Isthmus (newspaper)
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Isthmus is the weekly alternative newspaper of Madison, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1976, and has built a reputation for authoritative writing on news, arts and features. The paper prints more than 60,000[1] copies each Thursday, reaching an estimated 40% of all adults in Dane County, which includes Madison and several dozen other communities[2]. It also runs TheDailyPage.com, a popular local website.
The paper was founded by Vincent P. O’Hern and Fred Milverstedt. Milverstedt, a Madison journalist, left the paper after serving as editor for the first three years. O'Hern, a Madison transplant originally from Detroit, remains the paper's publisher. Isthmus' somewhat ominous motto is “To the death.” The paper gets its name from the land mass 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 state Capitol.
Isthmus belongs to the national Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, but unlike some papers in this group is not given to advocacy journalism. Its mission, as expressed by O’Hern, is “to inform, not persuade.” It has long sought to include both conservative and liberal voices and prided itself on its willingness to take on sacred cows.
The paper carries investigative and in-depth articles, as well as incisive coverage of the arts and features stories on trends and culture. It has won numerous awards for journalistic excellence over the years, including more than three dozen first-place awards from the Milwaukee Press Club and two Golden Quills[3], the top honor from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. Two former interns – Anthony Shadid and Abigail Goldman[4] – have gone on to win Pulitzer prizes.
Isthmus employs about three dozen fulltime staff members. Longtime staffers include executive editor Marc Eisen, arts editor Dean Robbins, associate editor Michana Buchman, news editor Bill Lueders, arts writer Kent Williams, staff writer David Medaris, creative director Ellen Meany, associate publisher Linda Baldwin and administrative director Kathy Bailey.
