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The story of Missoula Independent has been redacted, just like this newspaper. Kaitlyn Flannagan for the observer
There is a new point of sale joining DNAinfo and the Voice Village in the publication cemetery. But this one comes from a very different part of the country. the Missoula Independent, the only weekly in Montana, stopped suddenly this morning. The 12 staff members of the 27-year-old newspaper were informed by e-mail.
Derek Brouwer, the Independent The reporter who told the story on Twitter told Observer that he was late when he revised a cover for Thursday's issue. When he woke up, he missed a call from the Regional Human Resources Officer and the closure notice was in his inbox.
Brouwer and his co-workers will receive salary and benefits until October 10, and any other benefits may be paid thereafter.
But for now, they will not be able to provide clips when they apply for other jobs. the Independent the site now redirects to the Missoulian, its daily competitor – Independent inaccessible articles online.
the IndependentThe trouble began last year, when they were acquired by Lee Enterprises (which also owns Missoulian). The publishing conglomerate publishes 46 newspapers in 21 states, and one of its first proposals was to cut three-quarters of the newspaper's staff while outsourcing non-newsroom functions, such as marketing.
"Staff, readers and advertisers were very concerned about the commitment," said Brouwer. "Lee had not thought about the implications or communicated the change to our readers. We did not want to become an entertainment supplement. "
Lee's threats inspired the Independent The staff to unionize with NewsGuild in April – it was the only syndicated newsroom in Montana. The newspaper's bargaining unit advocated for improved benefits and fought against efforts to reduce staff. A company that paid $ 1.8 million in bonuses to its top five executives last year could afford to keep the paper fully staffed.
But in light of today's news, it is clear that Lee disagreed. And shortly after shutting down, the company's Wikipedia page became a wall of lamentation.
Lee Enterprises' Wikipedia page after the Missoula Independent has closed. Wikipedia
"Lee Enterprises is a publicly traded US media company that specializes in buying well-known local newspapers in order to empty them of everything they once did," reads briefly in the page. "He is currently destroying 46 daily newspapers in 21 states."
In addition, one of the sections of the page has been replaced by "Newspapers they dismantle". All these changes have finally been replaced by a more sober language. The revision history of the page shows that it has been modified 15 times today from 10 different IP addresses.
Anyone who follows the New York media knows very well the IndependentTroubles. Over the past year, well known outlets such as DNAinfo and The voice of the village closed after the impatience of their billionaire owners face the low profitability of the media.
DNAinfo in particular reflects the struggles of its western counterpart. His staff was also fired shortly after deciding to unionize – the owner of DNAinfo, Joe Ricketts, ended the war in less than a week.
Danielle Tcholakian, former staff member of DNAinfo, told Observer that Lee, like Ricketts, had not given Independent enough time to succeed financially.
"To give barely a year is not an investment, so the argument" it was not profitable "is wrong," she said.
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