Comments on: The Capital Times http://www.badgerblues.org/2008/02/07/the-capital-times/ progressive politics from Madison, Wisconsin Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:31:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: ETG http://www.badgerblues.org/2008/02/07/the-capital-times/#comment-101534 ETG Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:09:22 +0000 http://www.badgerblues.org/2008/02/07/the-capital-times/#comment-101534 I was a subscriber of the CT for about 35 years. Lately, though...It was clear that the paper was fading. What I noticed was the increasing pile of unopened papers sitting on my table. I thought about that for a while and concluded that immediacy is something that is difficult to do with a dead-tree paper. All of the national/regional news in the front section I had read already online. The editorial columns were all 3 days old by the time they had reached the paper. I had long since read them online, too. The only reason that I read the paper anymore was for local editorials, news and, of course, the obits. I was seriously thinking of canceling my subscription the day before this announcement came out. The CT has long been resting on it's laurels and worshiping at the shrine of Bill Evjue. It was a classic crusading liberal paper in the heyday of Evjue and Miles McMillian. The Zweiful era was a long gradual slide toward blandness, where it has settled now. I agree with Henry that the CT online presence is now pretty poor. If they are indeed serious about making that work better, with a decent format and a lot more local content, it could work. More headline clips from channel 15's newscasts is not necessarily the answer. Something Huffington Post-like may work well, assuming they have the horses to pull it off. Doing an on-line effort is not at all the same as a dead-tree one... I was a subscriber of the CT for about 35 years. Lately, though…It was clear that the paper was fading. What I noticed was the increasing pile of unopened papers sitting on my table. I thought about that for a while and concluded that immediacy is something that is difficult to do with a dead-tree paper. All of the national/regional news in the front section I had read already online. The editorial columns were all 3 days old by the time they had reached the paper. I had long since read them online, too. The only reason that I read the paper anymore was for local editorials, news and, of course, the obits. I was seriously thinking of canceling my subscription the day before this announcement came out.

The CT has long been resting on it’s laurels and worshiping at the shrine of Bill Evjue. It was a classic crusading liberal paper in the heyday of Evjue and Miles McMillian. The Zweiful era was a long gradual slide toward blandness, where it has settled now.

I agree with Henry that the CT online presence is now pretty poor. If they are indeed serious about making that work better, with a decent format and a lot more local content, it could work. More headline clips from channel 15’s newscasts is not necessarily the answer. Something Huffington Post-like may work well, assuming they have the horses to pull it off. Doing an on-line effort is not at all the same as a dead-tree one…

]]> By: henry dubb http://www.badgerblues.org/2008/02/07/the-capital-times/#comment-101532 henry dubb Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:29:42 +0000 http://www.badgerblues.org/2008/02/07/the-capital-times/#comment-101532 Yet when they did cover similar stories, the differences were interesting. I remember the story of the "principal killer" and the WSJ was all sensational whereas TCT was an objective analysis of the different sides of the story. I do hope they are serious about their online presence. I certainly expect more than is available currently. I would have subscribed if they offered PDF. I just refuse to subscribe to a paper edition with all that wasted paper. Yet when they did cover similar stories, the differences were interesting. I remember the story of the “principal killer” and the WSJ was all sensational whereas TCT was an objective analysis of the different sides of the story.

I do hope they are serious about their online presence. I certainly expect more than is available currently. I would have subscribed if they offered PDF. I just refuse to subscribe to a paper edition with all that wasted paper.

]]> By: Ben http://www.badgerblues.org/2008/02/07/the-capital-times/#comment-101531 Ben Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:21:01 +0000 http://www.badgerblues.org/2008/02/07/the-capital-times/#comment-101531 Yeah, the fight to "break" a story about, say, the weather, is pretty silly. Back in Ye Olden Days of Yore, I'm sure that sort of thing was an integral part of the newspaper culture, but these days, when TCT and WSJ are owned by the same parent company, share a printing press, coordinate distribution times, etc, it doesn't make much sense. It does seem to represent a failure to understand the strengths of good newspaper reporting, inasmuch as a newspaper can't compete with online and TV news sources for immediacy, and is probably better off focusing on accuracy and depth rather than speed. After all, the television news never wins the Pulitzer, and no one talks about being the TV newscast of record. Yeah, the fight to “break” a story about, say, the weather, is pretty silly.

Back in Ye Olden Days of Yore, I’m sure that sort of thing was an integral part of the newspaper culture, but these days, when TCT and WSJ are owned by the same parent company, share a printing press, coordinate distribution times, etc, it doesn’t make much sense.

It does seem to represent a failure to understand the strengths of good newspaper reporting, inasmuch as a newspaper can’t compete with online and TV news sources for immediacy, and is probably better off focusing on accuracy and depth rather than speed. After all, the television news never wins the Pulitzer, and no one talks about being the TV newscast of record.

]]> By: Irish http://www.badgerblues.org/2008/02/07/the-capital-times/#comment-101530 Irish Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:11:35 +0000 http://www.badgerblues.org/2008/02/07/the-capital-times/#comment-101530 The Cap Times has been in a weird pissing match with the WSJ for a while now, and it looks like they have lost. This weird thing where they both fight to be the first to get the "breaking news" on the madison.com website, as well as duplicating the same news stories with a different spin has to have taken their eyes off the ball. It's too bad. I'm aware the pm paper slot has been shot for years, but really, who reads a "paper" anymore anyway? The Cap Times has been in a weird pissing match with the WSJ for a while now, and it looks like they have lost. This weird thing where they both fight to be the first to get the “breaking news” on the madison.com website, as well as duplicating the same news stories with a different spin has to have taken their eyes off the ball. It’s too bad. I’m aware the pm paper slot has been shot for years, but really, who reads a “paper” anymore anyway?

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