''Isthmus'' is a free

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

newspaper based in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

(US). Founded by Vince O'Hern and Fred Milverstedt in 1976, the paper is published monthly on the first Thursday, with a circulation of 35,000. In 2020 the newspaper became a nonprofit, joining a growing number of local news outlets turning to community support to fund operations. ''Isthmus'' offers local news, opinion, sports and coverage of the arts, dining and music scenes. ''Isthmus'' takes its name from the

land mass A landmass, or land mass, is a large region or area of land. The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean or sea, such as a continent or a large island. In the field of geology, a landmass is a defined section of continental ...

that forms the heart of Madison’s downtown and houses the twin engines of the city’s economy, the University of Wisconsin—Madison and the

Wisconsin State Capitol The Wisconsin State Capitol, located in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. Completed in 1917, the building is the fifth to serve as the Wi ...

. The paper was founded by Vincent P. O'Hern and Fred Milverstedt, the latter a Madison area journalist and the former a Madison transplant originally from Detroit. It was O'Hern and Milverstedt who came up with the paper's somewhat ominous original motto, "To the Death," a mantra that, according to O'Hern, "expressed our determination to succeed," though he noted that "no life has been lost in

he paper's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

production.""Making the Paper: To the Death,"
from ''Isthmus'', 7/10/2014 Milverstedt served as original editor of ''Isthmus'' until leaving the paper in 1980. O'Hern would remain as the paper's publisher, and write a weekly "Making the Paper" column; his wife, Linda Baldwin, also served as associate publisher. On July 10, 2014, O'Hern announced that he and Baldwin would retire from ''Isthmus'', and that its parent company would be sold to Red Card Media, a Madison-based company known for the Red Card prepaid dining service for UW—Madison students. Red Card's principal ownership includes the trio of Jeff Haupt, Craig Bartlett, and

Mark Tauscher Mark Tauscher (; born June 17, 1977) is a former American football offensive tackle who spend his entire 11-year career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Packers in the seventh round of the 20 ...

. On March 19, 2020, Red Card ceased ''Isthmus''’ print publications for the first time in forty years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and laid off the newspaper’s entire staff. ''Isthmus'' continued to produce content online, notably staff writer Dylan Brogan’s coverage of downtown protests and civil unrest following the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

by a Minneapolis police officer and the police shooting of

Jacob Blake On August 23, 2020, Jacob S. Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was shot and seriously injured by police officer Rusten Sheskey in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sheskey shot Blake in the back four times and the side three times after Blake opened the driv ...

in Kenosha, WI. Haupt and Bartlett transferred most of the newspaper’s intellectual property to Isthmus Community Media, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on November 1, 2020. Red Card retained ownership of Beer and Cheese Fest, Paddle and Portage, and other events created under the ''Isthmus'' brand. Dylan Brogan, Judith Davidoff, Linda Falkenstein and Bob Koch led the transition to a nonprofit model and worked as volunteers for months to save the paper during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. Jason Joyce, former news editor at ''The Capital Times'' and the former digital media editor at ''Isthmus,'' was hired as publisher in July 2021. He oversees operations with Davidoff, who serves as editor and president of the board of directors. ''Isthmus'' returned to print on August 5, 2021 after a 17 month hiatus. The paper publishes the first Thursday of the month. ''Isthmus'', through both its print edition and its website (Isthmus.com), carries investigative and in-depth articles, offers opinions and commentaries on current events, provides incisive coverage of the arts, and features stories on trends and culture in the Madison area. It has won numerous awards for journalistic excellence over the years, including more than three dozen first-place awards from the

Milwaukee Press Club The Milwaukee Press Club, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the oldest continuously operating press club in the United States. The club comprises journalists and others in the media in the Milwaukee area, as well as journalism educators, public relation ...

and two Golden Quills, the top honor from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. ''Isthmus'' is a member of the

Association of Alternative Newsmedia The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) is a trade association of alternative weekly newspapers in North America. It provides services to many generally liberal or progressive weekly newspapers across the United States and in Canada. A ...

, a North American trade association of alternative newsweeklies. Notable former freelancers and staffers include arts writer Kent Williams; editor and TV critic Dean Robbbins; news editor Bill Lueders, who joined the

Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism is a nonprofit investigative news organization housed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The organization's stated mission is to "increase the quality and quantity of investigative reporting ...

in June 2011 after 25 years at ''Isthmus'' and later became the editor of ''The Progressive''; Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson from the national syndicated public radio show '' To The Best Of Knowledge''; and former interns

Anthony Shadid Anthony Shadid (September 26, 1968 – February 16, 2012) was a foreign correspondent for ''The New York Times'' based in Baghdad and Beirut who won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting twice, in 2004 and 2010.Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

References

External links

''Isthmus'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isthmus (Newspaper) Newspapers published in Wisconsin Mass media in Madison, Wisconsin Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States Publications established in 1976 1976 establishments in Wisconsin

See also

References

External links