You probably think of The Indianapolis Star as the only game in town. For anyone living in Central Indiana today, that’s basically the reality. But if you grew up here before the turn of the millennium, you remember a very different landscape. There was a time when the "Star and News" wasn't just a combined digital login or a hyphenated memory; it was a two-paper battle for the soul of the Circle City.
One was for the morning coffee. The other was for the evening porch sit.
Most people get the timeline of the Indianapolis Star and News relationship wrong. They assume the two were always the same company just doing two shifts. In reality, their history is a messy, fascinating saga of hot-air balloons, bitter rivalries, and a legendary newspaper family—the Pulliams—who eventually brought the two together under one roof.
Honestly, the story of how we ended up with just one major daily is a bit of a tragedy for local journalism, but it’s also a masterclass in how American media shifted from the 19th century into the digital age.
The Wild Beginnings: Hot Air Balloons and Penny Wars
The Indianapolis News was the old guard. Founded in 1869 by John Hampden Holliday, it was an evening paper through and through. It cost two cents, which was cheaper than the competition back then. Holliday wanted it to be politically independent, which was a pretty radical idea in an era where most papers were basically newsletters for the Republican or Democratic parties.
Then came the Indianapolis Star.
It didn't just "open" in 1903. It exploded onto the scene. Its founder, Muncie industrialist George McCulloch, paid a balloonist to drop half a million red cardboard stars over the city to announce the paper’s arrival. Talk about a marketing budget.
McCulloch's strategy was simple: underprice everyone. He sold the Star for a penny. It worked—circulation went through the roof—but he nearly went broke doing it. He sold the paper just a year later to Daniel Reid, who brought in John Shaffer. Shaffer eventually took over and ran the show until the 1940s.
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The Pulliam Era: One Family, Two Papers
Everything changed in 1944. That’s when Eugene C. Pulliam, the grandfather of former Vice President Dan Quayle, bought the Star. Pulliam was a force of nature. He didn't just want to own a paper; he wanted to dominate the state.
At the time, the Star was actually trailing the News in circulation. Pulliam didn't like losing. He aggressively built up the sports pages and added the famous Indianapolis Star Magazine in 1947. By 1948, he had successfully turned the Star into the largest paper in Indiana.
Then he did something most people find surprising. He didn't just beat the News; he bought it.
In August 1948, Pulliam shelled out $4 million for the Indianapolis News. For the next 50 years, the papers lived in a strange, semi-joined state. They shared the same building (the iconic 307 North Pennsylvania Street) and the same business and printing departments. But—and this is the part people forget—the newsrooms were totally separate.
Reporters for the Star and the News were fierce competitors. Even though the same man signed their paychecks, a Star reporter would rather get scooped by the Chicago Tribune than by the person sitting on the other side of the partition working for the News.
Why the Indianapolis News Eventually Vanished
If you’re looking for the exact moment the evening paper died, mark October 1, 1999, on your calendar. That was the day the last edition of the News rolled off the presses.
Why did it happen? It wasn't just that people stopped reading. It was a cultural shift. In the mid-20th century, evening papers were king because people worked 9-to-5 factory or office jobs and read the paper when they got home. As the workforce changed and evening television news became the dominant way to get information, the "afternoon daily" became a dinosaur.
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The staffs had already merged their newsrooms in 1995. By 1999, it just didn't make financial sense to keep two brands going.
The Pulitzer Legacy and the Move to the Mall
When people talk about IndyStar today, they often focus on the shrinking print edition or the Gannett ownership (Gannett bought the papers for $2.6 billion in 2000). But you can't talk about the Star without talking about the heavy-hitting journalism.
The paper has a serious trophy case:
- 1975: A Pulitzer for investigating corruption within the Indianapolis Police Department.
- 1991: Another Pulitzer for uncovering medical malpractice.
- 2021: A Pulitzer for National Reporting regarding their investigation into the use of police K-9 units.
Perhaps their most impactful work in recent memory was the 2016 investigation into USA Gymnastics and Larry Nassar. That wasn't just a local story; it changed the world. It’s a reminder of why having a well-funded local newsroom matters, even if the paper arrives on your driveway a little thinner than it used to.
In 2014, the Star made a move that felt very "New Indy." They left their historic home on Pennsylvania Street and moved into the former Nordstrom space at Circle Centre Mall. It was a symbolic shift from the industrial era of printing presses to a digital-first newsroom.
The Printing Press Problem
Speaking of printing presses, the physical production of the paper has undergone a massive change. For years, the Pulliam Production Center on the northwest side was a marvel of technology. It had presses seven stories tall that could churn out 75,000 papers an hour.
But in 2024, Gannett shut it down.
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If you still get the paper delivered, it’s no longer printed in Indianapolis. It's printed in Peoria, Illinois. This is a common trend across the country, but it still feels weird to many locals that the "Indianapolis" Star isn't even made in Indiana anymore.
What You Should Know About Subscribing in 2026
The subscription model for the Indianapolis Star and News archive has changed quite a bit recently. If you’re looking to access the old News archives or current Star stories, here’s the breakdown:
Digital access isn't a one-size-fits-all thing anymore. Since April 2025, new digital-only subscribers generally get access to the website and apps, but they don't necessarily get the "eNewspaper" (the digital replica of the print layout) unless they pay for a higher tier.
If you want the historical stuff—like looking up your grandmother’s obituary from 1952—you basically have two choices. You can use the Star’s own digital archives, or you can head to the Indianapolis Public Library. They have the News on microfilm from 1876 to 1999 and the Star from 1822 to today. Honestly, nothing beats scrolling through microfilm if you want the "real" experience of what Indy felt like a century ago.
The Future of Indy’s Media
The Star is currently under the leadership of Editor Eric Larsen and continues to be the primary watchdog for the city. While the staff is a fraction of what it was in the year 2000 (roughly 70 people compared to nearly 300), their investigative output remains the gold standard for the region.
The "News" part of the name might be gone from the masthead, but the combined legacy still defines how Indianapolis sees itself.
Actionable Insights for Readers:
- Check Your Local Library: Use the Indianapolis Public Library’s "Hoosier State Chronicles" for free digital searches of older Indianapolis News issues. It’s a goldmine for genealogy.
- Support Local Investigative Journalism: If you care about stories like the K-9 investigation or the USA Gymnastics scandal, a digital subscription is the only way those newsrooms stay funded.
- Use the App for Breaking News: The print edition has early deadlines because it's printed in Illinois; for high-school sports scores or late-night City Council votes, the IndyStar app is actually more "current" than the morning paper.
- Archive Your Own History: If you have old physical copies of the Indianapolis News, consider donating them to the Indiana Historical Society. They are constantly looking to fill gaps in the digital record.