A major shakeup was announced Wednesday at The Billings Gazette. The newspaper's editor and the editorial page editor were both ousted during a "restructuring" that will place a regional editor based in Butte in charge of the Billings paper.

As a result,  Gazette Editor Darrell Ehrlick and Editorial Page Editor Pat Bellinghausen will be leaving The Gazette and their positions will not be filled. The opinion page will also now be limited to three days a week.

Publisher Dave Worstell said, “As the newspaper business evolves, The Billings Gazette must also embrace changes that help serve our readers in both print and in digital. “Pat and Darrell have both worked tirelessly for The Gazette over many, many years. The entire organization thanks them for their valuable contributions.”

This is, of course, major news on Montana's political scene, as The Billings Gazette is not only Montana's largest newspaper, it is also one of the most liberal anti-Trump editorial pages in the region. The Gazette editorial board even got into a high visibility spat with conservative commentator and former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke prior to his recent visit to the Magic City.

Ehrlick posted the following comments on Twitter later Wednesday:



KTVQ-TV (CBS) noted that Lee Enterprises, the parent company of The Billings Gazette,

Like many newspaper companies, Lee has struggled to weather the transition of readership from print to digital. In its most recent quarterly report, Lee officials reported a 12.5 percent decrease in total revenue from its properties compared to the previous year, even as digital revenue rose slightly.

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