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Title:
Indiana daily times. [volume] : (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922
Place of publication:
Indianapolis [Ind.]
Geographic coverage:
  • Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana  |  View more titles from this: City County, State
Publisher:
J.W. Banbury
Dates of publication:
1914-1922
Description:
  • Vol. 27, no. 60 (July 20, 1914)-v. 35, no. 38 (June 24, 1922).
Frequency:
Daily (except Sunday)
Language:
  • English
Subjects:
  • Indiana--Indianapolis.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01205182
  • Indiana--Marion County.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01213920
  • Indianapolis (Ind.)--Newspapers.
  • Marion County (Ind.)--Newspapers.
Notes:
  • Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
LCCN:
sn 85047611
OCLC:
9139227
ISSN:
2694-1805
Preceding Titles:
Succeeding Titles:
Related Links:
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Indiana daily times. [volume] January 1, 1920 , Image 1

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Indianapolis Times

The Indianapolis Times began publication as the Sun in 1888, and according to Ayer's Newspaper Directory it was then the "only one-cent paper in Indiana." Fred L. Purdy served as its first editor and owned a minority stake in its publishing; J. S. Sweeney owned the majority stake. The paper ran as a daily until 1899, with its circulation growing to 12,823 by 1898. In 1899, it was renamed the Indianapolis Sun and continued to be published as a daily. During this time, it maintained a professional partnership with the Scripps-McRae wire service out of Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1910, the paper was purchased by Indiana newspaper magnate Rudolph G. Leeds, who also served as an editor for the Richmond Palladium and Sun-Telegram. From 1913-1914, the paper was sold to G.H. Larke and W.D. Boyce. The paper became the Evening Sun, and its circulation grew to 34,453. On July 20, 1914, Boyce and new co-owner J. W. Banbury renamed the Evening Sun the Indiana Daily Times. By 1915, its circulation was 46,384.

In 1922, Scripps-Howard publishing purchased the Times, renaming it Indianapolis Times—the title it would keep until it ceased publication in 1965. Roy W. Howard served as the Scripps-Howard President from 1922-1964, overseeing not only the Times but United Press International worldwide wire service. Alongside in-house journalism by Times staff, many articles published during this period came from the Scripps-Howard wire service, Newspaper Enterprise Association.

Over the next forty years, the Indianapolis Times became known for its "crusading" journalism. In 1927, it published numerous articles exposing the collusion and corruption between the Indiana state government, governor Ed Jackson, and the Ku Klux Klan. In particular, it exposed the direct corruption between Jackson and Klan leader D. C. Stephenson. According to the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, the Times earned the Pulitzer Prize in 1928 for "exposing political corruption in Indiana, prosecuting the guilty and bringing about a more wholesome state of affairs in civil government."

During the 1930s, the Times advocated for children's needs, raising money for charities that supplied coats and other clothing items to children hit hard by the Great Depression. During the recession of 1961-62, the Times helped 4,000 Indiana residents find jobs through its publication of free employment ads. Alongside its coverage of the Klan, the Times also covered multiple scandals, from corruption in the state's highway fund and voter fraud in congressional districts to falsely reported Indianapolis crime statistics. During the 1960s, the paper advocated for better lunches in public schools through the use of the federal school surplus program.

Despite successful journalism and philanthropy, the Times lacked the resources and circulation to compete Indianapolis's two competing papers, the News and Star. On October 11, 1965, the Indianapolis Times ran its final issue and suspended publication. Its final daily circulation totaled 89,374, with Sunday circulation of 101,000.

Provided by: Indiana State Library