the Indianapolis Star
{{Short description|Newspaper in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.}}
{{Distinguish|Star of Indiana}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name = The Indianapolis Star
| logo = 300px
| image = The Indianapolis Star front page.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| caption =
| type = Daily newspaper
| format = Broadsheet
| foundation = {{start date and age|1903|6|6}}
| ceased publication =
| owners = Gannett
| editor = Eric Larsen
| circulation = {{ublist|35,127 Weekday|50,192 Sunday}}
| circulation_ref = {{cite news |last1=Benton |first1=Joshua |title=The scale of local news destruction in Gannett's markets is astonishing |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/03/the-scale-of-local-news-destruction-in-gannetts-markets-is-astonishing/ |work=Nieman Lab |date=9 March 2023}}{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1579684/000157968423000014/gci-20221231.htm |title=Form 10-K|author=Gannett |website=Securities & Exchange Commission |access-date=March 10, 2023}}
| circulation_date = Q3 2022
| headquarters = 130 South Meridian Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46225
U.S.}
| ISSN = 1930-2533
| website = {{URL|indystar.com}}
}}
The Indianapolis Star (also known as IndyStar) is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the Indianapolis News ceased publication. It won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2021 and the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting twice, in 1975 and 1991. It is currently owned by Gannett.{{Cite web |last=Verderame |first=Jyoti A. |date=2021-07-05 |title=Indianapolis Star |url=https://indyencyclopedia.org/indianapolis-star/ |access-date=2023-01-17 |website=Encyclopedia of Indianapolis |language=en-US}}
History
File:Indianapolis Star headquarters in 2017.jpg
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, Shaffer emerged as the majority owner of the paper in 1911 and served as publisher and editor until his death in 1943.{{cite web|title=A History of The Indianapolis Star|url=http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/star/history/history.html|work=Library Fact File|publisher=The Indianapolis Star|access-date=October 26, 2011|date=July 1, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011211040243/http://www.indystar.com/library/factfiles/star/history/history.html|archive-date=December 11, 2001}}
Central Newspapers, Inc. and its owner, Eugene C. Pulliam—maternal grandfather of future Vice President Dan Quayle—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.
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.
In September 1995, the newsroom staffs of the Star and the News merged. 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. In 2000, the Gannett Company acquired the paper, amongst others when it purchased the firm "Central Newspapers" for $2.6 billion,{{cite web | title=About Gannett: The Indianapolis Star |publisher=Gannett Co., Inc. |url=http://www.gannett.com/about/map/ataglance/indianapolis.htm |access-date=May 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613025214/http://www.gannett.com/about/map/ataglance/indianapolis.htm|archive-date=June 13, 2006}}{{cite news |title=The Star joins Gannett chain |url=http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/star/history/2000/star_sold.html |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=August 1, 2000 |access-date=May 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010620022958/http://www.indystar.com/library/factfiles/star/history/2000/star_sold.html|archive-date=June 20, 2001}}{{Cite news |last=Henriques |first=Diana B. |date=2000-06-29 |title=Gannett to Acquire Chain Tied to the Pulliam Family |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/29/business/gannett-to-acquire-chain-tied-to-the-pulliam-family.html |access-date=2023-01-25 |issn=0362-4331}} leaving Indianapolis with no locally owned newspaper other than the Indianapolis Recorder, a weekly mainly circulated in the African-American community.
On July 27, 2012, it was announced that The Indianapolis Star would relocate from its headquarters at 307 North Pennsylvania Street. It was later announced that the new location would be the former Nordstrom department store in Circle Centre Mall. This move took place from the summer to fall of 2014. The former location had been used since 1907.{{cite news |title=Karen Ferguson: New IndyStar home, same news values |url=http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2014/09/27/karen-ferguson-new-indystar-home-news-values/16343379/ |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=September 17, 2014 |access-date=September 28, 2014}}
After Larry Nassar, USA Gymnastics national team osteopathic physician, was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison in January 2018 for sexually abusing female athletes, the prosecutor in the case specifically praised The Indianapolis Star for uncovering Nassar's decades-long history of abuse.{{Cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/25/us/larry-nassar-indy-star/index.html|title=How the Indy Star and Rachael Denhollander took down Larry Nassar|publisher=CNN|author=Eric Levenson|access-date=January 27, 2018}} The Star began its investigative reporting into Nassar and USA Gymnastics in 2016 and published its first related article in August 2016 when it shed light on USA Gymnastics' failure to properly investigate credible complaints of sexual abuse or pass the complaints on to police. After the August 2016 story, one of Nassar's victims, Rachael Denhollander, approached the Star about Nassar and USA Gymnastics' failure to investigate her complaint about him. This resulted in a September 2016 story on Nassar specifically. After the Nassar story, the Star was approached by many of Nassar's victims who shared similar stories of abuse. Nassar was charged with criminal sexual conduct in November 2016.
Pulitzer Prizes
The Star has won the Pulitzer Prize once for national reporting and 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.[http://static.indystar.com/en/aboutus/ Indianapolis Star - About Us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307023248/http://static.indystar.com/en/aboutus/ |date=March 7, 2018 }} Retrieved September 20, 2016. In 2021, the Star was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for an investigation into attacks by police K-9 units.{{Cite news|date=2021-06-11|title=Pulitzer Prize: 2021 Winners List|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/business/pulitzer-prize-winners.html|access-date=2021-06-11|issn=0362-4331}}
Production facilities
The Indianapolis Star at one time had the largest and most advanced printing presses in the nation."World's Biggest Machines", Modern Marvels, History Channel The Pulliam Production Center at 8278 N. Georgetown Road on the northwest side of Indianapolis cost $72 million and covers {{convert|200000|sqft}}. It opened in November 1995 as a packaging center and started printing numerous newspapers including Indianapolis Star in 2001.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=January 31, 2024 |title=IndyStar's Pulliam Production Center printing plant in Indianapolis to close in April |url=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2024/01/31/indystar-newspapers-printing-plant-in-indianapolis-to-close-in-april/72422512007/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=The Indianapolis Star |language=en-US}} The press hall that houses the four MAN Roland Geoman presses has {{convert|30672|sqft|0}} on two levels. Each of the presses weighs {{convert|2100|ST}}, stands seven stories tall, and can print 75,000 papers an hour.{{cite web|title=Indianapolis Star Starts Production with First of Four Geoman Presses|url=http://whattheythink.com/news/9974-indianapolis-star-starts-production-with-first-four/|publisher=What They Think|access-date=October 26, 2011|date=April 19, 2002}}
In January 2023, Gannet laid off 50 employees at the Pulliam Production Center. At the time the facility employed 145 people.{{Cite web |last=Huang |first=Binghui |date=January 4, 2023 |title=Gannett laying off more than 50 employees at Indianapolis printing plant |url=https://www.indystar.com/story/money/2023/01/04/gannett-lays-off-50-employees-indianapolis-printing-plant/69777935007/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=The Indianapolis Star |language=en-US}} A year later Gannet announced the center would close April 9 and printing of the Indianapolis Star will move to the company's press site in Peoria, Illinois.
Sections
Part of the newspaper's masthead displays the text of 2 Corinthians 3:17: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
Monday through Saturday
- Section A – National and world news, business, editorial
- Section B - USA TODAY
- Section C – Metro+State - metro and state news, obituaries, classified ads (except on Wednesdays), weather
- Section D - Sports (with 1 sports columnist Gregg Doyel)
- Section E - (Wednesday) Classified ads, with none in section C; (Friday) Taste, which also includes movie listings
- Section F – Extra (puzzles, advice, comics, television)
- Local Living - (Thursdays only) things to do, community content
The Sunday Star
- Section A – National and world news, job classifieds
- Section B - USA TODAY
- Section C – Metro+State - metro and state news, obituaries, editorial, weather
- Section D – Sports
- Section E – Business, classified ads
- Section F - Home+Garden powered by Home Finder
- Section G - Indy Living (arts and entertainment, health, puzzles, etc.)
- Section U - USA TODAY Life Sunday
- Comics – Sunday comics
See also
{{Portal|Indiana|Journalism}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website |https://www.indystar.com/}}
{{Gannett}}
{{PulitzerPrize Investigative Reporting}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indianapolis Star, The}}
Category:1903 establishments in Indiana
Category:Mass media in Indianapolis
Category:Newspapers published in Indiana
Category:Daily newspapers published in the United States