The IU Media School announced Thursday it hired Charlie Scudder, an IU and Indiana Daily Student alumnus, to take over the role of student media director starting Dec. 14.
Scudder is a journalism professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Michael Arnold will continue to serve as interim student media director until Scudder is able to start, due to his prior commitments at SMU.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to Bloomington to help guide IU Student Media into its next chapter,” Scudder said in the Thursday press release. “As a Hoosier and as a second-generation student media alumnus, IU and its student media is especially important to me.”
Scudder also said in the release he is excited for the chance to collaborate with student media.
According to the press release, Scudder spent eight years working at The Dallas Morning News, where he “helped develop new approaches to storytelling and audience engagement.”
A former editor-in-chief of the IDS, Scudder has served as president of the IU Student Publications Alumni Association. Scudder was also a co-editor of “Indiana Daily Student: 150 Years of Headlines, Deadlines and Bylines” — the first book about the history of the IDS. The Indiana University Press published the book in 2019.
Scudder will be the first permanent student media director since the university fired previous director Jim Rodenbush on Oct. 14 2025. Rodenbush is suing IU, alleging the firing violated his First and 14th Amendment rights.
Media School Dean David Tolchinsky fired Rodenbush after Rodenbush refused to comply when administrators requested that he instruct the IDS not to publish any news content in its upcoming print edition.
Tolchinsky cut IDS print editions entirely in the hours following Rodenbush’s firing, a decision later reversed by IU Bloomington Chancellor David Reingold on Oct. 30. In the months following Rodenbush’s firing and cuts to print, the Media School created a task force to establish a “roadmap” for student media.
The task force released its findings May 1, recommending a stronger “umbrella” structure for student media and an advisory body that would include faculty, the Media School dean and media professionals. Under the proposed shared governance model, a student media director or similar position determined by the Media School dean would lead and report to the dean or someone of the dean’s choosing, acting as a “publisher and executive.”
The press release stated Scudder will lead development of a long-term strategic vision for IU Student Media, including a plan for financial sustainability.
“Charlie’s deep connection to IU Student Media, combined with his accomplishments in journalism and higher education, made him an exceptional choice for this role,” Arnold wrote in the release. “He understands firsthand the transformative impact student media can have on students’ lives and careers.”
