Criminal Justice and Education Reporter-Helena, MT

Criminal Justice and Education Reporter-Helena, MT

Helena, MT, USA

Posted Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 6:00 AM

The Helena Independent Record is looking for a curious, driven reporter to cover criminal justice and education in Montana’s capital city — two beats that sit at the heart of public accountability, local policy and everyday life.

On the criminal justice side, this role covers Helena’s courts, law enforcement, and public safety, along with the larger questions that drive that coverage: fairness, access to justice, and whether the legal system is working as intended. Stories range from breaking news and high‑profile cases to deeper articles that examine how systems operate, where they fall short, and what that means for people in the Helena community.

The education side of the beat is rooted in covering Helena’s local schools, school boards, students, families and educators. From curriculum decisions and staffing challenges to school funding, growth, and community debates, this reporting focuses on how education works on the ground — and how day‑to‑day decisions affect classrooms and families.

The Helena Independent Record is a digital‑first newsroom that values collaboration and communication. We share ideas, talk through tough stories, edit thoughtfully, and celebrate strong journalism. We move quickly and accurately when breaking news demands it, but we also make space for enterprise reporting, accountability work, and creative storytelling.

Our ideal candidate reflects those values. They should be curious and organized and are comfortable with asking hard questions. They can handle daily news demands while also thinking bigger — about context, impact, and why a story matters to readers. Good reporting here gets noticed, and accountability journalism can deliver real impact.

Outside the newsroom, Helena offers a quality of life that’s hard to beat.

Commutes are short and everything a person wants in Montana’s outdoors is right outside of your front door. From hiking and biking to skiing, fishing and hunting, the Helena area offers all of it, and more. The valley is surrounded by the stunning Big Belt and Elkhorn mountains, and opportunities for water recreation are waiting at Canyon Ferry Lake and the Missouri and Blackfoot rivers.

Add a growing food and arts scene and a community that values local news, and it’s a place where meaningful work and life outside of it can coexist.

Lee Enterprises offers competitive wages in a dynamic, interesting work environment with career growth opportunities. We offer an extensive benefit program that can be personalized to your needs which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long‑term disability, company provided life insurance and supplemental life insurance. In addition, we offer a 401K retirement plan with company match. We also offer generous paid time off to allow flexibility to balance personal life and work.

This includes paid parental leave for new parents.

Lee Enterprises is a major subscription and advertising platform and a leading provider of local news and information, with daily newspapers, rapidly growing digital products and nearly 350 weekly and specialty publications serving 74 markets in 25 states. Year to date, Lee's newspapers have an average daily circulation of 1.0 million, and our legacy websites, including acquisitions, reach more than 34 million digital unique visitors.

Lee Enterprises is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we participate in E-Verify. We are committed to attracting and retaining a workforce whose diversity reflects the communities we serve. Lee embraces change, and we recognize that we must create and maintain a culture of fervent inclusion. For more information about Lee, check us out at