yes, in scribus you can set the indent for a single paragraph but it's a bit "hidden".
not that bad, since it's mostly a bad habit to change the indent of a single paragraph...
but, as said, you can (and sometimes it even makes sense):
- switch to edit mode inside of the frame.
- look up at the horizontal ruler.
- move the two triangles on the left and the one on the right to visually set the indents.
ps: i would be very interested in publishing a report about the switch of your newspaper: can you get in touch with me through PM (or email... my email address is not hard to find...)