What is a full access subscription?
A full access subscription includes unlimited access to all mtstandard.com websites, The Montana Standard e-edition and many specialized apps for iPhone and Android. The Montana Standard newspaper home delivery service can be included where available.
If you're a current Montana Standard print subscriber, you already qualify for full access. All you need to do is activate your subscription and create an online account. Visit mtstandard.com/activate. Please be ready to provide an email address or phone number and ZIP code to activate your full access.
What if I don't have any subscription?
If you're not a newspaper subscriber, visit our subscriber page here.
What do I get with a full access subscription?
Beyond the mtstandard.com website, numerous additional digital products are available to full access subscribers. These products are:
- The Montana Standard e-edition, a PDF replica of the print edition.
- Montana Standard.com apps for iPhone, downloaded from iTunes
- Montana Standard.com apps for Android phone, downloaded from Google Play
Most of these require you to verify your account to get full access. You need only log in one time with the same email and password that you used to create an online account, and then you will have full access.
I already get the newspaper. Do I automatically get access to everything online?
Yes, as soon as you activate your full access subscription at mtstandard.com/activate.
Full access means a paid home delivery subscriber's subscription now entitles them to unlimited access to all of our great digital content on our many platforms with no restrictions. In addition to your newspaper delivery, your news will be updated throughout the day and available digitally on your computer, smartphone and tablet. This option includes unlimited access to news stories, photos, and more.
What does this mean for current website subscribers?
If you have an active subscription to Montana Standard.com only, that subscription will continue with no changes. Log in as you normally do and your access will continue as before.
What does this mean for current e-edition subscribers?
If you have an active subscription to The Montana Standard e-edition, that will continue with no changes. You also can qualify for newspaper home delivery where available and unlimited access to other mtstandard.com digital products.
What if I choose not to subscribe to anything?
If you're not a full access subscriber, access to certain stories and information will be limited. This is called a "meter," which gives everyone free basic access to Montana Standard.com. You may have heard about "paywalls" that completely lock down access to specific sites, popular sections or specific subjects, but we're not doing that at mtstandard.com.
Some parts of the site, such as homepages and popular sections listing headlines, are always free. Access to classified advertising including auto, real estate and employment remain open to everyone. Our website meter operates more like a parking meter that gives you the first hour free. For some people, that's enough. But if you want to spend more time, it will cost something. If you're close to using up your free views, the site will warn you in advance. If you use all free views, the site will automatically provide some subscription options, making it easy to sign up.
Why would I pay for online access?
The local news and information published on our websites is a valuable product. Much of the news on mtstandard.com comes exclusively from the newsrooms of The Montana Standard, which field the largest newsgathering force in the region. That means a lot of the news posted here can't be found anywhere else.
And much of what is published online can't be found in our printed products – live blogs, updating sports scores, galleries of photos, live weather conditions and radar, event listings, and much more.
By giving you the opportunity to purchase unlimited access to all of this exclusive information, we'll be able to continue to maintain and improve the quality of this coverage and information. The full access subscription remains the best option to receive unlimited access that you want, when and where you want it.
What can I get online that I can't get in the printed newspaper?
- Breaking and local news updated throughout the day
- Photo galleries, slideshows and special sections
- Local and national videos
- Commenting systems to voice/read opinions
- Easily searched text archives of past articles and recent newspaper editions
- Newsletters and alerts that can be emailed or sent to your phone so you never miss a thing
Can I share my login with my friends and others?
We discourage sharing too widely. Sharing login information gives users access to all aspects of your subscriber account, including billing information. Also, reader comments will be tied to your account, so you may want to be careful about who can access your login information.
Finally, if more than five devices are logged in at the same time, one or more will be denied access to digital products, possibly creating confusion about whether the digital subscription is really working.
How do I get mtstandard.com access on my smartphone?
Once you've activated your account, you can download and use our apps or websites on mobile devices. To get unlimited access, log in using the same email and password on all digital platforms. Visit http://mtstandard.com/apps for a full listing of these digital products, along with handy links to download them to your device. Your subscription login will allow access for up to five digital devices. TIP: Be sure to check off "remember me" at login so you don't have to enter your information on every visit.
Can I get access to The Montana Standard newspaper electronically?
Yes. The Montana Standard publishes an e-edition that is an exact replica of the newspaper available for download every morning to your desktop or iPad. This also is included in full access.
The e-edition is a specially formatted electronic version that looks just like the printed newspaper, and it is accessible on a computer web browser, an iPad and other tablet computer web browsers.
I can't get newspaper delivery in my area, and I don't want to pay a subscription for a website. Why don't you offer a basic website for free? That's all I need.
That's actually quite similar to what we're doing. You can view a certain number of any stories on the website for free each month, and some parts of the site are free all the time.
You'll be asked to pay if it turns out that you're a frequent or heavy user of the site. Collecting, producing and delivering exclusive local information around the clock, seven days a week, costs money no matter whether it's published and delivered once a day in print, or every few minutes online. We think it's fair to ask people who rely heavily on our information to support the effort by paying a modest subscription fee, regardless of whether they get the information from our paper, website, or mobile products.
If you're going to charge for access, why don't you turn off the advertising?
As more advertisers shift from print to online, they expect us to continue to help them reach local residents with their offers, deals and other messages. We'll recognize these shifts from print to online advertising by maintaining and possibly even expanding advertising options that will be more relevant and connected to your interests.
In this fast-changing business, modest digital subscriptions and advertising work together to cover the cost of collecting local news and information, and to produce numerous products around the clock.
I live out of state but have family in the Butte area. Why should I have to pay?
If you're checking our site only once in a while, you probably won't be asked to pay, because we allow limited free visits to the site. But if you rely heavily on us, it seems fair to charge a subscription fee, just as we do for local residents who pay for unlimited access to the website and newspaper.
I only read obituaries. Why should I have to pay?
If you read obituaries every day, it seems fair to ask for a modest subscription fee – just like our daily newspaper subscribers who pay to read these notices. And it's the same fee we ask from folks who look at only one other section of the website, such as entertainment listings, sports, or politics. You're not being singled out.
By the way, if you no longer live in the Butte area, you can get a Montana Standard e-edition that is an exact replica of the newspaper, including the obituaries. It looks just like the paper on your computer or iPad screen. You can even download and print out the puzzles. Our customer service staff has all the details. Here's the number: 406-496-5556.
I don't go online and just want the paper delivered to my house. Do you have a subscription package for that?
All home delivery subscription packages now include digital access. But digital access isn't limited to you. A home delivery subscriber can share a login with others in your household, just like you share the newspaper with family or friends.
For example, if there are three people in your family, you all can share one account. The overall limit is five computers or devices. Please keep in mind, everyone who has access to a shared account also has the same access to account information and privileges, including the ability to comment in online forums under the same screen name.
I'm having problems activating my full access subscription. Who can I talk to?
Please call 406-496-5556 between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. mountain time Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sundays and holidays. A customer service representative will be happy to assist you.
How do I update my subscriber account information?
To update account information, you just click go to Customer Service in the upper left hand corner of most any mtstandard.com webpage. That leads to the Customer Service homepage where you can log in to manage your account. If you have any trouble, please contact customer service as noted above.
What is the cancellation policy?
To learn more about a cancellation policy that applies to you, please contact customer service as noted above.