The ''Fort Wayne Free Press'' was an underground press newpaper published in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, between 1970 and 1974. Founded by George Relue, Ted Rhodes, and a few others, its stated purpose was to "seek out and disseminate. to the public, news and opinions on social issues relating the Fort Wayne community and to act In the supporting role of community organization-for individuals and groups in the community." The newspaper was published

bi-weekly A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...

, by Babylon Publisher, a "collective of people working towards non-violent social change through active communication and community organization." The publisher was started after receiving fundraising from a battle of the bands event at IPFW. The intention was to publish

, although the publishing schedule of the newspaper was intermittent during its first year, with the staff all being volunteers working with a shoe string budget. Many of the founders of the paper were connected the

peace movement A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pe ...

present in Fort Wayne during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The front page of the first edition of the newspaper featured stories on the local,

anti-Vietnam War Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1965 with demonstrations against the escalating role of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States in the war. Over the next several years, these demonstrations grew ...

movement, the current United Farm Workers grape boycott, and the questionable recent firing of a local IPFW Sociology professor. Coverage soon expanded to include civil rights, the local poverty program, police-community relations as well as "women's issues, equal rights, labor, politics, poetry, the criminal justice system, consumer advocacy, health care, gay pride, music, theater, film, and the environment."

Political cartoon A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...

s and comics were also featured in the newspaper. Babylon Publishers also published, for a short time, ''Joaquin'', a small bi-weekly written, edited, and laid out by members of the local Mexican-American community. This small paper also ran as an insert in the Fort Wayne Free Press. A digital copy of the first three years of the Fort Wayne Free Press is available at the Purdue University Fort Wayn
Mastodon Digital ollection.
Other independent newspapers published in Fort Wayne during this era included Where It's At and Frost Illustrated.

References

{{authority control Newspapers published in Fort Wayne, Indiana Newspapers established in 1971 1971 establishments in Indiana