Indiana University orders school newspaper to cease print edition, fires student media director | Indiana

Indiana University ordered its student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student (IDS), to stop printing new editions and fired the school’s director of student media, who was also an advisor to the paper, according to multiple reports. Students at the school criticize these measures as censorship.

The university’s directive to suspend print editions came just hours after the firing of Jim Rodenbush, the school’s director of student media, according to a letter from IDS editors.

The editors said Indiana University and the media school “previously ordered IDS to stop printing stories in our newspaper. Only special editions, traditionally included as inserts in our newspaper. Telling us what we can and cannot print is illegal censorship. The Student Press Law Center agrees and has asked the university to reverse course.”

“After resistance from former student media director Jim Rodenbush, IU fired him. When we asked them to rescind the order, it completely shut down print,” they wrote.

Rodenbush confirmed to NBC News on Thursday that he was fired on Tuesday.

In recent weeks, there have been disagreements between university leadership, IDS editors and Rodenbush over what content could appear in the print journal, according to the Indianapolis Star.

“If you tell them you can’t publish this in the campus newspaper, that’s the literal definition of censorship,” Rodenbush said during a Sept. 25 meeting with other IDS professional staff, according to a recording obtained by the Star. “It can’t come from me, and it can’t come from you.”

Rodenbush told NBC News that Indiana University previously announced it would reduce the journal’s printing frequency from one week to seven per semester. He said he was told the school wanted to focus on more profitable “special” print editions.

But, he added, administrators went further and told him this fall that the print editions could no longer include news content. (The IDS website always posts news.)

The next print issue was scheduled to appear Thursday, but the publishers instead released a digital copy online, according to their letter. The first page has the words “CENSORED” in large red letters, with a subheading that reads: “This is not print.” This is a violation of editorial independence. »

“We are alarmed, but not shocked, by the school administration’s decision to fire Jim based on his commitment to defending our First Amendment rights,” student editors Mia Hilkowitz and Andrew Miller said in a statement to the Indianapolis Star.

“All students, faculty and staff at the School of Media and IU should be frightened by this blatant attack on someone who stands up for what is right.”

Rodenbush told the same outlet that he “was fired because I was not willing to censor student media. 100%. I have no reason to believe otherwise.”

In a statement released Thursday, an Indiana University spokesperson told the Guardian that the university is “committed to a vibrant and independent student media ecosystem.”

“As part of the 2024 Student Media Action Plan, the campus is shifting its resources from print to digital media, prioritizing student experiences that are more consistent with today’s digital media environment, while addressing a long-standing structural deficit at the Indiana Daily Student,” the release said. “Editorial control remains entirely under the direction of the IDS, and the university will continue to work closely with them to ensure the strength, sustainability and independence of student media at IU.”

The spokesperson added that the school “does not comment on individual personnel matters.”

David Reingold, chancellor of Indiana University Bloomington, said in a statement Wednesday that the university is “firmly committed to free speech and editorial independence of student media.”

“Informed by feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders, the Student Media Action Plan envisions a student media ecosystem centered around a digital content model and prepares students for digitally-focused careers,” Reingold said. “It also aims to address the long-standing financial challenges facing the IDS – including a structural deficit that the campus subsidizes to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars each year – while affirming its charter and ensuring that it retains full control of its editorial content. »

Reingold added that “the campus is completing the transition from print to digital beginning this week” and that “the campus’ decision is about the medium of distribution, not the editorial content. All editorial decisions have and will continue to rest solely with IDS leadership and all [Indiana University] student media.

Free speech groups and advocates condemned the university’s decision. On Thursday, PEN America, a nonprofit focused on free speech, called the university’s actions “a blatant violation of the free expression principles that public universities are required to uphold.”

The Student Press Law Center said it was “alarmed” by the school’s decisions.

“These actions disregard strong First Amendment protections and a long tradition of student editorial independence,” the center wrote.