'Old-school newspaperman': Montana Standard reporter Mike Smith remembered for getting it right

Mike Smith’s newsroom desk features framed photos of his dogs, an authentic football helmet from the University of Oklahoma and the tools of the trade he cherished and honored — pens and pads for note taking, a landline phone for interviews and a well-worn computer keyboard.

Smith, 60, was already a veteran reporter when he joined The Montana Standard in 2013. He died early Tuesday at home in Butte of apparent natural causes.

On Wednesday, former colleagues, regional public officials and a priest remembered Smith as a consummate journalist, friend and a lover of dogs and sports.

Colleagues who commented included David McCumber, former editor of The Montana Standard, who has had a long and distinguished career in journalism. He is now executive editor of The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson.

“Mike Smith was a pro’s pro, a superb reporter and a fantastic colleague,” McCumber said. “He truly loved Butte and devoted the last 12 years of his life to reporting on the city.”

He said Smith’s morning drive to work in his Chevy pickup was fortified by an amazing work ethic and dedication to his craft.

“I was honored to work with him and will always remember his good humor — I gave him a lot of grief about his love affair with the Dallas Cowboys — and his attention to the people he covered,” McCumber said. “Mike cared about getting it right and making deadlines, and he did both.”

McCumber added, “He made friends everywhere he went, from judges to commissioners to people he met on the street. He loved his dogs more than anything. He never forgave Butte for the big ‘No Dogs Allowed’ signs in the city parks — nor should he have, in my opinion.”

Matt Kiewiet, a former managing editor at The Montana Standard, said Smith convinced him to get a second dog.

“After my wife and I adopted dog No. 2, Elaine, I brought her in to meet Mike and she peed on the floor next to his desk,” Kiewiet recalled. “I told him I was so sorry. Smiling ear-to-ear, he told me not to worry about it. He was so excited to meet her, he could not have cared less.

“Mike cared deeply about The Standard and he cared about Butte,” Kiewiet said. “He cared about accuracy and taught me the importance of clarity. ‘What good is the news if people don’t understand it?’

“He demanded every story provide equal play to both sides of the argument,” he added.

“Both sides! I must have heard that phrase a thousand times,” said Kiewiet, who works now for The Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. “He loved what he did. Because of him, I now have a deeper appreciation and sense of pride for what I do.”

In many ways, as admirers observed Wednesday, Smith was an old-school journalist. He dressed sharply, wore pressed shirts and slacks. He developed sources who trusted him because of his fairness, objectivity and meticulous attention to accuracy. He rarely felt a need to consult the AP Stylebook for guidance because he knew the standards by heart.

Smith tangled with sources on occasion when they got his dander up, but that was old school too. He knew journalism isn’t a popularity contest, and some officials shrink from candor as though it coils and rattles.

That said, Smith was liked and respected by a diverse array of people in Butte-Silver Bow County. One was Ed Lester, the county sheriff.

He described Smith as a class act and real professional.

“Mike was an old-school reporter. He reported it like it was,” Lester said. “He wanted to be fair and accurate, so he worked to get the story from all sides.”

Lester said Smith was always easy to talk to, even when the stories were unpleasant.

“I always looked forward to talking with him,” he said.

The two men did not always talk about crime and punishment. Sports joined the mix, with Smith a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan and Lester remaining loyal to the Chicago Bears.

“On slow news days we’d commiserate about our teams,” Lester said. “Most of the time, both teams were bad, so it was like a therapy session.”

For every holiday that came around, the sheriff received a message from Smith.

“I’m really going to miss him,” he said. “He was truly a nice guy with a tough job.”

Not long ago, Smith shared with colleagues a story from his boyhood. He ventured out trick-or-treating one Halloween as Tom Landry, the Cowboys’ former head coach, wearing the Landry-style fedora and a sport coat.

J.P. Gallagher, CEO of Butte-Silver Bow County, also complimented Smith’s professionalism.

“Mike Smith was the kind of reporter every community deserves — fair, balanced and deeply committed to getting the story right,” Gallagher said. “In local government, we don’t always agree with every article that gets written, but Mike earned my respect because he always took the time to fact‑check, to call back, and to make sure my statements were represented accurately. He cared about the truth, and he cared about this community.

“Beyond the work, Mike never ended a conversation without a quick chat about our shared love for the Dallas Cowboys or swapping stories about our dogs,” he said. “Those moments showed the genuine, kind and thoughtful person behind the byline. He was an old‑school newspaperman in the very best sense, passionate about print journalism, dedicated to fairness, and committed to serving the public with integrity.”

Gallagher described Smith as a true professional and friend.

“I will miss him, and our community will feel the loss of his steady, balanced voice in local reporting,” he said.

Smith graduated in 1988 from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in journalism. His career included stints with the Associated Press in Oklahoma City and Indiana. He was the AP’s chief statehouse correspondent in Indiana.

Lesley Weidenbener, editor of the Indianapolis Business Journal, knew Smith during his statehouse days.

“He was truly one of the most incredible journalists I ever worked with and an even better friend,” she said. “No one could make me laugh harder.”

Smith had strong feelings about journalism. More than once, he stormed into McCumber’s office at The Montana Standard to complain about coverage decisions or something else stirring his ire. He and McCumber would go toe-to-toe verbally, voices rising, and then be absolutely OK with each other 15 minutes later, sustained by a relationship of mutual respect, affection and admiration.

Judge Jerome McCarthy said he knew Smith from the time McCarthy was a Butte Law Enforcement detective to his current position as Butte City Court judge.

“Mike was not just a reporter,” said Judge McCarthy. “Over the years, he became a friend.”

McCarthy said Smith always had a smile on his face and something nice to say when he saw him in the courthouse.

“Mike had the utmost integrity and you always knew you could trust him,” McCarthy said.

Cindi Shaw served on the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners when she first met Smith.

The two became friends.

As Shaw explained Wednesday, both she and Smith grew up as military brats, so they had that in common. Not being Butte natives was another shared trait.

Yet the two also shared a love for Butte, a place they called home.

“I never saw a non-Butte native that loved Butte as much as Mike did,” said Shaw.

She said Smith always had a way of lifting her up and making her feel like she was doing her job when she served on the Council of Commissioners.

“He was a real friend and an advocate,” she said.

Even after she retired from public service in 2023, the two remained friends and met for lunch every couple of months.

“Mike is irreplaceable — one in a million,” said Shaw. “He will be greatly missed.”

Father Patrick Beretta said he and Smith shared a love for dogs.

The Butte priest recalled one July when Smith stopped at the rectory before Smith headed home to Oklahoma for a visit.

“Would you mind blessing me and my dogs?” he asked Father Beretta.

Father Beretta, of course, complied.

“Mike had the gentleness of his golden retriever — a uniquely disarming gentleness,” he said.

Father Beretta described Smith’s reporting as thoughtful and said his stories captured the human element, not just the mechanics.

“That was his great, great strength and what made him so endearing,” said Father Beretta. “He was extraordinarily considerate — a gifted human being.”

Mike Smith was born in 1965 at Elmendorf Air Force Base outside of Anchorage, Alaska. He was preceded in death by his mother, Gloria, in 2022. He is survived by his father, Blaine Smith, of Duncan, Oklahoma, and brother Steve Smith and wife, Terri Smith, of Houston, Texas.

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