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Joseph T. O'Connor on Muck Rack

Joseph T. O'Connor

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Big Sky
As seen in: Mountain Journal, Newsweek, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Vail Daily, Montana Free Press, Explore Big Sky, Newport This Week, Mountain Outlaw
Covers:  Politics, profiles, environment, sports
Journalist, skier, Red Sox fan

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Joseph T. O'Connor’s Biography

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Journalism has led me around the world in pursuit of stories. On each adventure - interviewing skiers on a mountain peak in Montana, reporting on doctors in a remote village in Haiti, or field producing on the rolling hills of England - I've learned more about myself and the craft I've been building upon for 20 years.

When Newsweek magazine published a high school essay I wrote in 1998, I was hooked. The moment sparked a lifelong affair. I've since published work in Skiing Magazine and CNN.com …

Joseph T. O'Connor’s Journalist Portfolio

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Moving Into The Flames, Part 1

Moving Into The Flames, Part 1

This article is the first in a Mountain Journal series examining wildfire in the West, the potential risks of…

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Moving Into the Flames, Part 3: A New West Mountain Town Primed For Its Own 'Big Burn'?

Moving Into the Flames, Part 3: A New West Mountain Town Primed For Its Own 'Big Burn'?

The high-profile resort community of Big Sky, Montana, is at 'very high risk to wildfire' and an emblem for t…

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Featured Outlaw: The Vision of Tom Brokaw - Mountain Outlaw

Featured Outlaw: The Vision of Tom Brokaw - Mountain Outlaw

Legendary newsman Tom Brokaw sits down to talk journalism, climbing with the Do-Boys and what Montana can do …

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The Clash Over King Coal

The Clash Over King Coal

By digging into the energy portfolio of the U.S. Mountain West and reporting on location from coal towns and …

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Ted Turner: In His Own Words - Mountain Outlaw

Ted Turner: In His Own Words - Mountain Outlaw

From daring yacht races to becoming one of the world's most outspoken and successful media moguls, Ted Turn…

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In The Wake: Stories of Resilience

In The Wake: Stories of Resilience

Six athletes died doing what they loved: mountaineering, skydiving, skiing, BASE jumping. Six widows are left…

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Articles

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By Robert Chaney, Joseph T. O'Connor Verified
| Montana Free Press Verified
In January 2019, MacNeil Lyons was four years into Yellowstone Insight, the guide service he founded in 2015 to bring visitors through Yellowstone National Park for wildlife, photography and history tours. The federal government had shut down a few weeks earlier, on Dec. 22, and much to Lyons’ delight the feds had opted to keep the gates open to Yellowstone. His team kept filling guided trips but soon realized that since park employees were furloughed, no one was working to keep the park clean.
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The trickle-down effect of the shutdown’s impact on national parks

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By Robert Chaney, Joseph T. O'Connor Verified
| Montana Free Press Verified
In January 2019, MacNeil Lyons was four years into Yellowstone Insight, the guide service he founded in 2015 to bring visitors through Yellowstone National Park for wildlife, photography and history tours. The federal government had shut down a few weeks earlier, on Dec. 22, and much to Lyons’ delight the feds had opted to keep the gates open to Yellowstone. His team kept filling guided trips but soon realized that since park employees were furloughed, no one was working to keep the park clean.
Open in Who Shared View Duplicates (2) Issue with article?

‘A cascading effect’: Forest Service, Park Service workers who lost jobs explain rippling fallout

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By Joseph T. O'Connor Verified, Amanda Eggert Verified
| Bozeman Daily Chronicle Verified
When Allison Borges was hired on as a weeds specialist with the U.S. Forest Service in May 2024, she was thrilled. She moved to Bozeman from her home in Washington state, spending the drive thinking about how she would finally be able to afford new furniture. Being a permanent employee on the Custer Gallatin National Forest was a dream, and five seasons at Mount Rainier National Park as a noxious weeds specialist paved the way. “I love this job,” Borges, 37, said in a Feb. 18 interview.
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