Six years ago, Missoulians were shocked to hear about the sudden closure of our alt-weekly paper, the Missoula Independent. Rumors of a resurrected Indy circulated for five long years. Then, in 2023, Missoula’s local journalism tradition turned a new page with the launch of an online news organization called The Pulp.
Indy fans might remember opening the squeaky hatch of a red sidewalk paper box, grabbing a copy from the pile, and turning to their favorite section. Whether it was a favorite writer, the kaleidoscopic calendar, or a recipe from Ari Levaux, there was always something about the irreverent style and community focus that made readers feel like it was more than a newspaper. It was their paper. The Pulp aspires to cultivate that same relationship online. That’s no surprise, considering that co-publishers Erika Fredrickson and Matthew Frank worked at the Independent for a combined 15 years.
Although The Pulp is headed by ex-Indy staffers, it’s not a digital palimpsest of the much-beloved paper. Erika sees the organization as less of an Indy redux and more an echo of its hyper-local ethos—remastered to fit today’s readers. “Indy readers often followed a particular writer and having that local voice weighing in on something really mattered to them,” said Erika. “We want to continue that same focus on the human center of journalism. We really want to get the emotion behind a story. Curiosity is the main driver and our articles have substance. They're juicy that way,” she said.
How The Pulp got its name is a juicy story in itself. “We wanted something distinctive. We wanted it to reflect Missoula and its rich history of journalism. I was thinking about where newsprint paper actually comes from—wood pulp. Historically, we had the pulp mill here. It checked all the boxes,” said Erika. Then, there's the unfettered permission readers enjoy to—ok, let's go there—beat a topic to a pulp. Fruit puns aside, fostering healthy debates is an important part of the organization’s mission. “Missoula is a place where people have strong feelings about issues. We want to spark debate and engage readers,” she said. “One of my favorite things is to bring up conversations around transportation—biking, driving, pedestrian etiquette. Everybody has a view on how we used to do things or how we should do things.”
If you’ve resorted to getting your news from late night talk shows, then The Pulp just might renew your faith in investigative journalism. Scrolling through the website will give you a taste of local and regional issues but without the bummer fatigue that lingers after reading major news outlets. That’s intentional. Writers bypass all of that drama by focusing on curiosity first. “People feel like they need something to trust; something they know is real,” said Erika. “We’re not here to expose something for the sake of exposing it. We’re not trying to be totally objective, either. We come from an angle of curiosity. That way, we can uncover common ground and bring our readers along for the ride. Then they might see themselves and their experience as part of that story,” said Erika.
Now in its second year, The Pulp has both rallied Indy loyalists and gained new followers. It’s also attracted the attention of industry leaders. In September, at the LION Independent News Sustainability Summit, they received the Business of the Year Award. The award goes to a new organizationthat “exhibits, even in its very early stages, a clearly defined commitment to working toward achieving sustainability through operational resilience, financial health, and journalistic impact.”
A great start, for sure but writers still need to be paid and websites still need to be hosted. Ironically, funding is one of the brighter spots in the industry. All sorts of business models are emerging from the ashes of print. For example, RANGE Media in Spokane is supported from the combined revenues of a brewery, bakery, and HVAC business. “There's been a lot of innovation in the digital news realm the last three years,” said Erika. “It’s all about other ways to make money. The more that revenue streams become diversified, the more we can begin rebooting everything,” she said. The Pulp is still refining various ways to raise funds. “We are supported through reader revenue, business sponsorship, and grants. And we launched with a large grant from Indiegraf, which is an organization that funds news startups across the U.S. and Canada,” Erika said. All of this enables readers to read full articles for free without annoying interruptions from website paywalls.
As The Pulp continues to take form, one looming question remains: Will there be a print version? The short answer is yes. “If there's a way to do it in digital, then there's got to be a way in print,” said Erika. ”We know people want it and we're moving forward—slowly—to find a sustainable solution,” said Erika.” For now, their digital format has The Pulp penned in by pixels, but it also allows staff to narrow the gap between writer and reader, too. “When we hit that publish button, we want the story to continue, and we want readers to be part of that. We’re always thinking about what kinds of special series we can create, like ‘What's left over on the newsroom floor?’ or ‘The story behind how we got the story,’” she said. This summer, a new series premiered, called “Rants, Raves, and Revelations.” Anyone can email rantsandraves@thepulp.org with their grumbles, declarations of affection, or short accounts of random moments that make Missoula so Missoula.
Today, quiet mouse clicks have replaced that papery rustle at the turn of a page, but The Pulp is proving that local voices and dynamic discussions are online and thriving. In the last year, compelling content has more than filled that void felt by so many for what seemed like too long. By leveraging its digital flexibility, the publication has excelled at engaging readers beyond the permanence of paper and ink. “We’re starting with curiosity and asking our readers to engage with us in genuine conversation,” said Erika. “My favorite thing is when someone says, ‘Oh yeah, I've been thinking about this.’ That’s when we know we’re doing it right.”
To get the latest headlines, previews of upcoming events, or Erika’s op-ed that will make you smile and ponder at the same time, go to ThePulp.org and subscribe to their weekly e-news letter.
“We’re starting with curiosity and asking our readers to engage with us in genuine conversation."