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Madison.com
Capital Times editor Paul Fanlund announced the shift in this video. |
Yet another daily is
cutting back to twice-weekly and shifting much of its content to the Web. The Capital Times of Madison, Wis., an afternoon daily, says it's profitable -- but will now publish less frequently and focus on its site,
Madison.com. This case is unusual: The Capital Times is published in partnership with a morning daily but is
not part of a joint operating agreement(JOA).
The paper plans to maintain a news staff of 40 to 45, according to Editor & Publisher It will publish a (primarily) free news and opinion tabloid on Wednesdays and an entertainment and culture tabloid on Thursdays.
"Moving our resources to the Web is the wave of the future," editor Dave Zweifel said. "Thousands of readers are already using CapTimes.com and, frankly, we're often blown away by the volume of responses we get to columns and stories at a time when we're devoting limited resources to the site. Putting the full force our newsroom on the site will extend the reach and relevance of The Capital Times for years and years to come."
But the paper wasn't quite as focused on the Web as it might have been, noting that "with its new distribution, The Capital Times will have a circulation of more than 80,000" vs. its current circulation of 17,000.
Last month I noted that The Gilroy (Calif.) Dispatch and the Ocean County (N.J.) Observer both cut frequency. The Dispatch improved its site and said it would focus on interactive-media services; the Observer's site was essentially folded into that of its nearby corporate (Gannett) cousin, The Asbury Park Press.
(UPDATE: Read more about the Capital Times' evolution in this Feb. 8 interview by Jill Geisler.)
