Capital Times first emerged in 1974 in its original form as 'Capital Visitor', a free weekly newspaper aimed primarily at tourists that provided information about Wellington's events, attractions and hospitality venues. In 1982 it changed its title and its focus shifted towards a more local audience. Under the new ownership of John Bristed and guidance of Alison Franks as 'managing editor', the newspaper started to concentrate more on Wellington's arts scene with detailed reviews and interviews with local and visiting artists and entertainers. In the early 1990s the newspaper shifted away from a traditional 'type-set & pasted' production to become fully computerised, resulting in a cleaner look and often dramatic cover designs. In the early 2000s the newspaper increasingly started to cover local news stories, council politics and opinions. Being a free newspaper largely funded by advertising, the publication found it difficult to compete with the rise of social media which increasingly began to absorb this revenue stream. Though it remained popular with an enormous readership of tens of thousands of Wellingtonians weekly, a decision was made to close the publication in early 2013 with its last issue being distributed on 10th April 2013.
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Wellington City Libraries wish to thank and acknowledge Alison Franks and John Bristed for allowing us to digitise Capital Times and to make it available on this platform on a Creative Commons basis. You are welcome to use material from the newspaper on a non-commercial basis but please credit the title, any authors & photographers when stated and Wellington City Recollect as the source. Note that the content of the newspaper remains under copyright.
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