Indianapolis Recorder
What began as a two-page church bulletin by co-founders George P. Stewart and Will Porter, The Indianapolis Recorder now hails as one of the top African-American publications in the nation. In 1897, the co-founders of the newspaper decided to expand their already successful newssheet into a weekly newspaper. The earliest existing issues of the Recorder date to 1899 — the year Porter sold his share of the newspaper to Stewart.<br> Realizing the importance of local news, Stewart captured that market, outdistancing his local competitors, the publishers of the Freeman and the Colored World. With its emphasis on local news, the Recorder set itself apart from other Black newspapers. It had an immediate and an enduring impact on the Indianapolis community.