The Indianapolis Star


The July 27, 2005 front page
of The Indianapolis Star
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner Gannett Company
Publisher Karen Crotchfelt
Editor Dennis Ryerson
Founded 1903
Headquarters 307 North Pennsylvania Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
 United States
Circulation 255,303 Daily
324,349 Sunday[1]
ISSN 1930-2533
Official website indystar.com

The Indianapolis Star is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903. It has won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting twice, in 1975 and 1991. It is currently owned by the Gannett Company.

Contents

History

The Indianapolis Star was founded on June 6, 1903 by Muncie industrialist George F. McCulloch as competition to two other Indianapolis dailies, the Indianapolis Journal and the Indianapolis Sentinel. It acquired the Journal a year and two days later, and bought the Sentinel in 1906. Daniel G. Reid purchased the Star in 1904 and hired John Shaffer as publisher, later replacing him. In the ensuing court proceedings, Saffer emerged as the majority owner of the paper in 1911 and served as publisher and editor until his death in 1943.[2]

Eugene C. Pulliam purchased the Star from Shaffer's estate on April 25, 1944 and adopted initiatives to increase the paper's circulation. In 1944 the Star had trailed the evening Indianapolis News but by 1948 had become Indiana's largest newspaper.[2]

In 1948, Pulliam purchased the News and combined the business, mechanical, advertising, and circulation operations of the two papers, with the News moving into the Star's building in 1950. The editorial and news operations remained separate. Eugene S. Pulliam took over as publisher upon the death of his father in 1975, a role he retained until his own death in 1999.[2]

In 1999, the News ceased publication, leaving the Star as the only major daily paper in Indianapolis. Soon thereafter the trustees of Central Newspapers, Inc., the owner of the Star and other newspapers in Indiana and Arizona, began investigating the sale of the small chain to a larger entity.[2] In 2000 the papers were acquired by the Gannett Company, leaving Indianapolis with no locally owned daily newspaper[3][4] other than the black-interest Indianapolis Recorder.

Pulitzer Prizes

The Star has won the Pulitzer Prize twice for investigative reporting. In 1975, the Star was honored for its 1974 series on corruption within the Indianapolis Police Department. It was cited again in 1991 for its 1990 series on medical malpractice.

Production facilities

The Indianapolis Star has the largest and most advanced printing presses in the nation.[5] The Pulliam Production Center at 8278 N. Georgetown Road on the northwest side of Indianapolis cost $72 million and covers 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2); printing of the Star at the facility began in 2002. The press hall that houses the four MAN Roland Geoman presses has 30,672 square feet (2,850 m2) on two levels. Each of the presses weighs 2,100 short tons (1,900 t), stands seven stories tall, and can print 75,000 papers an hour.[6] With all four presses running, 300,000 papers can be printed in just one hour. The Pulliam Production Center allows tours of the facility.

Sections

As part of the newspaper's masthead, it displays the text of 2 Corinthians 3:17: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

Monday through Saturday

The Sunday Star

See also

Indianapolis portal
Journalism portal

References

  1. ^ Saba, Jennifer (2008-04-28). "New FAS-FAX: Steep Decline at 'NYT' While 'WSJ' Gains". Editor & Publisher. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003795106. 
  2. ^ a b c d "A History of The Indianapolis Star". Library Fact File. The Indianapolis Star. July 1, 2003. http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/star/history/history.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  3. ^ "About Gannett: The Indianapolis Star". Gannet Co., Inc.. http://www.gannett.com/about/map/ataglance/indianapolis.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-29. 
  4. ^ "The Star joins Gannett chain". The Indianapolis Star. 2000-08-01. http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/star/history/2000/star_sold.html. Retrieved 2007-05-29. 
  5. ^ "World's Biggest Machines", Modern Marvels, History Channel
  6. ^ "Indianapolis Star Starts Production with First of Four Geoman Presses". What They Think. April 19, 2002. http://whattheythink.com/news/9974-indianapolis-star-starts-production-with-first-four/. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 

External links