Purdue’s Newspaper Responds to IU Media Director Firing
BLOOMINGTON, Ind — Purdue University’s independent student newspaper, The Exponent, printed and distributed 3,000 copies of a special edition across Indiana University’s Bloomington campus over the weekend in support of student journalism.
The front page read, “We Student Journalists Must Stand Together.”
The distribution followed Indiana University’s decision to dismiss longtime media director Jim Rodenbush and suspend the print edition of the Indiana Daily Student (IDS), raising concerns about university influence on student media.
“I think I learned from a bunch of different people via text about what happened at IU,” said Exponent publisher Kyle Charters. “We saw news about Jim Rodenbush being let go and the fallout from that, including the IDS being forced to suspend its print edition. It all came to our attention early Wednesday, ironically a publishing day for us.”
Charters said the Purdue newsroom was already working on its next edition when staff began discussing a response. “We have our own issues with Purdue,” he said, referring to the university’s decision earlier this year to stop honoring a longstanding, unsigned contract that governed distribution and support for the paper.
With that in mind, The Exponent initially offered to print the canceled IDS edition. “Understandably, they turned it down after discussing it internally. They were concerned it might put student staff or non-student employees in a tough position with the university,” Charters said.
Instead, The Exponent published its own special issue. The edition included reporting on the IDS situation, details of its own disputes with Purdue, an editorial from a former IDS editor-in-chief, and information on how to support both newsrooms.
“We got 3,000 copies printed and delivered them to various locations on and around the IU campus,” Charters said. “We think we got our message across.”
Charters said the goal was simple. “Our purpose was not to troll Indiana University,” he said. “It was to show solidarity. Student journalism plays a critical role in our communities and in our democracy. It holds power to account. It tells the story of campus life. That is what we wanted to support.”
He said that similar challenges have appeared at campus newspapers across the country. “This isn’t isolated to IU or Purdue,” he said, pointing to examples at Stanford and elsewhere.
Charters said collaboration among student newsrooms is already growing. “There’s already a group of newsrooms that collaborate across the country. I wrote about it in the special edition. There is real solidarity out there, and it is growing.”
As for future editions appearing in Bloomington, Charters said there are no immediate plans but did not rule it out. “We’re an independent newspaper. We have been that way since 1969. If there is another opportunity to assist the IDS, we will have that discussion.”
Charters said he and Rodenbush have not yet spoken directly. “We’ve talked in the past and have a good relationship,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hearing how he’s doing, personally. We will see what the future brings.”
