In under two years, Mirror Indy has made a name for itself as the city’s newest nonprofit news source.
Still, you may recognize some of its reporters from their time at an even older, more historic outlet: the Indianapolis Recorder.
As part of Mirror Indy’s “community-based journalism” initiative, the 17-month-old outlet has partnered with other local news outlets, including the Recorder. This partnership has led to increased media accountability, diverse storytelling, award-winning investigative pieces and sponsoring free community events — including A Family Affair, which aims to revive the once-famous Recorder picnic.
However, the connection between the Indianapolis Recorder and Mirror Indy goes deeper than just staff alumni or memories of the Recorder Picnic; it stems from a dedication to journalistic integrity and connection to the community and opportunity to “plead our own cause.”
Mirror Indy, which is a product the Free Press Indiana initiative to ensure all Hoosiers have access to free and local news, was designed to “fill the gaps” in local news coverage in Indianapolis by serving underrepresented groups or “the un-newsed,” according to Oseye Boyd, Mirror Indy editor-in-chief.
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“The founders want us to be additive to the ecosystem, to the journalism ecosystem. They didn’t want to take away from anything, or for us to be necessarily competitors,” Boyd said. “The Recorder is one of our partners, and several people who work at Mirror Indy and Free Press Indiana, myself included, are Recorder alumni. So, it’s just really good to work with a place that you once worked at to actually elevate the news and community.”
Recorder roots
One of the ways the team at Mirror Indy does this work is through building lasting connections to the very community they aim to serve — something many of the staff gained experience in during their time at the Recorder.
Free Press Indiana Marketing Director Ebony Chappel said seeing the Recorder’s mission statement printed on the front page each week made a huge impression on her during her time there as editor-in-chief.
“Preparing a conscious community today and beyond,” still printed under the masthead, has been a permanent fixture of the Recorder’s printed paper since the early 2000s, according to Jeana Ouattara, Recorder production manager.
“As a young person … it was the driving force with everything that I did while I was there and everything I did when I left,” Chappel said. “I see every single thing that we do, whether it’s doing events or collaborating with other news partners on bringing vital information to the community, it’s all about preparing people. It’s all about making sure that they are represented in the work that we do, and that we’re in a constant conversation with them.”
Boyd worked for the Recorder on two separate occasions, first as a reporter and then as editor-in-chief, and her experience allowed her to do two things she’s passionate about.
“I’m very passionate about being a Black woman, about being a Black person …. and I’m very passionate about journalism,” Boyd said. “The Recorder helped me merge those two things together and actually do work for my community, for the Black community of Indianapolis.”
Boyd’s time in the Recorder newsroom also taught her patience (which she said she’s still working on), how to solve problems on the fly and hone in on her management style. The Recorder gave Boyd her first chance to lead a newsroom, where she quickly realized editors actually “don’t know everything” and are usually trying to figure it out at the same time as the reporter.
There will always be situations that editors and reporters have never encountered before, especially in journalism. Boyd said a good editor knows when to be patient and talk it out with the team to decide what the best move is for the publication.
“People’s growth is not necessarily my growth,” Boyd said. “I think a good editor, a good manager, helps a reporter grow, while also helping their voice shine through. You learn to edit … to improve the story, but you don’t need to make it yours.”
For Tyler Fenwick, Mirror Indy’s economics reporter, the Recorder was his first job out of college. The Recorder quickly helped Fenwick get comfortable approaching and talking to strangers because “obviously, that’s so much of the job.” However, working at a historically Black newspaper also helped him connect with communities outside his own more genuinely.
Fenwick primarily covers housing for Mirror Indy from the lens of the renter, aspiring homebuyer and lower-income residents. He spends a fair amount of time at apartment complexes and eviction court.
“There’s a lot of overlap between what I do now and a lot of the work I would do at the Recorder,” Fenwick said. “It’s super helpful because that kind of laid the foundation and made me really comfortable with not just talking to people, who, I assume, there’s gonna be some kind of base level skepticism. Like, ‘Who’s this white man coming up to me?’ But also, the topics, like having to learn how people experience racism and discrimination and getting past the idea of it’s more than yelling a slur or posting something stupidly hateful on Twitter or Facebook.”
‘We wish to plead our own cause’
Despite not being a Black news publication, Mirror Indy’s mission in serving Indianapolis goes hand in hand with the Indianapolis Recorder and subsequently that of the Black press, Boyd and Chappel said.
The reason the Black press even exists is because the full picture or truth was not being presented in mainstream media; it was propaganda, Boyd said.
“I’m a firm believer in Ida B. Wells’ philosophy of advocacy for the truth,” Boyd said. “Journalists present a lot of harm to a lot of communities over the years, and I feel like at Mirror Indy … maybe we can’t repair them, but we don’t need to add onto that harm.”
In the first edition of the Freedom’s Journal, the first Black Newspaper published in the U.S., Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm referenced this discrepancy and wrote, “We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the publick been deceived by misrepresentations.”
“Too often in mainstream media, you have communities talked about in a way that is ill informed. It’s prejudiced; it’s not painting a full picture of what these communities are, what they have to offer, what their lives are like,” Chappel added. “By way of independent press, nonprofit press, we’re able to continue that tradition of pleading our own cause and being very strong in our convictions of doing so without having the undue influence that we oftentimes see in a lot of legacy and mainstream media.”
Reviving the Recorder Picnic
A Family Affair, a free community picnic featuring live music, food, games and resource booths on June 14 at the historic Belmont Beach, is meant to remind the community why news outlets like Miror Indy and the Indianapolis Recorder exist: to serve them.
A Family Affair is specifically designed to be a modern-day revival of the Recorder Picnic, a once cherished event in Indianapolis.
“Growing up, I always heard my grandparents talk about the Recorder Picnic and how special it was,” Chappel said. “When I was working at the Recorder, it was one of the things that people talked to me about all the time. I really wish that I could have made (that) happen, but now in this role, through our partnership, I am able to do it.”
Hosting A family Affair in 2025 feels like “a full circle moment” for Chappel, as it presents an opportunity to remind the community of the power in their rich history.
“I just never got to experience it, so I think it’ll be cool to get a little taste of what it used to be like,” Fenwick added. “Hopefully, people who can remember back to those days and took part of it, maybe, even if it’s not exactly the same thing, hopefully they can see the connection and appreciate it.”
Leveraging partnerships
From a practical standpoint, Fenwick said he hopes A Family Affair reinforces the idea that Mirror Indy and the Indianapolis Recorder are partners and “work well together” rather than constantly competing.
Mirror Indy and the Recorder frequently republish articles from one another on their respective websites. Additionally, part of Mirror Indy’s mission is to host community events, and Boyd said partnering with the Recorder for A Family Affair was a great way to “pay homage to the past” and bring back an event that had been so “legendary in Indianapolis.”
While the Recorder has played a huge role in the community and will continue to do so going into this new era of partnerships, Chappel said Mirror Indy hopes to use the event to remind people there are other outlets here willing and ready to do the same.
“I would say that the future is abundantly bright when you look at the landscape of journalism in Indianapolis,” Chappel said.
For more information about Mirror Indy, visit mirrorindy.org/about. For more information about the Indianapolis Recorder, visit indianapolisrecorder.com/about.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe graduated with a degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and her previous work includes freelancing for Indy Maven, Assistant Arts & Life Editor for The Lantern, and editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Chloe enjoys covering all things arts and culture — from local music, visual art, dance, theater and film, as well as minority-owned businesses. In her free time, Chloe enjoys reading, cooking and keeping her plants alive.
