“Your lack of leadership and ability to work in alignment with the University’s direction for the Student Media Plan is unacceptable,” read an October 14 termination letter sent by Indiana University (IU) Media School Dean David Tolchinsky to IU Director of Student Media Jim Rodenbush.
As someone who co-leads a student media publication, the words in the letter are chilling, but unfortunately not surprising given the sheer amount of censorship and anti-media sentiment in the United States today.
In this case, one may wonder what grave error Rodenbush made that led to his termination at the university. Surely he committed some egregious wrongdoing that endangered the publication or failed to fulfil his duties … right? Right? Wrong.
IU’s student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student (IDS), was slated to release its October 16 issue of its paper, featuring a homecoming guide inside; however, IU’s Media School demanded that IDS print no news in, get this, the newspaper!
Rodenbush, like any good student media advisor, pushed back on this ludicrous censorship order from the media school, reinforcing the editorial independence of the IDS and attempting to get the dean to understand the First Amendment, but to no avail, according to an IDS letter from the editors.
Not only was Rodenbush fired as a result of not heeding the dean’s directive, but IU also wholly cut IDS’s print budget, framed as a ‘budgetary decision’ to essentially ‘help’ IDS become more financially stable.
This argument is completely unfounded and it spits in the face of the student-editors at IDS and those who have worked and continue to work so hard day-in and day-out to maintain a strong student media presence at IU.
The fact that the university made its decision to cut IDS’s print budget mere hours after firing Rodenbush is surely no coincidence, and it is insulting for administration officials at IU to now repeatedly claim that they still support the freedom and independence of the IDS, all while making these moves.
I have to agree with the headline on the IDS’s second letter from the editor published on the subject, “What more is there to say?”
In the fallout of the censorious situation at IU, the university’s media school has formed a task force to “develop recommendations ensuring both the editorial independence and financial sustainability of student media at IU,” according to the Student Press Law Center’s statement on the matter.
This is a perfect example of the do-nothing solutions that institutions propose all the time. ‘Oh, maybe the issue will go away if we form a non-binding advisory commission on thinking about the issue longingly.’
There are no concrete actions taken to reverse the devastating impacts of cutting the IDS’s entire print, or firing the organization’s advisor, who so clearly cared deeply about supporting his students and standing up for their First Amendment rights.
I had the privilege of attending MediaFest ‘25 in Washington, D.C., earlier this month and was glad to see Rodenbush in person at the event, where the IDS secured many accolades for its grade-A coverage.
While I was emotionally moved by the standing ovation he received upon announcement of his presence at the convention hall, I found it saddening to know that he was and remains without a job.
But I do also want to take a moment to applaud the other IU student media outlets, faculty, staff, alumni and journalism organizations that have stepped up and advocated for IDS in this trying time.
One positive instance of direct action taken to support IDS and condemn the university’s censorship was when IU alumni pulled over $1 million in donations to the university, a clear showing of the fact that this problem is not going away anytime soon.
The pressure campaign needs to continue and this can’t just end up as a “bad PR week” for IU; it has to be a bad PR month, year, or decade. We need to do whatever it takes to get the university to realize its mistakes.
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
