US news org still struggling to print papers a week after ‘cybersecurity event’
US newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises is one week into tackling a nondescript “cybersecurity event,” saying the related investigation may take “weeks or longer” to complete.
The publisher’s CEO, Kevin Mowbray, confirmed the incident with a statement issued late in the evening of February 7. He said they had notified law enforcement and were working to determine “what information – if any – may have been affected by the situation.”
Mowbray refused to speculate on any further details at the time, although The Register contacted the company requesting more information about the nature of the incident and expected recovery time. It did not immediately respond.
The CEO added that Lee was working to “identify and implement any additional steps we can take to help prevent something like this from happening again.”
Lee Enterprises, a publicly traded media company, publishes more than 70 daily newspapers and nearly 350 weekly and special-interest publications across 25 states.
Many of its daily newspapers have reported varying degrees of disruption. Some, like Virginia’s Daily Progress, were unable to produce print or e-edition journalism as of February 3, the day the attack took hold. By February 7, however, its editors regained access to production tools.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience we know this disruption has caused for our readers,” said Reynolds Hutchins, editor at the Daily Progress. “We are grateful for the grace and patience our readers have given us. We promise it is not something we take for granted.”
The Press of Atlantic City title echoed the reports, saying many of the company’s newspapers encountered similar issues, and that it was working to deliver back issues to readers, albeit in a “smaller format” than what’s typically expected.
Likewise, The Buffalo News’ Tuesday edition was delayed, while other journals had to reduce in size from three sections to two, and some daily features were repositioned. The Arizona Daily Star was also reduced to a two-section newspaper, owing to processes that were usually automated having to be completed manually.
Meanwhile, neither St Louis’ Post-Dispatch nor the Omaha World-Herald missed a single day of publication, although print editions were affected for both, leading to smaller and/or delayed publications of print and e-edition issues.
The Post-Dispatch’s executive editor Alan Achkar said: “We’re sorry for the disruptions this has caused to the Post-Dispatch print edition and we’re grateful to readers for their patience.”
Upstate New York’s Post-Star was only able to publish its Tuesday and Thursday e-editions on February 7, the day editors regained access to production tools. Its editor said the newspaper was still unable to deliver its Saturday print edition, however, and made all the local stories that were due to be published that day available online for free, with no subscription required.
The La Crosse Tribune took a similar approach after informing readers that its Saturday editions would also be unavailable because the team could not produce them in time on Friday.
Across many affected websites, including the Post-Star, a banner currently reads: “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.”
Some Lee Enterprises brands said readers had been unable to access their online accounts and make changes, while the ability to order new subscriptions was also offline.
The Daily Progress updated readers today saying its print and e-editions were once again canceled “due to a server outage.”
Mowbray thanked staff for their “above-and-beyond efforts to continue reporting the news and maintaining our operations under challenging circumstances.”
Lee Enterprises is still yet to file a report specifically related to the “cybersecurity event” with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It published its Q1 2025 results on February 6, with highlights including a 5 percent rise in total digital revenue year-over-year and a 14 increase in digital subscription revenue. It contained no mention of the cybersecurity issues which began three days before the results’ publication.
However, a Form 10-Q filed on Friday acknowledged the incident. It read: “On February 3, 2025, the company experienced a technology outage due to a cyber incident affecting certain business applications, resulting in an operational disruption.
“The Company is actively investigating the incident, implementing recovery measures, and assessing the potential impact on its operations, financial condition, and internal controls. As of the date of this filing, the Company has not identified any impact that is material; however, the evaluation remains ongoing.” ®
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