Dear reader, 

Today, we turn one.

When we were in the early stages of planning for this paper the word Paradigm kept coming up. A “paradigm” is a model. Something that sets the standard. This is what we’ve built. A new standard, a new normal, a new model. We are The Paradigm Press. 

A lot has happened in the last 12 months for The Paradigm Press. The first day felt like we were in an airplane waiting to take off and by day two of being launched we were flying high off of the attention and excitement. 

A year ago today, we were throwing our launch party with catered food from Publix and games. It’s hard to think that that was even possible considering how many restrictions we are under now with social distancing and face masks. But a year ago, we gathered to celebrate the launch of the site, which had only been up for a few hours. Already, we were receiving accolades and complaints from the community. 

We were launched amidst a global pandemic, one of the biggest social justice movements in this country’s history, and a historical election. We made it our mission to cover the stories in a way that college students would not only read, but want to be a part of. 

In our first year, we had a total of 27,477 visits to our website, gained a total of 693 followers on Instagram, and 95 subscribers on our website. Our most read stories were FAU Student Faces No Punishment Following Video of him using Racial Slurs, The BS U Need to Read About, and A Tale of Two Troupes. 

Anyone who has read our articles and took part in the dialogues they started knows that our impact can be measured past numbers. 

We have been recognized both nationally and locally by coveted organizations. 

In November, WPTV did a piece on us regarding our story on FAU’s handling of a student using racial slurs, which received 8,586 reads and shares in four months. 

Later in November, The Sun Sentinel wrote a piece on The Paradigm Press regarding why we started the paper and discussed our recent stories.

In December, WLRN did a profile piece on us and interviewed our founder and Editor in Chief, Kennedy McKinney. At the same time, our marketing director Ashley Walker, sat down with FAU alum Nile Fortner and was interviewed for the Boca First Podcast. 

To better reach our students, we launched the “Paradoxically” podcast, Ask Paradigm (a student advice column), and helped plan a campus-wide protest with the help of our editors Madyson Roye and Kennedy McKinney. 

The Paradigm Press has been a soundboard for Black students on campus to voice their concerns, celebrate their accomplishments, and educate our community.

We’ve accomplished so much in a year but we have so much more that we plan to do. So what’s next? 

Paradigm plans on growing our staff within the next year. We want writers from all minority backgrounds who can provide their unique viewpoint on campus life, news, student government, and beyond. If this sounds like you, shoot us an email at paradigmpressinc@gmail.com.

Additionally, we are establishing a chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists at Florida Atlantic University with The Paradigm Press listed as the official paper. With these new organizational changes, you can count on seeing more reported and investigative pieces coming from your favorite on-campus news source.

Thank you to our editors, writers, advisors, and most importantly, our readers for your support within this past year. This has been a year full of challenges, and without your help we would not be able to drive conversation and push for change the way we have been able to in the first year of our Paper.

This is only the beginning for The Paradigm Press. 

Sincerely, 

Kennedy McKinney 

Founder and Editor in Chief