by William Skink

Today was just made all the more depressing by breaking news that Missoula’s alt-weekly, the Missoula Independent, is shut down as of 8am this morning. The doors are locked, the corporate overlords are smiling and Matt Gibson is victorious over the unionizing staff he threw to the corporate wolves.

This move will have implications that reach far beyond Missoula. Shutting down the Indy is not some isolated, objective financial decision, it’s a corporate message of intimidation to any other Lee Enterprises staff thinking of unionizing.

It’s disgusting that the Indy was sacrificed in this manner. I hope the Missoulian is punished financially with cancelled subscriptions. I hope karma exists and Matt Gibson gets some for his role.

And I hope the Indy staff, who are now without a job, land somewhere where their talents are appreciated.

Thanks to Matt Gibson and Lee Enterprises, Missoula is no longer that place.