Indiana University orders student paper to stop printing.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Indianapolis Star

Education
Indiana University orders student paper to stop printing. Editors say it's censorship

Cate Charron and Brian Rosenzweig
Indianapolis Star
Updated Oct. 15, 2025 5:07 p.m. ET

This story has been updated to add new comment from the IU administration and additional context throughout.

Indiana University has ordered the Indiana Daily Student to end all print publication less than 24 hours after the administration fired an adviser for the student newspaper.

"The Media School thinks they can violate the First Amendment if it's under a business decision," said Mia Hilkowitz, co-editor-in-chief of the IDS. "That's a really, really dangerous thought process for administrators to have. The fact that they're trying to frame clear censorship as business is so disrespectful to every party involved."

In recent weeks, university leadership, the student media director and editors at the Indiana Daily Student have fought over what content gets printed in the student newspaper, with administrators insisting that "special editions" were not to include any news content. The IDS content still publishes news on its website.

The situation escalated Tuesday when IU fired Jim Rodenbush, director of student media, as he pushed back against a directive to remove news content from the print edition. … “... nothing but information about homecoming — no other news at all, and particularly no traditional front page news coverage,” read Rodenbush's Oct. 7 email to the IDS co-editors-in-chief, relaying the IU Media School’s directive.

Telling us what we can and cannot print is unlawful censorship, established by legal precedent surrounding speech law on public college campuses.

Administrators ignored Rodenbush, who said he would not tell us what to print or not print in our paper. In a meeting Sept. 25 with administrators, he said doing so would be censorship.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2025/10/15/indiana-university-orders-student-newspaper-ids-to-stop-printing/86709732007/

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https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/10/indiana-university-daily-student-print-paper-censorship-fired

BREAKING: Indiana University cuts IDS print entirely, hours after firing student media director

The Indiana Daily Student

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS: IU fires student media director after he refused to censor the IDS



A statue of Ernie Pyle sits Oct. 14, 2025, outside Franklin Hall in Bloomington. IU fired Director of Student Media Jim Rodenbush on Tuesday after he refused to censor the Indiana Daily Student. Photo by Emerson Elledge / The Indiana Daily Student

By Mia Hilkowitz and Andrew Miller
Oct 14, 2025 7:47 pm · Updated Oct 15, 2025 12:29 pm

Media School Dean David Tolchinsky terminated Director of Student Media Jim Rodenbush on Tuesday afternoon after he refused to censor the Indiana Daily Student.

Ahead of our Oct. 16 newspaper, which was to include a Homecoming guide inside, the Media School directed us to print no news in the paper, an order blatantly in defiance of our editorial independence and the Student Media Charter.

{snip}

[wcmagumba]

1. Sounds like a bit of fascism from the Hoosier administration...freedom of speech is not allowed...

[pecosbob]

2. Develop parallel power structures.

Start an "unofficial" school paper published beyond their reach and hammer the administration until your demands are met.

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. A hell of a lot goes into setting that up

You have to secure enough advertising (or sponsorship) to cover all costs and Ymyou have to work out a deal with an off-campus printer for printing costs and schedule. Those are the two biggest things. All kinds of details come next.

[reACTIONary]

14. It's been done before. Distribution....

.... might be the bigger problem since the administration has a lot of physical control of the campus.

But a web site would easily solve both problems.

[maxsolomon]

3. The Admins believe IU will be held accountable for the content of the student newspaper

by the 100% Republican Government of Indiana, or the Trump Admin.

They aren't incorrect, but they are complying in advance. Creeping Fascism.

[Ilsa]

15. Creeping fascism. Trickle-down fascism. As Dr.

Timothy Snyder has advised, don't obey or kneel to authoritarianism automatically or first. Make them ask, demand, or confront you to get it.

[riversedge]

4. These Indiana adminstrators should step down, as they are horrible role models for the University students.

[LisaM]

5. Wow. College newspapers have a proud tradition.

Tom Hayden, Phil Ochs, the list goes on. This is insane.

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. Professional newspapers have a proud tradition, too

It isn't doing them much good these days.

[KatyaR]

6. This has also happened at one of our Oklahoma universities.

The University of Central Oklahoma recently announced that they would no longer print the school newspaper because of budget concerns. There is a large and well-known journalism department at the school, and this was a huge deal. Many graduates are trying to get the paper reinstated.

Oh, and the big budget savings realized by cutting the paper? $12,000 per school year.

Yeah, that's gonna make a huge difference.

[Hekate]

7. I once put out a college newspaper on mimeograph... xeroxing at the local printshop is easier still...

They just need a bit of start-up money for the costs; they could even collect funds at local rallies where the newspapers are given away for free.

Go to it, young journalists!

[TexasTowelie]

10. However, the university may restrict whether the newspaper is being distributed on campus.

I'm actually surprised that they publish a newspaper since digital content is more popular, doesn't people to distribute the paper, and ultimately doesn't end up in the trash. Besides, if there is difficulty reaching the intended audience, then what is the purpose?

[Hekate]

12. You don't think people in dictatorships have thought of that, long since?

Difficulty? It’s in the job description!

[SergeStorms]

11. Someone should start....

a "Gofundme" to cover the off campus publication. The administration would then, in all likelihood, expel the students involved.

[Hekate]

13. The students have to think of all eventualities, but an off-campus independently-funded publication...

… shouldn’t present that much “danger” to the university. They should avoid using any university equipment, especially computers, though. They might consider consulting with a civil rights lawyer, ie ACLU, and put him or her on retainer.

It has been done. It can be done.

[SergeStorms]

16. Spot on.

They'd have to avoid every impropriety, but they could do it, if they have the will. If they chose to do it funding would probably be their least concern. 😁

[Hekate]

17. Student journalists surely know about Samizdat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samizdat#:~:text=The%20form%20samizdat%20took%20gained,to%20a%20prized%20clandestine%20act.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

18. Why did Indiana University attack and cut its own student newspaper?

Reposted by Total Lowlife Hat
https://bsky.app/profile/kenwhite.bsky.social

Jess Calarco
‪@jessicacalarco.com‬

Why did Indiana University attack and cut its own student newspaper?

Well, in a twist of irony any English professor would call clichéd, it turns out IU did it because they were angry about the students' reporting on a FIRE report naming IU as the worst public university for free speech in the US.
Indiana University banned its student newspaper from printing just days before homecoming weekend — after firing the paper’s advisor when he refused to censor critical coverage.

That would be bad enough on its own, but FIRE is taking this one personally, as the Indiana Daily Student reported this hostile campaign was due in part to its coverage of FIRE’s ranking Indiana University as the worst public university for free speech.

You read that right. The school’s response to the news that they are bad at free speech … is to censor the news. It’s ironic — and not just in the Alanis Morissette sense — that these actions will likely push its overall ranking even lower next year. At least we can’t fault them for consistency.
ALT
October 25, 2025 at 9:05 AM

Why did Indiana University attack and cut its own student newspaper?

Well, in a twist of irony any English professor would call clichéd, it turns out IU did it because they were angry about the students' reporting on a FIRE report naming IU as the worst public university for free speech in the US.

— Jess Calarco (@jessicacalarco.com) 2025-10-25T13:05:42.452Z

Jess Calarco
‪@jessicacalarco.com‬

Here's the full story, from the screenshot above:

https://www.thefire.org/news/what-hell-going-indiana-university

What the hell is going on at Indiana University?
Indiana University just banned its student paper for reporting its awful free speech ranking. You literally can’t make this up.
www.thefire.org
October 25, 2025 at 9:05 AM

Here's the full story, from the screenshot above:
www.thefire.org/news/what-he...

— Jess Calarco (@jessicacalarco.com) 2025-10-25T13:05:42.453Z