Erica Frederickson, co-publisher of The Pulp, said the Missoula-based nonprofit news outlet launched in September 2023 to help fill coverage gaps left after the Missoula Independent closed in 2018. "We started because... we got a grant, launched it, and launched it as a nonprofit," Frederickson said, describing a model that mixes foundation grants, individual monthly donors and local business sponsorships.

Frederickson told MCAT host Joel Baird that she and co-founder Matt Frank, both former Independent staffers, spent years planning the outlet before a grant made launch possible. The Pulp is digital-first, Frederickson said, aiming for roughly three stories a week though the outlet currently publishes less while it remains small: "There's just two of us running it still," she said, with a pool of freelancers contributing.

The outlet is free to read online, Frederickson emphasized. "There's no paywall," she said, adding that accessibility was an intentional choice and that funding must come from other channels. She described three main revenue streams: foundation grants, monthly individual donations (she cited $5 as a typical small contribution), and business sponsorships. Frederickson named early business supporters including Rockin' Rudy's, Betty's Divine and Clyde Coffee.

On editorial approach, Frederickson said The Pulp seeks human-centered local journalism that can surface civic issues in engaging ways. She recounted a feature about a person who collected dog-waste bags on trails and left notes — a story framed as both amusing and illuminating about how the community manages shared spaces. "It was a long story... really about how we engage with each other," Frederickson said.

Print matters to the outlet: Frederickson described a prior zine experiment, Garden City Beast, and said putting stacks of printed material in coffee shops attracted readers across age groups. "People loved it... they posted on social media pictures of them reading it with their coffee," she said. The Pulp currently plans quarterly print issues and hopes to move to a monthly schedule when funding and staffing allow.

Frederickson said The Pulp also publishes two free newsletters — an arts-and-culture "about town" newsletter and a newsier "Fresh Press" — which she and the team use to drive readership to stories and provide curated recommendations from other outlets. She framed The Pulp as complementary to the Missoulian rather than a duplicate: "The Missoulian has some great reporters... but they're behind a paywall, and they're limited in staff," she said, arguing that local civic coverage still needs more local capacity.

The Pulp's immediate priorities are growing readership, expanding small monthly contributions and securing sponsorships to sustain a more frequent print schedule and increased reporting capacity. The outlet's website is thepulp.org; Frederickson encouraged readers to sign up for newsletters, donate or contact the organization about sponsorships. MCAT host Joel Baird closed the segment with contact information for Missoula Community Access Television for viewers with suggestions for future guests.