The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing financial woes for Indiana University’s oldest student newspaper, pushing it to the point where significant structural changes could be necessary by the end of the spring semester.
“We’re in trouble,” said Jim Rodenbush, director of student media at IU Bloomington.
With a history going back to 1867, the Indiana Daily Student operates as an independent auxiliary of the IU Media School. That means, while the university owns the student newspaper, it does not provide funding. Instead, the Indiana Daily Student generates its own revenue, largely through advertising and events.
Like many newspapers, the Indiana Daily Student has struggled financially in recent years as more advertising dollars have gone to large technology companies. The pandemic provided additional momentum to that slow moving problem. Fiscal year 2021 revenue losses are expected to be about 40%. If nothing changes, the student newspaper could exhaust financial reserves by April.
This will not cause the Indiana Daily Student to fold, Rodenbush said. Financial responsibility would fall to the Media School. But some worry that depending on the school or the university for money could compromise students’ ability to publish stories that are critical of those entities.
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