On Aug. 15, Mike Miller reached a milestone: Forty years of fulltime employment at The Capital Times.
"I am the oldest in both age and tenure in our newsroom except [editor emeritus] Dave Zweifel," says Miller, 64.
Make that was the oldest.
Miller is among a dozen Madison Capital Newspaper employees who've accepted the latest round of buyouts. Ten are from the Wisconsin State Journal. They include features writers Tom Alesia and Sandy Kallio, sports writers Jason Wilde (see here) and Eric Anderson, and editorial writer Chuck Martin. And Cap Times staffer Jane Burns is being moved to the State Journal. (Years ago, when the papers maintained the illusion of separation, it was considered bad form to hire from each other's ranks.)
Cap News originally asked for 15 people to fall on their swords, accepting severance packages, but sources say the 12 departures and other reshuffling will stem the need for bloodletting - at least for now.
For longtime readers, Miller's loss may be the most painful. He was a great courts reporter, knowledgeable and fair, and a gifted writer of historical pieces, including a project on his paper's history.
Suffice it to say, it's seen better days.
