Weekly newspaper reborn on south side of Indianapolis

By Scott Olson, The IBJ

solson@ibj.com

A newspaper serving the south side of Indianapolis will live on after all.

Roughly one month after Indianapolis Star parent Gannett Co. stopped printing the Spotlight - a stalwart of the community for 70 years - the Southsider Voice has emerged to take its place.

The weekly paper may be new, but its founders are familiar faces. Former Spotlight operations manager Kelly Smith and former assistant editor Denise Summers are responsible for the revival. Jeanie York, who formerly sold advertising for the Spotlight and the Eastside Herald - another community newspaper closed by Gannett - will work in sales.

Star executives gave notice in early December that the Spotlight would close in six weeks. But Smith said her urge to launch another publication didn't strike until three days before operations ceased.

Starting a newspaper at a time when many across the county are scaling back is not a major concern, she said.

"I needed a job and the community was begging us to keep it going," she said. "It was kind of like faith just led the way."

The free, weekly paper will focus on community news and will publish on Wednesdays, with 25,000 copies of the first issue hitting the streets Feb. 18.

The newspaper operates out of a building on Madison Avenue and will be printed in Greenfield.