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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper The Glacier Reporter (Browning, Mont.) 1953-Current

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About The Glacier Reporter (Browning, Mont.) 1953-Current

The Glacier County Chief first published in Browning, Montana, in 1931, but the earliest existing issue is the April 6, 1934, issue published by D. T. A. Mackintosh. Jack Duncan, who previously worked at newspapers in Butte, Lewistown, and Denton, took over as publisher on May 4, 1934, adding “devoted to the interests of Glacier County” to the masthead. The Glacier County Chief lived up to its billing, covering local and county news, as well as federal issues affecting the region, including the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The paper also gave significant coverage to the Blackfeet Nation, where Browning resides, publishing stories on tribal council meetings, tribal fairs and rodeos, and other local reservation news.

Duncan changed the name of the paper to the Browning Chief with the January 3, 1941, issue, writing that the public “invariably calls it the Browning Chief, and outside correspondence is addressed 9 out of 10 times to the Browning Chief.” He operated the paper until his death in June 1941. His wife, Annie, took over and ran the Chief until she passed away in February 1945.

Following the Duncans, Edna M. Yates briefly served as publisher of the Chief before John E. Davies purchased the paper in 1945. He operated it for nearly eight years, continuing to focus on local, county, and Blackfeet news. He sold the Chief to Thomas A. Busey in 1953. Busey came to Browning with more than 40 years of newspaper experience in Montana, including as publisher of the Conrad Independent, the Valerian, the Liberty County Times, and the Kalispell Journal. He moved the newspaper to an upgraded building, updated the printing equipment with a new linotype machine, and renamed the paper the Glacier Reporter, starting with the August 21, 1953 issue.

In one of the Reporter’s first editorials on August 28, 1953, Busey declared that “a genuine community advancement spirit will do the job” of promoting business and growth. The paper stood behind that declaration, advancing stories on oil and gas development, agriculture, and road projects in the county, while continuing to bring readers local Browning and tribal news.

Busey sold the Reporter in 1956 to Milo and Irene Fields, publishers of the Harvey Herald in Harvey, North Dakota. They operated the paper for 13 years, selling it to Mr. and Mrs. Jerry McNichol in 1969. From there, the newspaper changed hands multiple times in the 1970s until John Kavanagh purchased it in 1981. Kavanagh sold it to his son, Brian Kavanagh, and daughter-in-law, LeAnne Kavanagh in 1985. They published the Reporter for nearly 40 years, also purchasing and operating the Shelby Promoter, the Cut Bank Pioneer Press, and the Valerian. The Kavanaghs began printing the papers together in 2020, with Cut Bank Pioneer Press as the primary title, before retiring and selling them to Ponderosa Publications in 2022. During their long tenure as publishers, the Kavanaghs received several newspaper awards, and the Montana Newspapers Association honored them as Master Editor Publishers in 2008.

Provided By: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Glacier Reporter (Browning, Mont.) 1953-Current

Dates of Publication

  • 1953-current

Created / Published

  • Browning, Mont. : T.A. Busey, 1953-

Headings

  • -  Indians of North America--Montana--Newspapers
  • -  Indians of North America
  • -  Browning (Mont.)--Newspapers
  • -  Montana
  • -  United States--Montana--Glacier--Browning

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 23, no. 24 (Aug. 21, 1953)-
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations ; 55-58 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85053045

OCLC Number

  • 11718964

ISSN Number

  • 2996-3982

Preceding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Glacier Reporter Browning, Mont. -Current. (Browning, MT), Jan. 1 1953. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85053045/.

APA citation style:

(1953, January 1) The Glacier Reporter Browning, Mont. -Current. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85053045/.

MLA citation style:

The Glacier Reporter Browning, Mont. -Current. (Browning, MT) 1 Jan. 1953. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn85053045/.