The Capital Times in Madison, Wis., this month plans to end Monday-through-Saturday publication and switch to a two-day-a-week publication frequency.

The Times is beefing up its online efforts and will distribute its printed edition in the rival, but partner, morning Wisconsin State Journal twice a week. The Times also will change its format from broadsheet to tabloid.

The Times is owned by Capital Times Co. CTC, along with Lee Enterprises, owns Capital Newspapers, which also publishes the State Journal. Each company owns a 50 percent stake. The State Journal oversees production and handles advertising and administrative functions for both papers.

The newspaper said that beginning April 30, a news and opinion edition of The Times will be published on Wednesdays and distributed with home-delivered State Journal subscriptions. It will also be offered free throughout Madison in news racks.

The Times will also produce a weekly entertainment and culture section that will be distributed Thursdays. It, too, will be offered free in racks and replace an existing entertainment section.

Some 60 newsroom employees currently work at The Capital Times. About 20 jobs will be lost after the conversion is made.

The Times, like most newspapers, has suffered declining circulation. According to the Sept. 30, 2007 Fas-Fax, the newspaper had a circulation of only 16,565.