The Student Press Law Center is alarmed by reports by the Indiana Daily Student that administrators issued orders to interfere with content decisions and fired their long-time adviser.
In a letter published Oct. 14, IDS editors Mia Hilkowitz and Andrew Miller said they were told indirectly by Indiana University Media School administrators Oct. 7 that an upcoming print edition could only include information about homecoming — and “no other news at all.”
After student media director Jim Rodenbush and the student editors separately protested the order as unlawful censorship, Rodenbush was terminated by the university.
“The Media School’s order limiting the Indiana Daily Student’s print edition to homecoming coverage isn’t a ‘business decision’ — it’s censorship,” said Jonathan Gaston-Falk, staff attorney at the Student Press Law Center. “This disregards strong First Amendment protections and a long-standing tradition of student editorial independence at Indiana University. If the abrupt ousting of the student media director was related to his refusal to participate in such censorship, the message is clear: IU no longer welcomes a free student press. The Media School must reverse course immediately, before more damage is done to its reputation and to its students’ rights.”
Editors had planned for homecoming content to be a special insert alongside other news in the Oct. 16 newspaper.
IU Media School leadership, relayed through Rodenbush on Oct. 7, said the IDS could distribute such an edition to the community, but the version distributed on campus could contain only homecoming content.
The IDS reported that Rodenbush told administrators in meetings on Sept. 25 and Oct. 9 that he would not enforce such an order because it would be illegal.
The editors wrote to administrators Oct. 13 to confirm the order and express their own concerns that it constituted censorship.
A 2005 agreement between the university and the IDS states that “final content decisions and responsibility rest with duly appointed student editors and managers.” Such an agreement reaffirms long-established First Amendment case law that student editors of public college student media are responsible for making all content decisions. Courts have made clear that school officials — including student media advisers — must keep their hands off.
Rodenbush was terminated Oct. 14 by Media School Dean David Tolchinsky for a “lack of leadership and ability to work in alignment” with the Media School’s plan for student media.
That long-awaited plan is meant to address the IDS’s budget deficit. The plan includes converging multiple student media organizations and significantly cutting the IDS’s print edition. When it was announced last fall, IDS editors expressed “no confidence” in the plan and disappointment in the Media School’s lack of transparency and “proper consultation of the people who know the most about the IDS.”
This summer, IU rejected a student board’s vote to fund the IDS with mandatory student fees, which would have helped address the financial challenges offered as a rationale for curtailing the printed newspaper.
The IDS is one of the most celebrated student news organizations in the country.
The Student Press Law Center will monitor IU’s next steps and continue to support the IDS students and Rodenbush.
The Student Press Law Center is the nation’s only legal organization devoted exclusively to defending and advancing the free press rights of student journalists. Since 1974, we have helped students and their educators navigate the law, strengthen their reporting and stand up for press freedom. Our legal support, education and advocacy empower student journalists to report freely and courageously. Learn more at splc.org.