Purdue Exponent
Encyclopedia
The Purdue Exponent is one of a handful of daily independent student newspaper
s, with most other college newspapers being owned by the university
or operated by the journalism
school. The college newspaper serves Purdue University
in West Lafayette, Indiana
. It is published on weekdays during university semesters by the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation, and is Indiana
's largest collegiate daily newspaper.
The Exponent employs eight full-time professionals, relying for most operations on a staff of approximately 160 students, though the university has no journalism school.
The path to becoming an independent entity began in 1968, when the university removed William R. Smoot II as editor-in-chief. The moved followed critical and controversial columns in the newspaper, particularly one on October 23, 1968 that castigated university president Frederick L. Hovde
.
The university informed Smoot on Friday, Nov. 8, 1968 that he was being removed, but the sixteen editors on the staff refused to accept the dictum. On Saturday it put out a special edition with a headline, “We Will Still Publish.” By Monday, the headline was more defiant: “Smoot Will Continue: Staff”.
University officials claimed that alumni and political pressure had nothing to do with the move to remove Smoot, but Thomas Graham, a Purdue trustee later said, “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 firing of the editor pushed to the fore the issue of who owned and who was responsible for oversight of the student newspaper. The issue was given to a faculty-student-administrator committee called the Exponent Review Board, but known as the Osmun Commission for its chairman, Dr. John Osmun. Ultimately the Osmun Commission decided over the opposition of administration members that while Hovde had the authority to fire Smoot, the university did not follow due process. Smoot was allowed to remain as editor-in-chief.
More important in the long term, the commission recommended that the Exponent become a not-for-profit corporation
headed by a publishing board, the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation. Its rent-free use that had been in place since 1933 of windowless offices in the basement of the Purdue Memorial Union would end in 1969.
In 1975, at the urging of then Purdue President Arthur Hansen, the Exponent became free distribution with 10,000 copies distributed widely on campus.
A critical point came in 1975 when the newspaper went to free campus-wide circulation, expanding market coverage and gaining dramatic advertising increases.
By 1988, revenues had grown substantially and the newspaper began construction on the $1.9 million, 22500 square feet (2,090.3 m²) facility that it occupies today at 460 Northwestern Ave., West Lafayette.
The newspaper today distributes 17,000 copies daily during the school year and 8,500 during the summer. Revenues exceed $1.7 million per year.
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
s, with most other college newspapers being owned by the university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
or operated by the journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
school. The college newspaper serves Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
in West Lafayette, Indiana
West Lafayette, Indiana
As of the census of 2010, there were 29,596 people, 12,591 households, and 3,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,381.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 17.3% Asian, 2.7% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.03% Pacific...
. It is published on weekdays during university semesters by the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation, and is Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
's largest collegiate daily newspaper.
The Exponent employs eight full-time professionals, relying for most operations on a staff of approximately 160 students, though the university has no journalism school.
History
The Exponents first edition was published on December 15, 1889. It has been a daily paper since 1906. Started Web edition (www.purdueexponent.org) in 1996. First college newspaper in the country to build its own building (1989). One of six college newspapers with its own press.The path to becoming an independent entity began in 1968, when the university removed William R. Smoot II as editor-in-chief. The moved followed critical and controversial columns in the newspaper, particularly one on October 23, 1968 that castigated university president Frederick L. Hovde
Frederick L. Hovde
Frederick Lawson Hovde was an American chemical engineer, researcher, educator and president of Purdue University.Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Hovde received his Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, where he played on the football team...
.
The university informed Smoot on Friday, Nov. 8, 1968 that he was being removed, but the sixteen editors on the staff refused to accept the dictum. On Saturday it put out a special edition with a headline, “We Will Still Publish.” By Monday, the headline was more defiant: “Smoot Will Continue: Staff”.
University officials claimed that alumni and political pressure had nothing to do with the move to remove Smoot, but Thomas Graham, a Purdue trustee later said, “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 firing of the editor pushed to the fore the issue of who owned and who was responsible for oversight of the student newspaper. The issue was given to a faculty-student-administrator committee called the Exponent Review Board, but known as the Osmun Commission for its chairman, Dr. John Osmun. Ultimately the Osmun Commission decided over the opposition of administration members that while Hovde had the authority to fire Smoot, the university did not follow due process. Smoot was allowed to remain as editor-in-chief.
More important in the long term, the commission recommended that the Exponent become a not-for-profit corporation
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
headed by a publishing board, the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation. Its rent-free use that had been in place since 1933 of windowless offices in the basement of the Purdue Memorial Union would end in 1969.
In 1975, at the urging of then Purdue President Arthur Hansen, the Exponent became free distribution with 10,000 copies distributed widely on campus.
Recent operations
The newspaper struggled through the first several years of organization, partly because it was capitalized only by operating revenues and partly because it was being forced to rent space from the university and to purchase printing equipment that had already been paid for. It went through a period of alternately making and losing money, though student staff was all volunteers.A critical point came in 1975 when the newspaper went to free campus-wide circulation, expanding market coverage and gaining dramatic advertising increases.
By 1988, revenues had grown substantially and the newspaper began construction on the $1.9 million, 22500 square feet (2,090.3 m²) facility that it occupies today at 460 Northwestern Ave., West Lafayette.
The newspaper today distributes 17,000 copies daily during the school year and 8,500 during the summer. Revenues exceed $1.7 million per year.
Famous Exponent alumni
- Paul Agase, sales manager, WSCR-The Score sports radio, Chicago.
- Karl Ahlrichs, business executive and motivational speaker.
- Toni Apgar, former vice president and group publishing director for the Healthy Lifestyles Group at Primedia Enthusiast Publications. Former editor-in-chief of Vegetarian Times. Also formerly with Folio:, Direct and Fairchild Publications.
- Ken ArmstrongKen Armstrong (journalist)Ken Armstrong is a staff reporter at The Seattle Times.He worked at the Chicago Tribune.He was a 2001 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, and in 2002, was the McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton University....
, 2009 John Chancellor Award winner for lifetime achievement in journalism, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune. Four-time Pulitzer finalist. - Kathleen Barnes, columnist for Woman’s World magazine.
- Barbara Bohusz, WMAQ TV/Chicago.
- Jack Brennan, former reporter, editor and online producer, Fort Lauderdale (FL) Sun-Sentinel. Now retired.
- Earl Butz, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
- Carolyn Curiel, Purdue professor, NY Times, ABC Nightlight producer, speech writer for President Clinton, ambassador to Belize.
- Andrew Czernek, former midwest editor, Electronic News and later VP Technology for personal computer maker Zenith Data Systems.
- Bert Gault, executive editor, Watertown Daily Times.
- Kent Hannon, editor, Terry Magazine, University of GeorgiaUniversity of GeorgiaThe University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
’s Terry College of BusinessTerry College of BusinessThe C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business is the business school at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. The Terry College is the flagship business school in the state of Georgia and one of 16 schools and colleges at the oldest state-chartered public university in the...
; previously at Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sports Illustrated - David Heckard, meteorologist, WEHT, Evansville, IN.
- E. Howard Johnson III, designer, Wilmington News Journal.
- Michael KingMichael King (Project 21)Michael King is an American commentator, columnist and Emmy Award-winning television producer. He attended both Purdue University and Howard University....
, digital executive producer & Internet reporter, WXIA-TVWXIA-TVWXIA-TV, virtual channel 11.1 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Atlanta, Georgia. Popularly known by its 11 Alive moniker, WXIA is owned by the Gannett Company in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL...
, Atlanta - Robert C. Kriebel, professional adviser to the Exponent (1970-1985); retired editor, Lafayette Journal & Courier.
- Alan Lee, Fox News Morning anchor, Detroit.
- Bill Moreau, former chief of staff to Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh; Trustee, Purdue University.
- Mark O'HareMark O'HareMark O'Hare is an American cartoonist who created the comic strip Citizen Dog.O'Hare is well-known for his work on animated television shows as a writer and storyboard artist for Rocko's Modern Life, SpongeBob SquarePants, Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls and Hey Arnold!. He performed...
, cartoonist. 2007 Emmy Award Winner for "Outstanding Animated Program" for Camp Lazlo and second in 2008. Writer and storyboard artist for Rocko's Modern Life, SpongeBob, SquarePants, Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Hey Arnold! Storybook work on The Ren and Stimpy Show. Creative director, supervising producer Camp Lazlo. - Larry Persily, Anchorage Daily News editorial page editor; former publisher The Wrangell Sentinel. nature gas pipeline coordinator for Alaska for President Obama administration.
- Julian Phillips, motivational speaker, two-time Emmy Award winner, co-host of weekend Fox & Friends, Fox TV.
- Stephanie Salter, assistant editor for opinion and commentary, Terre Haute Trib-Star; previously at San Francisco Chronicle, Sports Illustrated.
- Carolyn Taylor, formerly special events coordinator, Major League Baseball.
- Ginger Thompson, bureau chief, NY Times, Pulitzer Prize winner.
- Ron Thornburg, Editor for Circulation and News, Ogden Standard-Examiner; former editor, Burlington (VT) Free Press
- Tom Walsh, business columnist, Detroit Free-Press.
- Jim Wilson, former publisher of the Northfield (VT) News and former managing editor of the Burlington Free Press.
- Skip Wollenberg, Associated Press.
- Bob Peterson, (Cartoonist 1985 - 1987) animator, screenwriter, director, voice actor, Pixar. Oscar winner for screenplay for Finding Nemo and best screenplay for Up (2010). Films include: Dug's Special Mission (voices of Dug and Alpha), Up (screenplay, voices of Dug and Alpha), Ratatouille (story material), The Incredibles (voice), Finding Nemo (screenplay, voice of Mr. Ray among others), Monsters, Inc. (story supervisor, story material, voice of Roz), Top Story 2 (story artist), A Bug's Life (story artist), Geri's Game (voice of Geri), Toy Story (animator, layout artist), 8 Seconds (end montage contributor).
- William Hughes (Opinions Editor 2006) Co-creator of McGill And Hughes Present: The Expertcast. He had two Facebook groups dedicated to hating him during his employment.