South Bend Tribune founded

Background. Alfred B. Miller and Elmer Crockett were Union veterans of the Civil War who established the Tribune as a Republican newspaper in South Bend, a manufacturing center. Their partnership was reinforced by family ties, as Crockett married Miller's sister Anna in 1868. The founders drew on their prior newspaper experience in the city to justify launching a new publication.

Founding. The first four-page edition of the Tribune was published on Saturday evening, March 9, 1872. In the inaugural editorial, the editors argued that South Bend's reading population had increased nearly one half over their four or five years of local experience, creating room for a new journal. They emphasized the city's rapid growth compared to other Indiana cities.

Operations. Miller and Crockett operated the Tribune together until Miller's death in 1892. The newspaper maintained a Republican editorial stance, endorsing candidates unless they were poor choices or tied to organizations Miller found obnoxious, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Miller also enforced a non-smoking policy at the Tribune, though he tolerated other forms of tobacco use.