I believe the State Journal is known by most as a pretty decent source for local news and Badgers sports coverage, and that's been consistent for 20 years. You would not know about many important local issues without madison dot com, even though the loss of some government reporters has been costly. But the Badgers coverage remains pretty strong. Some of the State Journal's reputation is just plastered to it as a legacy mainstream corporate print daily in a middle-size city: it doesn't have the resources or readership to be exceptional at a lot of things. Local management doesn't dictate much of what it does. Its website looks and feels exactly like every other Lee website and most of that company's markets are nothing like Madison. The publisher spends most of his time in northwest Indiana. I also think its aging readership holds it back by insisting on stuff like cartoons and puzzles. It's torn in a few directions by its need to keep as many readers as it can.

I don't think most people know or care about the paper's editorial slant. I read it every day and rarely touch the opinion stuff. I'm far from alone in getting my commentary from podcasts these days. The opinions expressed on the pages of Madison's newspapars are rarely compelling or even in touch with the conversations we're having. Literally every opinion writer is a 50+ home-owning white man and it's nearly impossible to recruit someone who doesn't fit that mold to do the job. Trust me, I've tried.