“ READ ALL ABOUT IT!” once the youthful cry of newspaper carriers has, in recent years with the decline of printed journalism, been replaced with the electronic media squawk, “BREAKING NEWS!” Sitting down at the breakfast table, sipping a cup of coffee, and reading the morning paper was once a time-honored tradition in American homes that has given way to scrolling through a smartphone for the news of the day.
For over two hundred years the people of Indianapolis have received the news of the day in printed form. In January 1822 the fledgling community received the first issue of Indianapolis Gazette, published intermittently by Nathaniel Bolton. The name was changed to Indiana State Gazette in 1829, and the following year Alexander F. Morrison became the publisher, re-naming the paper Indiana Democrat & State Gazette and giving it a decidedly political slant. The name was shortened in the 1830s to Indiana Democrat and in 1841 Jacob P. Chapman obtained the paper, changing the masthead to Indiana State Sentinel. While the paper changed owners over time and eventually evolved as The Indianapolis Sentinel, it remained a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party until its demise in 1906.
A year after the founding of Indianapolis Gazette, Harvey Gregg and Douglas Maguire began publishing Western Censor & Emigrants’ Guide, changing the name to Indiana Journal in 1825. The paper supported internal improvements and protective tariffs, positions that by the mid-1830s aligned the Journal politically with the Whig Party. Under the ownership of John D. Defrees, the paper installed the first steam driven printing press in Indianapolis and began issuing the city’s first permanent daily, Daily Indiana State Journal, in 1851. Prior to the Civil War, Berry R. Sulgrove became editor of the Journal, transitioning the paper from advocating Whig to Republican political policies and strongly supporting the pro-Union actions of Governor Oliver P. Morton during the war. In 1867, the masthead was replaced with The Indianapolis Journal and continued publishing until it was sold to The Indianapolis Star in 1904.
In addition to the Sentinel and the Journal, readers were introduced to the first major afternoon newspaper in 1869 when John H. Holliday published the inaugural issue of The Indianapolis News. Often called “The Great Hoosier Daily,” the News may be best known for carrying the wit and wisdom of Irvington resident Kin Hubbard as expressed through Abe Martin, the Brown County philosopher. The special race day edition of the paper that hit the streets after the 500 Mile Race was eagerly awaited by fans until the race moved from May 30 to the last Sunday in May. After 130 years of providing afternoon readers with the latest developments in daily events, the printing presses went silent on the Indianapolis News in October 1999.
The Sun debuted in 1888 to compete with the News for the afternoon newspaper readership. Founded by five Cleveland, Ohio journalists led by Fred L. Purdy, this politically independent paper saw several changes in ownership, and in 1914 it was renamed Indiana Daily Times. Eight years later, Scripps-Howard Newspapers bought the paper and changed the masthead to The Indianapolis Times. Under the courageous leadership of editor Boyd Gurley, the Times was in the forefront in opposing the Ku Klux Klan and in a series of articles published in 1927 the paper exposed the Klan’s influence in the political corruption in Indiana. For this intrepid journalism, the Indianapolis Times received a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1928. Twenty years later, the paper introduced a Sunday edition, but by the beginning of the 1960s declining readership forced the Times to eventually cease operation in 1965. An historic marker commemorating The Indianapolis Times stands in the green space, 200 W. Maryland St.
Morning newspaper readers were introduced in June 1903 to the first edition of The Indianapolis Star. The paper was founded by Muncie, Indiana industrialist George F. McCulloch to compete with The Indianapolis Sentinel and The Indianapolis Journal which were both soon acquired by the Star. One of the early illustrators/cartoonists for the paper was Irvington resident Johnny Gruelle who created the bird figure Joe Crow that appeared on the front page with a witty saying and the day’s weather. After leaving the Star, Gruelle went on to create Raggedy Ann.
The Indianapolis Star was sold to Eugene C. Pulliam, president of Central Newspapers, Inc, in 1944. As the Star’s publisher, he aggressively made changes to the paper that soon made it Indiana’s largest newspaper. In 1948, Pulliam bought the Indianapolis News and combined business, printing, advertising, and circulation operations of the two papers, while keeping the editorial and news operations separate. Two years later, the News moved into the Star building, 307 N. Pennsylvania St.
Along with columns of news and features, from 1947 to 1994 the editorial cartoons of Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Werner reflected the politically conservative views of the Star publisher; “They were an informed, sometimes caustic, but accurate commentary on his world.” In 1975, the Star won its first Pulitzer Prize for a 1974 investigative reporting series on corruption within the Indianapolis Police Department. Sixteen years later in 1991 the paper was again awarded a Pulitzer for a 1990 investigative reporting series on medical malpractice.
Central Newspapers, Inc sold The Indianapolis Star and its other papers in Indiana and Arizona to the Gannett Company in 2000. Fourteen years later, the Star relocated from its Pennsylvania Street headquarters to the former Nordstrom department store in the Circle Centre Mall and in 2023 Gannett moved the paper’s printing operations out of state. While maintaining robust sports reporting, local and state news reporting has diminished. The Indianapolis Star received praise for its investigative reporting in 2018 of the sexual abuse of USA Gymnastics female athletes and in 2021 the paper received a third Pulitzer for national reporting for an investigation into attacks by police K-9 units.
The Indianapolis newspapers have been microfilmed and are available for viewing at the Indiana State Library. Selected papers have also been digitized and can be read at Hoosier State Chronicles, https://newspapers.library.in.gov/.