Unhappy Anniversary

Ten years ago today the last print edition of The Capital Times daily newspaper rolled off the presses here in Madison. Though the paper continues today with an online presence and a weekly news tabloid, it's not the same. Though I often read much of it online, we subscribe to a paper copy of the New York Times;  I want the print product to exist as long as possible. The NYT also has the distinct advantage of looking like the print edition when you open it online and it is easy to navigate, unlike the local papers which are as difficult to figure out today as they were when they first had an online presence.

I was just a year or two away from retirement in 2008 and was the first person who walked into HR and signed up to take the buyout. When your job title is eliminated from the list of positions in the reorganization of the company, the writing on the wall is very clear. I was lucky that I had been at the paper long enough that I got a very good severance package. And my husband could continue to work at his job as long as he wanted — and he carried our health insurance, so I can't complain. My actual job did not really disappear under the restructured setup, just what they called it. It was split into two positions which I've always thought was a nice touch of poetic justice. 

I love being retired — especially at the moment when I can garden to my heart's content. But I still miss my local paper arriving at my house every afternoon. 

. . .

FYI: I'm in the blue turtleneck sweater just behind the woman in pink. This blog  is the replacement for my newspaper column that ran in City Lights Newsmagazine and The Capital Times for 25+ years. 

Comments

[Loree / danger garden]

I still remember the shock-waves that went through our local gardening community when the Oregonian dumped the popular H&G Saturday section (and it was heavy on the G) and laid off their staff garden writer. That was the beginning of the end of my relationship with that newspaper.

[Linda Brazill]

I was a lifestyle columnist and editorial writer and editor and eventually my column morphed into an H/G column by default. I always got the daily NYTimes to get the HG section on Thursdays which they dropped in favor of style, which mostly means celebrity gossip and fashion. My column on the last day we published was about white spring flowers and I remember my sister-in-law brought me a bouquet of white flowers and I burst into tears.

[Susan Adler Sobol]

I remember feeling lost when the NYTimes dropped the Thursday Home & Garden section. Well, the Capital Times' loss has been the gain of many - from all over the US -- not just Madison!

[Linda Brazill]

Thanks for those kind words. I really enjoyed that section in the NYTimes, more than most design magazines.

[Erin @ The Impatient Gardener]

What a sad anniversary. I remember when I heard the news about the Cap Times, which was my newspaper companion for the four years I lived in Madison. We can no longer get a daily newspaper delivered to our house, and I miss it so much. When the Journal Sentinel informed us that they were ceasing delivery to my area (which is hardly the middle of nowhere), it was the first time in my adult life when I had not had a daily newspaper delivered to my door. I still believe that print will not only survive but that there will be a resurgence in its popularity. I might be tilting at windmills but I can't even think of a world without print newspapers.

[Lisa at Greenbow]

I agree with Susan. Their loss was our gain.