The Federalist, known colloquially among students as The Fed, is a tabloid-sized newspaper published every three weeks at Columbia University in New York City. Founded in 1986 by Neil Gorsuch, Andrew Levy and P.T. Waters, the paper has undergone many changes in mission, style, form, and success, though it has experienced relatively few interruptions in production since the publication of its first issues. Currently the paper publishes topical humor and satirical content.

The early Fed carried the full "Federalist Paper" masthead and advertised itself as "a newspaper in the tradition of Columbians Hamilton and Jay." The founding members were "a libertarian, conservative, and a socialist, (although no one knows which was which)."

The founders were Andy Levy (likely the libertarian), Neil Gorsuch (likely the conservative), and P.T. Waters. The paper's mission was to create a "classically liberal" forum with content centered primarily on issues and news topics considered "politically delicate" at Columbia, such as race relations, discussions as to Barnard's place in the newly co-ed institution, and whether anyone at the school actually listened to the student radio station WKCR.

The political and cultural tone of Columbia in the mid to late '80s was still very much oriented toward the free speech protest movements of the late '60s, and the associated far left politics dominated campus political culture. This left room for more student publication focused on opinions from the right of the political spectrum. As early as the first few issues, the paper referred to itself as "the Fed" and wrote editorials in an informal, personal style.

By 1990, The Federalist Paper was already feeling the pinch of low content. Issues from the era display an increasing disregard for layout and copy-editing (a charge often leveled at the paper regardless of the format), a decline in advertising from former stalwarts such as Coors and Kaplan, and an editorial board that drew almost exclusively conservative commentators. The board of 1992, after a fierce debate, recommitted itself to the "classically liberal" stance of the founders and began a charge towards diversity of opinions.

During this period, the paper gained the reputation it still upholds today as the leading informational publication at Columbia. It also retained its re-affirmed mandate of providing a forum for diverging view-points, consistent with its classically liberal worldview. Later, some members of the Federalist's editorial staff would deride this period in the paper's history, such as former Editor-in-Chief Laurie Marhoefer, who suggested that the paper declined in these years under pressure from other campus competitors, including the then-progressive Spectator and the socialist-sponsored Modern Times (long-since defunct).

Mirroring Columbia's own campaign to upgrade its image, editor-in-chief Marc Doussard organized a massive layout overhaul and placed an increased emphasis on local social commentary. "They Watch," a regular feature, began running on Page 12. Topics ranged from sex to alcoholism to grade inflation. Readership of the paper increased drastically.

However, the paper's staff became increasingly insular, refusing to recruit members as older staffers graduated. By Fall 1997, the staff dwindled to two editors, who produced only one large issue. As the spring semester of 1998 opened, their layout computer crashed, taking with it all records and templates. The Federalist Paper was finished.