On March 17, the local alt-weekly newspaper Isthmus announced it would be going dark for an unknown period of time due to struggles brought on by the coronavirus outbreak in Madison. Today on the show, Isthmus editor Judy Davidoff and staff writer Dylan Brogan share their vision for the newspaper and what they are doing to navigate the uncertainty and precarity of this time.

Together with Ali, they talk about covering yesterday’s election in Wisconsin, the relevance of the free press during stay-at-home orders, and the new role of reader donations and creative community support in this unprecedented situation. After all, “It might be a free press, but it still costs money.”