Towards the end of 2025, I began to notice one thing: Lots of companies, newspapers and buildings were celebrating an anniversary.
I boarded an American Airlines flight to Tucson, Arizona, in December 2025 for the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl game, and written right there on the side of the plane was a specialty logo signaling its 100th anniversary in 2026. I noticed a similar advertisement when I returned from my trip in the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, where they had begun announcing the airport’s 100th anniversary, approaching in October 2026.
Outside of air travel, there are a plethora of anniversaries being celebrated this year: Star Trek turns 60, Apple Computer, Inc. was founded 50 years ago and icon Marilyn Monroe would turn 100 on June 1. Let’s not forget, arguably, the most significant anniversary of the year: 250 years since the founding of the United States with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
With all these significant anniversaries on the horizon, it’s hard to believe that The Miami Student outlives nearly every one of them. In the last 200 years, there have been 10 major U.S.-backed wars, 42 presidencies and countless technological innovations. This 200th Anniversary edition gives readers the chance to understand just how much history has taken place by the time this bicentennial celebration rolls around.
However, the last 200 years of journalism are not reflected in the current state of the news industry today. Distrust in the media is growing, and more and more newspapers are folding. Just last month, news of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette closing its doors shocked the journalism community, as it has served the greater Pittsburgh area since 1786 — celebrating its 240th this year.
While anniversaries like The Miami Student’s bicentennial mark years of impressive tradition, they also act as a benchmark of the evolution of the news industry today. With an estimated 136 local newspapers closing in the last year, anniversaries of long-standing newspapers serve as a significant reminder of the importance of print journalism.
As more and more communities enter the status of “news deserts,” it is important to remember why newspapers have continued to be such an integral part of society throughout history. Journalists serve as watchdogs and town criers, and they have fought the good fight in keeping the public informed. And with that, I say: keep fighting the good fight.
Keep doing the thankless work of informing the public around you. Keep working to inspire change in communities that are suffering. Keep asking the difficult questions. Keep shining a light in dark places. And, most importantly, keep journalism alive.
From all of us here at The Miami Student, thank you for your continued support in what we do.
Love and Honor,
Olivia Patel
Editor-in-Chief
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