In what certainly looks like the first casualty of right-wing media conglomerate Sinclair Broadcasting’s takeover of Fisher Communications, Seattle Pulp has been shut down, along with Portland Pulp. The Seattle site launched two years ago and was billed as covering the city’s lifestyle beat “with a more urban, witty and fun voice,” targeting the 18-34 age demographic.
However, Kevin Cotlove, Director of Content at KOMO, says closing the site had “nothing to do” with the pending Sinclair merger. “It was a business decision solely related to the performance of those sites.” Fisher’s website says the site earned a million annual pageviews.
“I adored writing for Seattle Pulp,” a former Pulp staff writer, who prefers not to be named, explained to me via email this morning. “We weren’t huge, but we did inform our readers of interesting, local happenings… It’s a sad day any time a locally-focused website is shuttered, because it means lost jobs and lost voices.”
RIP, Seattle Pulp.