Dozens of newspapers owned by Iowa-based news media company Lee Enterprises were affected by a cyberattack starting on Feb. 3, 2025, disrupting the publication of print and e-editions.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch — one of Lee Enterprises’ more than 400 daily, weekly and specialty newspapers across 24 states — reported that the media conglomerate had experienced a “cybersecurity event.” The company alerted its newspapers that it had been working with third-party specialists to investigate the disruption and restore the systems.
“We are now focused on determining what information — if any — may have been affected by the situation,” Lee Enterprises CEO Kevin Mowbray wrote. “We are working to complete this investigation as quickly and thoroughly as possible, but these types of investigations are complex and time-consuming, with many taking several weeks or longer to complete.”
According to the Post-Dispatch, the targeting of the company’s computers prevented many newspapers from building pages and publishing print editions. The Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina reported that some subscribers could not access their accounts.
At least 76 newspapers reported disruptions to their operations. Many published delayed or smaller editions while others were unable to publish entirely.
The Sentinel in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, reported that the cyberattack affected phone lines and internet at its office, forcing staff to work remotely. Carrier Sidener, executive editor of The News & Advance in Lynchburg, Virginia, wrote on Feb. 9 that the attack also disabled her newsroom’s phone system.
As of Feb. 12, Lee newspapers continued to have banners on their websites that read: “We are currently undergoing maintenance on some services, which may temporarily affect access to subscription accounts and the e-edition. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve the issues.”
According to the Winston-Salem Journal, CEO Mowbray told the newspapers that the company is working to find ways to prevent something similar from happening again but did not say when the issues would be resolved.
Mowbray also thanked employees “for your above-and-beyond efforts to continue reporting the news and maintaining our operations under challenging circumstances.”
The full list of outlets confirmed to have been affected, listed alphabetically by state:
- Arizona — The Arizona Daily Star
- Illinois — Herald & Review, Journal Gazette & Times-Courier, The Pantagraph, Woodford County Journal
- Iowa — Bulletin-Review, The Daily Nonpareil, The Dispatch & The Rock Island Argus, Globe Gazette, Quad-City Times, Sioux City Journal, Southwest Iowa Herald, The Courier
- Minnesota — Winona Daily News
- Missouri — The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Montana — Billings Gazette, Independent Record, Missoulian, Montana Standard, Ravalli Republic
- Nebraska — The Banner-Press, Beatrice Daily Sun, The Columbus Telegram, Fremont Tribune, The Grand Island Independent, Lexington Clipper-Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, The North Platte Telegraph, Omaha World-Herald, Schuyler Sun, Star-Herald
- Nevada — Elko Daily Free Press
- New Jersey — The Press of Atlantic City
- New York — The Buffalo News, The Citizen, The Post-Star
- North Carolina — Hickory Daily Record, The McDowell News, News & Record, The News Herald, Statesville Record and Landmark, Winston-Salem Journal
- North Dakota — The Bismarck Tribune, The Morton County and Mandan News
- Oklahoma — Tulsa World
- Pennsylvania — The Sentinel
- Oregon — Albany Democrat-Herald, Corvallis Gazette-Times
- South Carolina — The Morning News, The Times and Democrat
- South Dakota — The Chadron Record, Rapid City Journal
- Texas — The Eagle, Waco Tribune-Herald
- Virginia — Amherst New Era-Progress, Bristol Herald Courier, Culpeper Star-Exponent, The Daily Progress, Danville Register & Bee, The Free Lance-Star, Martinsville Bulletin, Nelson County Times, The News & Advance, The News Virginian, Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Roanoke Times
- Washington — The Daily News
- Wisconsin — Baraboo News Republic, The Chippewa Herald, Daily Citizen, The Journal Times, Juneau County Star-Times, Kenosha News, La Crosse Tribune, Wisconsin State Journal
- Wyoming — Casper Star-Tribune
This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.
U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database | Radio Free (2025-02-12T17:19:23+00:00) More than 75 Lee Enterprises newspapers affected by cyberattack. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/02/12/more-than-75-lee-enterprises-newspapers-affected-by-cyberattack/
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