the country is in one file: [news outlets by county, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-county-2026.csv). State totals are in [news outlets by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-state-2026.csv) and [news deserts by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state-2026.csv). Credit the Medill Local News Initiative for the figures, and link to this page or to [news deserts by state](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state), which has every state side by side and a lookup you can put on your own site.

## Put these figures on your site

You are welcome to embed this card on your own site. It shows Montana's figures from Medill's 2026 data and links back to this page. Copy this code. On narrow pages, raise the height to 500.

## Getting a story onto local news sites

A feature story placed through a syndication network can run on local news sites in many states at once. [How to get your brand on local news sites](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-sites) explains how that works, and [local news statistics](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-statistics) has the national picture.

## Questions

### How many news deserts are in Montana?

Of its 56 counties, 11: Daniels, Deer Lodge, Garfield, Golden Valley, Granite, Hill, Liberty, Petroleum, Pondera, Toole, Treasure. A news desert is a county with no newspaper, digital news site, public broadcaster or local TV newsroom, in Medill's 2026 data.

### How many newspapers are in Montana?

64, in Medill's 2026 data. That is 5.6 for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 for the whole country.

### Which Montana county has the most local news sources?

Missoula, with 8: 2 newspapers, 2 digital sites, 1 public broadcaster and 3 local TV newsrooms, in Medill's 2026 data.

## How this page was made

Outlet counts and news deserts come from the Medill Local News Initiative's 2026 data: the state figures on its map (read November 8, 2026) and the outlet list and county data behind it (read November 9). NewsUSA counted the outlets by county and checked on every build that the counties add up to Medill's state figures. Population is the US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate.

- [Medill Local News Initiative: Explore the local news landscape (2026 data; state figures read November 8, outlet list and county figures November 9)](https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/state-of-local-news/explore/), read November 9, 2026
- [US Census Bureau: state population estimates, Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025)](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/state/totals/NST-EST2025-ALLDATA.csv), read November 9, 2026