THE WISCONSIN NEWSPAPER AND ITS HISTORY

Over a hundred daily newspapers circle in Wisconsin, among them are the Wisconsin State Journal and the Capital Times. Both newspapers find their origin in Madison, Wisconsin’s State Capital.

The Wisconsin State Journal was first published as The Madison Express on December 2, 1839. Founded as an afternoon weekly, it developed into an afternoon daily in 1852. Its name changed into the Wisconsin Daily Journal, until 1860 when the Wisconsin newspaper received its current name, the Wisconsin State Journal. The newspaper is the second largest in Wisconsin, with an average daily circulation of 89,932. It is mainly distributed in South Central Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin State Journal’s biggest rival used to be the Capital Times. This newspaper was launched in 1917, also in Madison. Its founder William T. Evjue used to be an editor of the Wisconsin State Journal. He quit the State Journal in the summer of 1917, after an argument with the paper over its abandonment of one of its protégées, the progressive Robert La Follette.

La Follette, also known as “Fighting Bob”, was a progressive politician. He served as governor of Wisconsin and was leader of the Wisconsin Progressive Party. The Wisconsin State Journal supported him, until La Follette openly opposed World War 1.  Managing editor Evjue disagreed with the Journal and thought that La Fallotte should not be abandoned. He no longer wished to be associated with the major newspaper, and left the Wisconsin State Journal to found his own. This resulted in the Capital Times.

The Capital Times started as an afternoon daily on the 13th of December 1917. It immediately competed firmly with the Wisconsin Daily Journal, although in the beginning it was boycotted by advertisers. Rumours had spread that the new Wisconsin newspaper was editorially pro-German. This was due to Evjue’s support for the anti-war La Follette. Evjue managed to beat the boycott pretty soon, by visiting nearby communities and selling 1 dollar subscriptions to the newspaper by himself. He created region-wide goodwill and soon the Capital Times was a flourishing journal.

Until the late 1940s, the two Wisconsin newspapers continued fighting each other. Trying to steal each other’s advertisers, attempting to scoop each other and competing for circulation, they almost faced bankruptcy. Finally, they decided on trying to form a partnership to prevent loss of both journals.

Lee Enterprises, the company that owned the Wisconsin State Journal, and The Capital Times Company started negotiations in 1947. The companies fused and signed an agreement on November 15, 1948. from then on, the newspapers were operated under joint agency of Madison Newspapers Inc, which is today Capital Newspapers.

The Wisconsin State Journal moved from the afternoons to become a morning daily on February 1, 1949. It also started publishing a Sunday newspaper, which made it a unique in Madison.

Both journals now have a combined news website: www.madison.com. However, the newspapers also both kept their own identity and developed their own websites, continuing to serve their own separate readerships.
Read the Wisconsin State Journal on: www.madison.com/wsj/
Find them here:
Capital Times
P. O. Box 8056
Madison, WI 53708
608-252-6200

Read the Capital Times on: www.madison.com/tct/
Find them here:
Wisconsin State Journal
P.O. Box 8056
Madison, WI 53708-8058
608-252-6155

OTHER WISCONSIN NEWSPAPERS:

Read other Wisconsin newspapers from cities all over the state:

Rhinelander: http://www.rhinelanderdailynews.com/
Milwaukee http://www.jsonline.com/
Beaver Dam: http://www.citizenol.com/
Wisconsin Rapids: http://www.wisinfo.com/dailytribune/