Stop the Presses - for good

The Capital Times of Madison, Wis., recently announced that they will be eliminating their print version and moving exclusively to online publishing at madison.com. Its publisher said the decision was made because the print product had become irrelevant.

That may be overstating it a bit, as it's less of a statement about what content is delivered and more about how it was delivered. As more people went to Internet editions, the print circulation declined. At some point, however, the move was probably inevitable. Although many newspapers have made many changes, the Cap Times was the first to go all the way.

The Madison publication will not give up all printed content altogether, however. It will still put out an entertainment guide and a news weekly. This is an example of how news publishers are trying new business models.

it will be interesting to see how this approach pays off - or doesn't. Unfortunately, 20 staff members -- one of whom is one the most amazing photographers I've ever met -- lost their jobs to either layoffs or buyouts. If more and more newspapers go this route, the job market will be tighter than it already is.