Indiana University fires adviser as print editions end

Indiana University fired the longtime adviser to its student newspaper on Tuesday after he refused an order to keep news content out of a homecoming print edition, and the university announced it would end future print editions of the paper, university officials and student editors said. The move came two days before the planned homecoming issue and has raised questions about editorial independence at the Indiana Daily Student and the role of the Media School in overseeing student media.

Jim Rodenbush, who joined the university in 2018 to advise student media, was terminated in a letter from Media School dean David Tolchinsky that described Rodenbush's "lack of leadership and ability to work in alignment with the University's direction for the Student Media Plan" as unacceptable. Rodenbush told colleagues he would not force student editors to remove news stories from a special homecoming print edition. "I had to make the decision that was going to allow me to live with myself," he said. "I don't have any regrets whatsoever. In the current environment we're in, somebody has to stand up."

A university spokesperson said the campus intends to shift resources from print to digital...