Capital Times
| Type | newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Monday-thru-Saturday broadsheet (until 4/26/2008) Wednesday-and-Thursday tabloid (beginning 4/30/2008) |
| Owner(s) | The Capital Times Company |
| Publisher | Clayton Frink |
| Editor | Paul Fanlund |
| Founded | 1917 |
| Political alignment | Progressivism |
| Headquarters | Madison, Wisconsin, United States |
| Circulation | 19,355 Weekday 21,065 Saturday (Numbers before 4/30/2008) |
| Sister newspapers | Wisconsin State Journal |
| ISSN | 0749-4068 |
| Website | captimes.com |
The Capital Times (or Cap Times) is a newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by The Capital Times Company. The newspaper is primarily distributed in a 19-county region in south-central Wisconsin.The Capital Times formerly published paper editions Mondays through Saturdays, with a weekday circulation of 19,355 and a Saturday circulation of 21,065. The paper ceased daily (Monday-Saturday) paper publication with its April 26, 2008 edition. It became a primarily Internet-based daily news operation while continuing to publish twice-weekly free paper supplements.
The Capital Times began publishing as an afternoon daily on December 13, 1917, competing directly with the Wisconsin State Journal. The Cap Times' founder, William T. Evjue, previously served as managing editor and business manager of the State Journal, a paper that had been a supporter of the progressive Robert La Follette, whom Evjue considered a hero. When La Follette began publicly opposing World War I, the pro-war State Journal abandoned La Follette. In response, Evjue abandoned the State Journal and formed his own newspaper, The Capital Times, one that would reflect the progressive views he espoused. The newspaper's motto was and continues to be "Wisconsin's Progressive Newspaper."
Rumors were spread that the new newspaper was editorially pro-German because of Evjue's support for the anti-war La Follette. As a result, shortly after publishing the first issue, The Capital Times faced an advertising boycott. Evjue, resolved to beat the boycott, visited nearby communities selling $1 subscriptions. By the summer of 1919, the newspaper had a circulation of over 10,000 and the advertising boycott ended. In November 1927, the paper launched a Sunday edition.
During the 1920s, The Capital Times co-owned the left-wing magazine The Progressive along with the La Follette family.
Fierce competition continued between the Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times until the late 1940s when the newspapers could not afford to replace their aging equipment. After years of attempting to scoop each other and competing for advertising and circulation, the newspapers entered into consolidation talks in the hope of maintaining both newspapers.
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