Editor's note: All opinions, columns and letters reflect the views of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the IDS or its staffers.
President Whitten, Provost Shrivastav, Chancellor Reingold and Dean Tolchinsky:
We, a group of hundreds of Indiana Daily Student alumni as far back as the class of 1966, are writing to condemn the firing of student media director Jim Rodenbush and the subsequent cancellation of IDS print operations.
In 2017, 123 alumni wrote to your predecessors after the abrupt firing of IDS newsroom director Ron Johnson — a decision that followed IU’s controversial move to dissolve the independent School of Journalism into the newly formed Media School.
At the time, we warned: “We fear this decision will do further harm to the relationship between the university and its graduates.”
We were right.
On Oct. 14, headlines read, “IU fires student media director after he refused to censor the IDS.” Less than 24 hours later: “IU has now fully cut IDS print. What more is there to say?”
We have long understood the financial challenges facing student media. Many of us faced them as students and have worked as alumni to support sustainable solutions. Through donations and mentorship, we hoped the IDS would continue to operate as the irreplaceable learning lab that launched our careers.
Instead, we’ve watched with growing alarm as university leaders repeatedly undermined the independent journalism that once made IU a national leader, a training ground for America’s most respected news organizations. The founding dean of the Media School lacked real-world journalism experience. His successor has even less.
We were dismayed when the 2025 FIRE Campus Free Speech Rankings report placed IU at No. 255 of 257 U.S. colleges and universities, citing a litany of First Amendment violations.
The IDS reported on these rankings. And from there, things seem to have escalated.
According to the Indianapolis Star, it wasn’t until the IDS published its Sept. 4 and Sept. 10 print editions — covering IU’s suspension of the Palestine Solidarity Committee and its dismal free speech ranking — that administrators met with Rodenbush to discuss “expectations” for future special editions.
In an Oct. 7 email obtained by the IndyStar, Rodenbush passed on to IDS leaders guidance from the Media School advising that the IDS print publication should focus solely on a special theme, “such as homecoming or fall sports,” and contain “no other news at all, and particularly no traditional front-page news.”
Days later, Rodenbush was fired. Hours after that, print was dead — a direct contradiction to a promise Dean Tolchinsky made last year.
In fall 2024, an alumna raised concerns about the reduction of IDS print to only special editions. Dean Tolchinsky told the alumna in a Nov. 4, 2024, email that the news would remain in print. Furthermore, he wrote, students would be encouraged to rethink special editions to include more opportunities for “hard news.”
Tolchinsky’s defenders characterize this policy change as a “business decision.”
Yet IDS editors report that three print editions this year have netted nearly $11,000 in profit.
On Oct. 15, we learned that Mark Cuban, B.S., 1981, quietly donated $250,000 to the IDS this summer to help offset costs. Many of us regularly donate to the IDS Legacy Fund to directly support student operations.
For decades, high school seniors across the country paid out-of-state tuition to attend IU — just to work at the IDS. For decades, the newspaper was a top contender for national college journalism awards. Often, we won.
IDS alumni have landed internships and jobs at top-tier media outlets; you will see where past IDSers work below. Local residents have relied on the IDS as a primary news source, especially as The Herald-Times declined under corporate ownership. The list of distinguished IDS alumni is long, but we’ll name one: Ernie Pyle, the WWII war correspondent whose statue greets visitors at Sample Gates.
Whether we stayed in journalism or pursued other careers, we credit the IDS as the most formative part of our IU experience. It taught us to question critically, think logically, communicate clearly, act creatively and live ethically — values we hope IU still prizes among its graduates. The most important lesson we took from our time at the IDS was simple: Without a free and independent press, democracy cannot exist.
The IDS was once a crown jewel of Indiana University. Now, the Media School seeks to dull it beyond recognition.
On Oct. 15, the Indiana University Student Publications Alumni Association Board sent Dean Tolchinsky a letter seeking productive dialogue. This Board represents the best of the best of us. We thank the dean for meeting with the board this week. We urge him to continue engaging in productive dialogue with this board, who speak on behalf of the thousands of student media alumni who still hope to remain proud of their alma mater.
This letter was first sent on Friday, Oct. 17 with 243 signatures. As of 5 p.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 23, the letter has 380 signatures from alumni between the graduating classes of 1966 and 2025. Signatories include 58 former IDS Editors-in-Chief and five winners of the Pulitzer Prize.
