BUTTE — A new nonprofit newspaper in Butte is thriving at a time when many say print is dead, bringing the community together by celebrating local artists.
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The Shaft is a monthly paper that showcases local talent, food, neighborhood columns, a community calendar, crossword puzzles, and horoscopes made by local artists.
Megan Chang, co-editor and photographer for The Shaft, said the paper gives community members a platform to share their stories.
"No matter where you live, you have your own human experience, and being able to share that is empowering."
Chang said the paper's wide distribution adds to its community impact.
"When you can pick it up in a lot of your local shops, coffee shops, restaurants...it just adds another level of bringing everybody together."
On a recent Friday, Chang and Jesse Mullen, The Shaft's board president, reporter and newspaper delivery boy, join artist Kelly Packer in her upper West Side studio. You may remember Packer from a 2023 story when the artist went on a worldwide quest for color after the magenta oilbar that she loves was discontinued.
Packer's work is now making its way across Montana with an upcoming opening in Butte on July 17 at the library. Packer said there is something special about a printed newspaper.
"I mean, there's digital, but I think I like to feel something and do a crossword and, you know, read about people's opinions about things, and I think that's really important for a community to have that," she said.
The Shaft is funded by sponsors, fundraisers, and grants, but the monthly publication is entirely fueled by volunteers. Mullen said he takes on whatever role is needed.
"I do whatever I can to help, whether it's delivery or laying out the front page," he said.
Mullen, who also owns several weekly newspapers in southwest Montana and Idaho, said the decline of print journalism across the country makes community-focused publications like The Shaft more important.
"With...really the demise of print journalism we've seen across the US, there's less and less of that coverage, it's something that I'm passionate about, and I really care about, and it's just fun to do," he said.
The paper recently had to find a new printer after the Anaconda Leader permanently closed its doors.
"It's sad that we're no longer able to use a local print shop to produce the paper. Right now we're printing in Cody, Wyoming, and that's where some of the newspapers I own print as well," Mullen said.
As for whether print is dead, Mullen was direct.
"No. No, it's not dead. It's not the same business that it was 20 years ago... you could argue that it's not actually a business at all. We are a nonprofit publication."
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