John Adams is the executive director and editor-in-chief of Montana Free Press, which he launched in 2016. He started his newspaper career as the city government reporter for the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, where he covered the City Hall, police, fire and local courthouse beats. In 2005 he joined the staff of the Missoula Independent in Missoula, Montana, where he worked as a staff reporter covering a wide range of issues including the environment, state politics and local politics. In 2007, the Great Falls Tribune recruited Adams to head its statehouse news bureau in Helena. For the next seven years, John covered state government and politics as the capital bureau chief.