Capital Times, a Madison, Wisconsin Afternoon daily newspaper with 16,500 circulation, will drop its print version and implement full switchover to the Web, effective this coming April.
Though the company is still financially healthy, it is having a hard time catching up with the onslaught of many online newspapers and non-stop news on TV. Capital has an online version for more than 7 years. Now, it will pump more resources and efforts to make it more competitive. In other words, it needs to ride the wave of the future or else perish. According to its Editor, Dave Zweifel:
“We have been able to hang on, but I think the impact of the Web has really exacerbated it. We can sit here and continue the way we are, or take a step into the future.”
For readers who are used to print version, Capital Times will still print 2 weekly magazines. One will contain the news and opinion sections while the other will focus on culture and entertainment.
This is just the beginning. Expect to see more print newspapers shifting to the Web because it delivers news faster and more cost-efficient.
Originally posted on February 8, 2008 @ 9:38 am