Editor of Missoulian, Ravalli Republic resigns

MISSOULA, Mont. – The editor of the Missoulian and Ravalli Republic newspapers has resigned after about seven months on the job.

The Missoulian reported that publisher Mark Heintzelman announced Matt Bunk’s resignation on Monday.

Bunk became editor at the Missoulian and Ravalli Republic in August 2015 after serving as publisher and editor of the Western News in Libby.

Previous editor Sherry Devlin has filed a wrongful discharge lawsuit arguing that Heintzelman demoted her in April 2015, cut her pay and replaced her with a younger, less experienced man.

Bunk also served as president of the Montana Newspaper Association. MNA executive director Jim Rickman said Tuesday he expects Bunk will submit his resignation and that first vice president Jacques Rutten will step into the president’s role a couple months early. Rutten is publisher of the Lewistown News-Argus.