In recent weeks, the Indiana Daily Student newspaper of Indiana University has been the subject of a scandal after university administrators decided to cut the funding needed to print and distribute the papers. However, IU decided to reinstate the printing budget late last month.
Jim Rodenbush, IDS faculty adviser, refused an order to ensure news pieces would only be published online and not in any printed special editions, including the homecoming edition, according to the New York Times. The decision to stop printing the paper came after IDS staff chose to publish news stories in the print homecoming edition of the paper, against the wishes of the university, which contributes approximately $250,000 toward the IDS newspaper printing budget.
The ban has been lifted on IDS as of Oct. 31. In the midst of the financial situation, IDS staff took the issue as a matter of censorship.
"The Media School thinks they can violate the First Amendment if it's under a business decision," Mia Hilkowitz, co-editor-in-chief of the IDS told the IndyStar. "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."
A letter from the university Chancellor David Reingold acknowledged that university administrators did not handle the situation as well as they could have, but clarified that the decision was not intended to censor students on IDS staff.
“Let me be clear: my decision had nothing to do with editorial content of the IDS,” Reingold said in the letter. “And contrary to what has been posted on social media and published, Indiana University has never attempted to censor editorial content, period. The IDS is, and remains, editorially independent.”
With the increased access to news from social media and decreased advertising revenue to support printing costs, the media industry as we know it today is changing. Over 3,000 newspapers in the United States have closed or merged with other papers since 2005, according to the Local News Initiative from Northwestern University. The letter from Reingold to IDS editors showed that IDS is no different with a “deficit approaching $300,000” annually to print the newspaper.
What do these events mean for other student newspapers?
There has not been any indication that other university newspapers are facing the same funding issues and are at risk of closure, but these events have reminded our editorial board of the importance of the work we do.
The Echo works to serve the Upland and Taylor communities in conjunction with other newspapers like the Muncie Star Press and Marion Chronicle-Tribune. Our newspaper is distributed weekly to 100 businesses in the Grant County area, including the communities of Upland, Gas City, Matthews and Hartford City. Our main goal is to raise awareness of community news and events, but to also give a voice to the voiceless.
What have the IU administration and the student journalists learned through this experience?
Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV says “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
The IU administration acknowledged that it could have handled the situation better. As evidenced by the fact that after reflection, decided to reverse its prior decision by reinstating the printing budget.
At the very least, perhaps the students have learned the value of continuing dialogue with the administration.
Communication is hard work and we hope that both sides continue to grow through this experience.
