Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction; Local media, commercial media -- The world that newspapers made; A new newspaper model; "More news, more advertisements, more paper, more print", Readers become customers, Newspapers remake their cities, The objectivity question -- Making metropolitans, Advising women, Defining the working, middle, and upper class; Teaching technology;Toward a mass audience; Shaping modern men and women -- Building print community; A concerned public; Inside the city's many spheres; Hardened hearts and "human interest"; Middle-class cosmopolitans; An urban brand -- Connecting city, suburb, and region; Building the suburbs, selling the dream; Writing for suburban subscribers; Reading suburban newspapers; Newspapers define the region -- Nationalizing the news; Finding Milwaukee's place; Shared and syndicated news; Newspapers nationalize ; Chains and big-budget features; Striking a balance -- Epilogue.