Inter Lake to stop Saturday print delivery

In response to ongoing challenges related to home delivery, alongside a growing appetite for online news, the Daily Inter Lake will no longer publish a Saturday print edition beginning next month.

The change goes into effect March 12. No other delivery days or times will be affected.

The Inter Lake’s pool of contract carriers has been acutely impacted by recent shifts in the labor market, making it increasingly difficult to reliably deliver the print edition.

Tests in other Hagadone Media markets have shown that moving to a six-day delivery schedule will strengthen the carrier pool and vastly improve overall customer service.

“Our delivery folks have been going above and beyond, delivering seven nights a week, 365 days a year,” said Rick Weaver, regional publisher for Hagadone Montana Publishing. “Given the current labor shortage impacting all employers, it has become more and more difficult to find reliable carriers. Eliminating our Saturday delivery will give these folks a much-needed day off.”

Even with the schedule change, readers won’t miss out on any content, with Saturday’s regular departments moving to Friday and a more robust Sunday edition.

For example, the Sunday sports section will now include additional pages dedicated to Friday night prep action, with more space for photos and recaps of all the local games. In addition, an email newsletter featuring Friday sports scores and highlights will launch in March.

Meanwhile, the Friday print edition will include the At Home lifestyle features and real-estate listings, along with a double dose of the puzzles and comics readers look forward to receiving.

Subscribers that get Friday, Saturday and Sunday will now get Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

“Longtime readers will remember that it hasn't been that long since the Inter Lake added a Saturday edition,” noted Weaver. “We don't plan on reducing the total number of pages we deliver.”

Subscription prices will remain flat in 2022, as well.

“In order to keep ahead of ever increasing costs, we generally increase our subscription price each year, but that won't be necessary with this change,” Weaver said.

The Inter Lake’s overall staffing is not affected by the print delivery change and remains the largest news team covering Northwest Montana every day. Local news and sports content will continue to be published online seven days a week, 365 days a year at dailyinterlake.com — the most visited newspaper site in the region.

And while the Inter Lake’s print readership remains among the strongest in the state, analytics continue to show increasing interest in the newspaper’s digital platforms — particularly among younger demographics and people living outside of the market.

“Whether in print or online, via social media, our mobile apps or any of our other emerging digital platforms, readers can continue to count on the Inter Lake team to cover the daily happenings of Northwest Montana,” said Matt Baldwin, Daily Inter Lake regional editor.

Coinciding with the print delivery change, the Inter Lake is introducing a new digital subscription option offering unlimited website access. Along with unlimited website access, the Inter Lake will also launch an all-inclusive subscription, bundling print delivery with the e-edition (an online version of our newspaper presented as it appears in print) and unlimited website access.

Readers with questions about the print delivery changes or new subscription options can call the circulation department at 755-7018.

“We very much appreciate all of the folks that read our paper, either in print or online, each day,” Weaver said.