The integrity and journalistic worth of a paper is inextricably linked to its independence from the entities and interests it seeks to report upon, hold accountable, and investigate. It is critical that publications avoid crucial conflicts of interest and entanglements with individuals, organizations, and other bodies that they strive to objectively and critically inform their readers on. Unfortunately, it appears that the well-established and hugely influential Indiana Daily Student is no longer able to boast such independence.
The nearly 153 year old paper published a piece in early January informing readers that the IDS was in desperate need of funding. Editors Caroline Anders and Emily Isaacman told readers that this “could be the last semester the Indiana Daily Student exists” and that the “IDS has been struggling financially for years, but the situation has never been this grim.” The publication was set to run out of funding by May.
Fortunately for the IDS, but not necessarily for their readers, the Indiana University Media school came to the paper’s aid. The IDS will essentially operate at a deficit for three years, and the Media School will pay the paper’s debt. While the parties involved claim to be committed to the IDS’s “editorial independence,” complete autonomy seems unrealistic given the paper’s now thorough dependence on Media School funding.
Additionally, while this level of interconnectivity with the Media School is somewhat unprecedented in the paper’s recent history, the IDS has been far from independent up until now. The Daily Student already receives funding from the Media School for numerous projects, including the paper’s Black Voices section and its two city beat reporters; has university employees on its staff; and is classified as an auxiliary of Indiana University. Conceivably, the IDS could be fully editorially independent, and their close connections with both the IU Media School and the university as a whole may not affect their practices and journalistic activities. However, when a publication is a part of and financially dependent upon a major entity which they report on, it raises serious concerns about the credibility, objectivity, and efficacy of that publication. This is not to say that the IDS is critically biased or ruled by the IU administration, but it’s distressing and disheartening that these concerns must now be raised about a publication that students and other university stakeholders rely upon to investigate, report on, and hold IU accountable.
Due to these developments, the Crimson Post’s mission may be even more critical. As the Post’s first president, I would like to reaffirm our commitment to complete and total financial and editorial independence from the university. We believe that this is necessary in order to insure that we can, without bias, effectively report on potentially the most influential force in students’ lives. We are, of course, an Indiana University student organization, but this simply requires us to abide by basic university policies and requirements. We made the decision to register as a student organization in order to streamline a number of our processes and to gain a foothold within the university community, however, if we ever feel that this affiliation with IU jeopardizes or editorial independence or objectivity, we have the option to simply reorganize as a non university affiliated organization.
Our independence is of the utmost importance to us, and we will always fight for it.
