The Broad Ripple Gazette
The news from Broad Ripple "Now & Then"
Available at fine shops throughout the Broad Ripple area. Ask for it.
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The Broad Ripple Gazette

Editor: Alan Hague

Regular Contributors: C.W. Pruitt II, Nora Spitznogle, Brandt Carter, Bob Schmidt, Jill A. Ditmire, Susan Smith, Mario Morone, Laura Minor, John S. Hague, Robert Alloway, Susan Machledt, C. "Frog" Russell, Heidi Huff-Hague, Bill Malcolm, Vanessa Cleary.
Full history of contributors - writing, photography, etc.

Started: May 2004

Frequency: Every two weeks (with occasional three-week issues)

Distribution: Over 200 locations on the north side of Indianapolis

The background of The Gazette:

The Broad Ripple Gazette newspaper was created in May 2004, serving the northside area of Indianapolis, Indiana, including the neighborhoods of Broad Ripple Village, Indianapolis, Warfleigh, Rocky Ripple, and Meridian-Kessler. The Broad Ripple Gazette is a private venture of Alan Hague, whose family has been in Broad Ripple since the mid 1800s. The paper is not affiliated with any other businesses or neighborhood associations.

The Broad Ripple Gazette serves to supply residents with information on the daily happenings in and around Broad Ripple Village. It does not normally cover sensational or crime news, but instead focuses on community events, business comings and goings, and history of the area. The paper, not delivered via email and the web, is published every two weeks, except where holidays or other circumstances warrant three-week issues. Historically it was available in approximately 220 businesses and is currently direct emailed to our subscribers. Circulation of the paper version was typically around 7000 copies of the 24-page paper.

The staff of contributors are all connected with Broad Ripple Village and are all volunteers. The regular contributors are currently*: C.W. Pruitt II, Nora Spitznogle, who also writes for NUVO and blogs as Queen Bee at queenbeemusic.blogspot.com, Brandt Carter of Backyard Birds, Bob Schmidt of www.image-indiana.com, and author of An Engineer's Guide to Solving Problems, Jill A. Ditmire, who also produces her own show The Good Life on WFYI TV20, Susan Smith of City Dogs Grocery, Mario Morone, Laura Minor of So.Be.Fit., John S. Hague, Robert Alloway, Susan Machledt, C. "Frog" Russell, Heidi Huff-Hague, Bill Malcolm and Vanessa Cleary.

The paper got its start in the form of www.broadripplehistory.org, a website with articles on historic Broad Ripple Village subjects such as Lobraico's Rexall Drug Store and The Vogue Theater. The need to reach a wider audience by moving to print was recognized. The print version with a wide distribution also allowed for the addition of current events so residents could keep up with the constantly changing Village. The first issue of the Gazette was 4 pages of B&W. It is currently 24 pages with color.

The Library of Congress has included The Broad Ripple Gazette in the Chronicling America project.

In a two-year project with the Broad Ripple Gazette, pizza connoisseur Mark Rumreich, reviewed every pizza establishment in the area in his column Pizza Scene, covering 40 locations.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the paper, the "Broad Ripple Gazette" banner on the front page was replaced in each issue by artwork from a local artist re-imagining the banner. List of artists participating in the project

At the end of 2019, the last paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette was delivered. It was a special Collectors Edition, with a look back at the past 16 years of news.

The normal news content was only available in the new digital BR Random Ripplings.

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