Former Indiana University student media adviser Jim Rodenbush was honored at the nation’s largest college media convention, where four students and an adviser from El Camino College’s journalism program were present in Washington, D.C.
Rodenbush appeared onstage at MediaFest 25 on Oct. 17, three days after being terminated by an Indiana University dean for noncompliance with an administrative agenda forcing its student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student, to stop printing.
News of the university mandating an end to the IDS’s print publication and Rodenbush’s firing was nationally covered, being reported by outlets including NBC News and The New York Times.
“I have told [students] at times that they’re not going to come after you, they’re going to come after me,” Rodenbush, 49, said to a reporter from The Union at MediaFest 25.
Mark Cuban, an Indiana University alumnus, made a post on X which expresses disappointment toward the administration’s censorship of the IDS newspaper.
Rodenbush, who had been advising the IDS for eight years, said Cuban contributed about $600,000 to the student paper.
Within one hour of landing in D.C., Rodenbush received a standing ovation at the Society of Professional Journalists’ keynote during the convention, which was also hosted by the Associated Collegiate Press and the College Media Association.
He was terminated at the end of the work day Tuesday, Oct. 14, by David Tolchinsky, dean of the media school at Indiana University.
“My termination letter referenced a lack of leadership in being willing to implement the university’s plan,” Rodenbush said. “That just means I was given three different opportunities to follow orders and I kept saying no.”
Fired @idsnews adviser Jim Rodenbush receives a standing ovation as he stands onstage at #MediaFest25. https://t.co/VDu0ll41Bq pic.twitter.com/tsYi9GR0Kk
— Nikki Yunker (@eccunionnikki) October 17, 2025
Both IDS editors-in-chief Mia Hilkowitz and Andrew Miller alerted the public of the news a few hours later in their “LETTER FROM THE EDITORS.”
The letter reached the nation and Michael Koretzky, CMA convention director and SPJ ethics chair, reached out to Rodenbush later that evening.
“Little problems end up becoming bigger problems,” Koretzky said. “Jim [Rodenbush] had the foresight to start sharing his story very early.”
Rodenbush sent updates to CMA members on their group Listserv email system, informing them that the situation may escalate to his termination.
While Rodenbush had originally planned to attend MediaFest 25, SPJ arranged for him to attend the convention by covering the cost of his flight.
“It was important for him to be there because [Indiana University’s administration] didn’t expect it,” Koretzky said.
Hilkowitz wrote in an emailed statement to The Union that the decision to fire Rodenbush was a scare tactic toward journalism students and faculty.
“Watching everyone come together for IDS is heartwarming. It feels alone in the fight when you’re sitting there with your friends,” IDS Director of Community Engagement Laynie Pitts, 21, said.
Pitts added that support from former alumni of the school, including Cuban, reminds everyone to keep going.
“Hopefully in defending a high profile case like IU [Indiana University] and Jim Rodenbush, we send a message to all other administrators thinking about doing this,” Koretzky said.
Rodenbush, who has a wife and three children, would like to keep working in student media.
“This kind of work is incredibly rewarding. It’s boots-on-the-ground, roll-your-sleeves-up kind of teaching,” he said.
