On Oct. 14, Indiana University (IU)’s student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student (IDS), halted printing indefinitely. This cancellation was a reaction to the IU faculty director of student media, Jim Rodenbush, being fired after refusing to censor student news coverage. 

Last year, IU announced the student newspaper would be scaling back from weekly editions to “seven special editions per semester” due to financial strains on IU’s media program, according to The New York Times. These editions were expected to contain no news coverage, a decision from IU Media School’s dean. Rodenbush pushed back on this directive, defending the students’ right to publish, which contributed to his termination.

The exact stories planned to be removed from the paper’s last edition are unknown as well as the administrators’ intentions in prior restraint, according to AP News.

While IU’s online publications continue, the physical media stoppage has sparked First Amendment concerns. 

An anonymous student journalist from Indiana University shared their experience at IU’s media program as well as their reactions to recent developments on campus.

“It’s definitely worrisome for not only me and IU, but all other student newspapers and newspaper organizations across the country,” the student said.

Issues with Indiana University’s media program had long been brewing, the student claims.

“Last year—and this was kind of confusing to me—the IDS had been in massive debt, running since 2021…” the student explained. 

The IDS alone had a deficit of nearly $1 million in 2024.

Under IU Media School’s umbrella, there was a print paper (the IDS), a television network (IUSTV) and a radio station (WIUX).

“Last spring, the media school announced that they were…going to wipe out all the debt…and they were going to be merged under one big student media group, including the IDS, the IUSTV and WIUX,” the student said. “The overall theme I’m gathering is that IU is working for business and not on behalf of students.”

Nearly all of the newspaper’s debt was covered in the media school’s absorption. In exchange, IU placed limitations on the number of regular editions the IDS could print as an aspect of their business plan.

The student then reflected on the most recent developments for the IDS, the incidents that caught national coverage.

“There was an emergency meeting at 6 p.m. the day that Jim [Rodenbush] was fired…So, we joined the meeting from Zoom and they told us that Jim was fired…It just took us all by surprise,” the student said. “They said it was because the media school basically wanted to control what was getting put in the homecoming print edition of the IDS…Because it’s a special print edition, the media school said, ‘We don’t want any news in this edition.’ They told that to Jim as kind of a liaison between the admin and the students. So, Jim came back to the students and he basically refused to do that.”

Rodenbush’s attempts to give students full editorial control may have been supported by former university agreements, the student continues.

“Indiana Daily Student has had a charter with IU, basically stating that…IU has no control over what should go into the paper. Only students have full control over what goes into the newspaper,” the student explained.

This conflict between IU, the media school, Rodenbush and student editorial rights culminated into Rodenbush’s termination and the permanent cancellation of the print newspaper.

“They [IU] cut the print fully…the IDS has been actually profitable since the whole new student media in the spring. They had been in $11,000 profit. So, this isn’t a business decision…or trying to protect the students…$11,000 in profit over the last two or three editions that we’ve printed is relatively good, considering where we’ve been,” the student noted. “It’s not an issue with business decisions. It’s an issue with feeding orders from whoever it is, from the Board of Trustees at IU, from the governor, from up and up the ladder.”

Expanding from the effect on student media at IU, the student explored the bigger picture of government interest.

“I think a big reason why this has happened at IU first is the way that our state government is being run. The governor ordered, before the school year ended in April or May last year, that he was going to have full control over the IU Board of Trustees…Instead of [university issues] being voted on by alumni, it’s now voted on by whoever the governor likes. So, the governor has already fired some of the former Board of Trustees and instilled his own…which is now impacting the student media here,” the student said.

Indiana’s governor, Mike Braun, removed three elected officials from the Indiana University Board of Trustees in favor of ideologically similar appointees of his own choice, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. However, these appointees were all alumni of IU.

Yet, First Amendment concerns are not limited to Indiana alone. A Bowling Green State University (BGSU) journalism and public affairs professor, Dr. Bailey Dick, weighed in with her concern to address the ramifications of this decision on all student journalists and university faculty. 

“Anytime you have some kind of attack on press freedom, the intent is not only to silence the targeted news outlet or individual reporter or in this case, individual newspaper advisor. It has a broader chilling effect,” said Dick.

Both Dick and the anonymous IU student made a connection to higher-ups, contributing to a trickle-down effect.

“In some ways, it’s not surprising that as we see increased censorship and attacks on freedom of the press nationwide…you would start seeing that kind of trickle down to more local news organizations and eventually, student media,” Dick continued.

When prompted about the legality of the newspaper ban and free press protections for students, she added considerations to current rulings.

“That court case [Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier] does extend protections of the First Amendment to students, broadly speaking, whether it’s freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly. So, there is precedence for this. There is case law for this,” Dick said. “Not everybody recognizes that though. There’s what the law says and there’s how others, not just interpret that law, but culturally and socially, how people in positions of power…view students. Do you view students as human beings? Do you view students as adults? Do you view students as people with agency?”

In Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988), the Supreme Court ruled schools have editorial control over student press as long as it is related to the school’s educational mission. However, the Supreme Court’s reasoning only applies to student newspapers as a limited public forum, while others argue that free speech regulations at the university level warrant strict scrutiny. 

Despite the troubling circumstances, the anonymous IU media student still shared optimism, for their school and for student journalism across the country.

“IU is one of the top journalism programs in the country and I’m really proud to go here…My experience with all of the student media has been great until recently,” they said. “It gives me hope that this is a moment in time and we’re going to find a way to beat this. It’s not going to be the new norm.”

The student’s positivity arises from the support they have witnessed in response.

“It’s kind of really crazy to hear how much the IDS means to so many people,” they said. “Whether they’re thousands of miles away, whether they’re right here in Bloomington, it’s really interesting to hear how big of an impact this paper has made on people and how it will continue.”

In fact, IU alumni have withdrawn over a million dollars in donations to the university to express their opposition.

“I think universities, big or small, should just take note. I mean, you [Falcon Media] are,” the student said. “You are seeing what’s happening, so I think it’s super important to spread the word of what’s going on, for student journalists to keep our eyes up and not get down on how devastating this is, but just keep going and keep fighting.”