IU Cuts Media Director, Shuts Down Print Editions

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University has fired Jim Rodenbush, the school’s director of student media, after he refused to enforce what many are calling an attempt to censor the Indiana Daily Student, the university’s independent student newspaper.

The move came Tuesday, just days after Rodenbush reportedly pushed back against administrators who tried to limit what could appear in the IDS’s annual homecoming edition. According to Dominic Colletti, program officer for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the university had told student journalists they couldn’t include general news content alongside the homecoming coverage, a demand Rodenbush refused to follow.

“What happened here is that the university has, for a while, been trying to control what the IDS publishes as part of its homecoming edition,” Colletti said. “They said the paper couldn’t publish any news content alongside that issue, which is a clear editorial interference. Rodenbush pushed back, and a few days later, he received a letter terminating his employment.”

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Colletti said the university didn’t stop there. On Wednesday, the IDS learned it would not be allowed to publish any print editions at all, not just the homecoming issue.

“That’s obviously raised several concerns for us as First Amendment advocates,” Colletti said. “This looks like an attempt to control what the student paper prints, especially with alumni coming to campus for homecoming weekend. It appears the university is trying to present the best possible image, even if that means suppressing student journalism.”

Rodenbush had served as an advisor for multiple IU student publications, including the IDS and the university’s yearbook, Arbutus.

FIRE says the timing of his firing raises serious First Amendment concerns.

“When someone speaks out against censorship and is promptly fired, that’s a red flag,” Colletti said. “The First Amendment is very clear. The government and, by extension, a public university cannot retaliate against someone for what they say.”

FIRE is urging Indiana University to reverse course.

“First, they need to stop trying to control what the IDS publishes,” Colletti said. “Second, they must restore the support and infrastructure that student journalists had under Rodenbush’s leadership. The university absolutely cannot dictate content or shut down print operations because they don’t like the stories.”

Even after all this, Colletti says the IDS has kept reporting, including on Rodenbush’s firing.

“They’re still doing excellent journalism, and that’s why the public even knows about this,” he said. “At the end of the day, the censor never wins.”