The Purdue Exponent

About The Purdue Exponent

Its first edition was published on December 15, 1889. It was a daily from 1906 to 2016. It was the first college newspaper in America to build its own building — and one of two that still own their own press. The Purdue Exponent, the independent student newspaper of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, won its independence the hard way: in 1968, when the university tried to fire its editor for criticizing the president, sixteen editors refused — "We Will Still Publish" — and the resulting commission made the paper a nonprofit corporation. Its alumni have won six Pulitzers, six Emmys and two Peabodys. It is one of the great independent student newspapers in American history.

1889: first edition

The Exponent's first edition was published on December 15, 1889. It has been a daily paper since 1906 — from 1906 to 2016 as a daily, switching to a twice-weekly print schedule in 2017. The web edition (purdueexponent.org) started in 1996. The paper employs seven full-time professionals, relying for most operations on a staff of approximately 140–180 students — "though the university has no journalism school." That last fact is worth savoring: one of America's great student newspapers, produced at a university without a journalism program, by students who learn the craft by practicing it.

1968: "We Will Still Publish"

The path to independence began in 1968, when the university removed William R. Smoot II as editor-in-chief — following critical and controversial columns, particularly one on October 23, 1968, that castigated university president Frederick L. Hovde. The university informed Smoot on Friday, November 8, that he was being removed — but the sixteen editors on the staff refused to accept the dictum. On Saturday, the paper put out a special edition headlined "We Will Still Publish"; by Monday, the headline was more defiant: "Smoot Will Continue: Staff." University officials claimed alumni and political pressure had nothing to do with the move — but trustee Thomas Graham later admitted the truth: "Not only did I get a whole bunch of letters, I'd go down to cash a check at the bank and an old friend would grab me by the front of the shirt and tell me, 'Now dammit, you know right from wrong. Now go up there and get those liberals out of that university.'... That's how it's done here in southern Indiana."

The Osmun Commission

The firing pushed to the fore the question of who owned the student newspaper and who was responsible for its oversight. The issue went to a faculty-student-administrator committee — the Exponent Review Board, known as the Osmun Commission for its chairman, Dr. John Osmun. The commission decided, over administration opposition, that while Hovde had the authority to fire Smoot, the university had not followed due process; Smoot remained as editor-in-chief. More important long-term: the commission recommended the Exponent become a not-for-profit corporation headed by a publishing board — ending its rent-free basement offices in the Purdue Memorial Union and beginning its life as a truly independent paper. In 1969, it became independent, receiving no university funding except advertising.

Its own building, its own press

The Exponent was the first college newspaper in the country to build its own building — the Exponent Journalism Center at 460 Northwestern Avenue, built in 1989 at a cost of $1.9 million, from the paper's own funds (sold in 2017, though the organization still resides there). It is one of two college newspapers that continue to own their own press. A student newspaper that built its own headquarters and owns its own printing press: the Exponent's independence isn't theoretical — it's poured concrete and heavy machinery. In 1975, the paper began free distribution, jumping circulation from 2,500 to 10,000; later figures put daily printing at 20,000 copies.

Alumni: six Pulitzers

Exponent alumni have won six Pulitzer Prizes, six Emmys, two Peabodys and two John Chancellor Awards. Notable former staffers include a speechwriter for President Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, the animator of A Bug's Life, and a New York Times editorial board member. The paper's comic strip The Duplex, drawn by Glenn McCoy, ran daily. For a university without a journalism school, the Exponent's alumni record is extraordinary — proof that the best journalism education is a real newsroom.

The Exponent today

Since 2017, the Exponent prints twice weekly, with the web edition updated continuously at purdueexponent.org. It remains independent — a nonprofit corporation with its own board, its own building, its own press — covering Purdue's campus, West Lafayette's politics and Boilermaker athletics for one of America's great public universities. The staff of ~140 students, guided by seven professionals, keeps the 136-year-old paper publishing.

Free since 1975

In 1975, the Exponent began free distribution — jumping circulation from 2,500 to 10,000 overnight, later reaching 20,000 daily copies. The decision reflected the paper's business confidence: advertiser-supported, independent, and ubiquitous. A free paper on every corner of campus is a paper that belongs to everyone — and the Exponent's ubiquity made it Purdue's shared conversation. The Duplex comics, the headlines, the editorials: free, daily, everywhere.

The web pioneer

The Exponent's web edition launched in 1996 — early for a college paper, and characteristic of an organization that built its own building and owned its own press. The paper that invested $1.9 million in concrete in 1989 invested early in pixels too. From hot type to the web in a century: the Exponent has never been afraid of the next medium — it just keeps publishing, in whatever form its readers use.

136 years of independence

From the December 1889 first edition through the 1968 rebellion, the 1989 building, and today's digital operation, the Purdue Exponent has embodied student press independence — not granted, but seized: sixteen editors refusing a president's order, a commission's vindication, a corporation's charter, a building's concrete. "We Will Still Publish" — the headline of November 1968 — remains the paper's promise. Its official website is purdueexponent.org. The November 1968 headline said it: We Will Still Publish. The Purdue Exponent kept that promise through every decade since — independent, award-winning, and still Purdue's student voice after 136 years. The Purdue Exponent's independence was not granted but seized — by sixteen editors who refused a president's order in November 1968, by the Osmun Commission's vindication, by a nonprofit charter, by $1.9 million of the paper's own money poured into its own building. Its alumni — six Pulitzers, six Emmys, two Peabodys — testify to what that independence produced: generations of journalists trained at a university without a journalism school, in a newsroom with its own press. From the December 1889 first edition to today's twice-weekly print and continuous digital, the Exponent has kept its 1968 promise. We Will Still Publish — and 136 years on, it does. Six Pulitzers, six Emmys, two Peabodys: the Exponent's alumni record speaks for 136 years of student journalism done right — independent, fearless, and still publishing. The Purdue Exponent: We Will Still Publish. Independent since 1969. Still publishing. Still Purdue's independent student voice. The Purdue Exponent keeps its promise: We Will Still Publish. Still publishing after 136 years. We Will Still Publish — still.