Sad News: Cap Times to suspend print edition

The Madison Capital Times, one of the few remaining progressive newspapers in the nation, will suspend print editions in April. Here's how John Nichols reports this shocking news:

As someone who has written a number of books and articles about media and journalism, I am acutely aware that newspapers are in decline. Circulation is down, and so are ad revenues. The consolidated corporations that own most newspapers may be satisfied to put out "products" that are pale shadows of the great journals of old, squeezing the last life and the last few dollars out of publications that they never valued as anything more than investments.

But for someone who values journalism, particularly the dissenting journalism of The Capital Times, the notion of managing the decline of this newspaper is appalling. Like Evjue, I want The Capital Times to roar as mightily in the 21st century as it did in the 20th. To do that, we must change.

So, beginning in April, The Capital Times will suspend publication of afternoon print editions and begin publishing a full-service, round-the-clock newspaper on the Internet. We'll still put out a weekly journal of news and opinion in print, much like the old Capital Times Monday edition that circulated statewide, and a print edition with a cultural focus.

The paper announced the changes on Thursday. John's full essay can be found here. More from editor Dave Zweifel can be found here.

In 1927 the paper's founder, William T. Evjue, wrote this:

"The Madison Capital Times was founded by a group of people who believed that there should be a journalistic voice in Madison sympathetic to the principles of government which would enhance the public good and which should be dedicated to the proposition that the public welfare transcends considerations of private profit and privilege." Today it's hard to find even one mainstream newspaper or broadcast outlet holding such principles--yet all of us can name many that are hostile to them.

When Jim Mather and I traveled to the Cap Times' office in 2002 to interview Nichols, we were in awe of the feisty and dedicated spirit of the employees. How terrible that some of those people will lose their jobs.

I like what this "Middle Age Main St. Reublican" has to say about all this:

I've always had a soft spot for The Capital Times even though politically I'm more likely to be on the opposite side of the scrappy liberal publication. That's because the newspaper isn't a knee-jerk liberal mouthpiece but rather one born out of early 20th century populism. Along with the liberal tradition was a progressive tradition honed by founder William T. Evjue whose motto of "Let the people have the truth and the freedom to discuss it" still rings loud and clear in the soul of this former journalist.

Who knows, maybe the net version of the paper will become just as vital as the print version once was. As Nichols suggests, the challenge will be for the paper to maintain its ideals while trying to survive in the profit driven world of modern journalism.