A sad day for lovers of local newspapers. After years of facing not only the general decline of the industry worldwide, but also the collapse of the southern Humboldt economy in particular, the Garberville-based free weekly The Independent is closing its doors. Its last issue is on stands now.

Every publication, if it is successful, creates its own little world, which is a reflection in miniature of the world it serves. The Independent excelled at this. It usually led with a big, beautiful nature photograph of some place or creature in SoHum. Elsewhere on the front page were news reports from experienced, professional reporters like Daniel Mintz and Keith Easthouse. In the back pages — always the soul of any newspaper — you got various voices from the community, including most prominently that of Ray Oakes, the octogenarian whose column was the paper’s anchor for most of its run.

It will be missed. KMUD’s Lauren Schmitt had a nice talk with Joe Kirby, the Independent’s editor, on last night’s broadcast. “People are almost, just, kinda over it,” Kirby says of print journalism in general, which is the saddest and truest thing you’re likely to hear today.

Listen to the KMUD interview below.