I got one spindly Black Madeira cutting from UC Davis, and a handful of a fig called "Giant Amber".   I washed them carefully, dipped them in Chlorox then put them up in sphagnum moss. 

Would you believe that the Giant Amber had root initials all over when potted today, and the Black Madeira had mold?  Dag nab it; I get plumb aggravated by this kind of thing.  I washed off the Black Madeira, then swished it around in the ten percent Chlorox again and set it out. 

Thinking that it was time I tested Jon's new baggie method I used my newspaper wrappers for pots.  Satisfactory, but the newspaper bags are too big.  The bags need to be about half that size.  The ones I have are every bit as large in diameter as the cups I have been using, so there is no saving in space or potting mix. 

My conclusion is that the newspaper bags are great for air layering but I want smaller bags for starting cuttings.

I also looked at the Paradiso cuttings I dug up and set out yesterday.  I could not believe how they have progressed.  Almost every one is showing green, splitting the husks on buds.  If they are as eager to make roots as they are to make tops I will have Paradiso trees coming out my ears. 

I thought about ordering some of the same bags Jon is using, but the minimum order is a thousand bags--way more than I can use. I considered the newspaper bags as well, but decided they were too big. I ended up trying to mimic what Jon did, but with a smaller bag. I used "resealable snack bags" from Target: 6 5/8in x 3 1/4in. I slit open one of the 3 1/4in ends and used that for the top, and then cut corners on the other end (now on the bottom) for drainage. I think they'll work okay--I bagged up about 2 dozen that way, so we'll see. It's a little bit of fuss to modify the bags, but on the other hand, the "zip" seam might come in handy when it's time to transfer the rooted cuttings into pots.

I tried to combine some of the tips and ideas from other forum members, and hopefully it'll help the success rate. I mixed a little bit of commercial potting soil with some fine, composted mulch from under one of my persimmon trees, and then rubbed some sphagnum moss through a 1/4in hardware cloth to break it up. I combined those three ingredients with about 80% perlite, and packed it around the cuttings in their bags, using a short length of PVC pipe as Jon used that section of sink drainpipe. I'm hoping the organic material in the compost will stimulate rooting, that the moss will inhibit mold, and that the perlite will keep it all light and airy enough that nothing will be too wet. Given Oxankle's experience with mold, I'm thinking maybe I'll try a few loose shreds of damp sphagnum hung lightly over the tops of the cuttings, in hopes of inhibiting mold, but not piling the moss so heavily that it would stop leaves from getting through. I don't know if that would be an effective mold barrier or not, but it might be worth a try.

I've still got enough cuttings left over in the fridge that I think I'll experiment with the "upside down" idea, maybe wrapping the bases in damp sphagnum as one member described, since that would still be pretty stable even if upside down.

Ken:
I suspect my mold problem came about because I was gone for eleven days and the cuttings got no airing.  Those I rooted in sphagnum earlier were fine, and I have 100% success with them now potted in cups in plain, out-of-the-sack potting mix.  Some of those earlier cuttings were two-year-old wood, and the roots on them are excellent. 

I'm convinced the sphagnum moss is an excellent rooting medium.  All the same, I think that the baggie method, if we can find narrow bags, is the way to go.  Even the newspaper bags are better than cups simply because you can cut off the bottom, plant the whole bag, then slit the side and work the bag out of the larger pot. 
Ox

some of my UCD cuttings were naturally just more prune to molding.  i don't necessarily know why, i scrub them and dunk them all the same.  even though they were all clean when they went into the bag, after pulling them out, i was steadily wiping black crap off the cuttings, black crap that wasn't there before, almost like the bark was exfoliating or something.

i keep clorox wipes nearby and use them liberally and religiously and wash + rinse my hands thoroughly before and after touching each batch of cuttings.