The Pulp is Missoula’s newest independent and non-profit newspaper, created and run by Erika Fredrickson and Matthew Frank, who are both former writers and editors for the Independent. It was established in September 2023. 

Fredrickson’s very first experience with journalism was writing for the Hellgate Lance as an editorial and news editor. She began freelance writing music reviews for the Independent and eventually got hired as an arts editor for the following 10 years.

Speaking on the importance of a local news source, Fredrickson said it fosters conversation. “Local journalism allows the community to have a cohesive conversation around topics that people care about… when everyone’s reading national news, one of the worst things about it is it’s really where a lot of division happens,” Fredrickson said.

Fredrickson hopes to bring back qualities of the Independent, For example, the more voicey aspects the Independent had. “It’s that voicey-ness like you’re talking to a friend type of thing.”

Adding personality to a daily has often been a challenge, and it’s one of The Pulp’s greatest goals. “We’re really hoping too to… be comfortable being out in the community even though we have to have that firewall of being able to cover the community we also acknowledge that we’re a part of it… We’re trying to find human centered storytelling; I think the current outlets don’t have as much of an opportunity to tell investigative stories or long form stories”.

Despite being in the early stages of funding and the staff only consisting of Fredrickson and Frank, they have big hopes for the future of the paper. “I think we would like to maybe have a couple more newsletters… we are trying to figure out a way to bring that part back (print).” They also hope to cover more investigative stories in the future, though they haven’t printed one yet. The future of The Pulp also occupies space for a staff. 

Check out their stories at thepulp.org and keep your eyes peeled for a print edition in the future.