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Student journalists are serving as watchdogs in their communities as traditional news outlets shrink.

Why it matters: Their independence is under threat as they become more reliant on university funding amid the decline in advertising revenue.

By the numbers: At least 56.1% of college newspapers at schools with more than 5,000 students receive funding from their institutions, per a 2024 University of Florida study.

What's happening: Indiana University temporarily barred the Indiana Daily Student from printing news coverage, citing budgetary concerns, but reversed course after backlash.

Former staff adviser Jim Rodenbush has filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the university after he said he was fired for refusing to censor the paper upon his superior's request.

IDS co-editors-in-chief Andrew Miller and Mia Hilkowitz say the incident underscored their role as a vital source of information.

"We're definitely the largest newsroom in Monroe County," Miller tells Axios. "I worked at The Herald-Times, the Gannett paper in town, and I can confidently say that we cover stuff more in depth."

"When we look at our pickup rates for our paper out in the broader Bloomington community, it's near 100%. Our newsstands are always, usually fully empty," Hilkowitz says.

Zoom in: The IDS has published major investigations on issues in their local community, including sexual assault and harassment allegations at the restaurant Crazy Horse and sexual misconduct at Comedy Attic. 

That accountability coverage extends to the university, including sexual abuse allegations at the Jacobs School of Music. The paper also broke stories on the university's policy changes and administrative actions, like the recent removal of the director of Jewish Studies.

Zoom out: Dale Anglin, executive director of philanthropic national coalition Press Forward, says supporting student journalists could help fill local news gaps.

"If you are the mayor of a 10,000-person town and your news outlet goes away ... what do you do?" Anglin says. "You're not going to start a new news outlet because that's hard, but you're going to figure out a way to support those students and have them cover your community."

What's next: IDS' fight isn't over. Hilkowitz says they want representation on a university task force and for the provost to rescind his decision to prohibit student fee money from going to the IDS.

The editors, who are both seniors, say the experience has reinforced their commitment to pursue journalism as a career.

"I want to continue holding people accountable and helping almost force people's hand to be transparent," Hilkowitz says.

"I was already planning to, but absolutely now there's no question," Miller says, before pausing and restarting. "Oh, sorry. Another fire to put out."

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nprecedented way the director of Jewish Studies was removed

Student journalists step up

But their independence is under threat from reliance on university funding.

Illustration of a college graduation mortarboard with a newspaper overlay

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Student journalists are serving as watchdogs in their communities as <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="traditional news outlets shrink" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/21/local-news-closures-independent-investment" data-vars-content-id="bf1a11da-c6e1-4d7e-a4e5-8b01921fb789" data-vars-headline="Student journalists step up" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/21/local-news-closures-independent-investment" target="_self">traditional news outlets shrink</a>.Why it matters: Their independence is under threat as they become more reliant on university funding amid the decline in advertising revenue.

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Student journalists step up

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