On Feb. 23, 2023, then-IDS editor-in-chief Helen Rummel published a letter sharing the continuing financial crisis the Indiana Daily Student has been facing for a few years. She wrote the IDS was struggling to produce a weekly print edition while operating at a deficit, and eventually the newspaper could exist entirely differently. The time Rummel mentioned has come, and that change is upon us.
As we reach the end of May, most of you have probably noticed our newspaper stands on and off campus have been empty until today’s edition. Due to the IDS’ ongoing financial struggles, the IDS will be going from a weekly print edition to a monthly print edition this summer. From now until July, you can expect a monthly paper in the stands the last Thursday of each month. Our weekly print edition should resume this fall.
Though we are reducing publication to a monthly print edition, we are still publishing content everyday online as normal. Additionally, our newsletter will be published on Mondays and Thursdays this summer. To stay up–to-date on our content you can also follow our Instagram and X accounts @idsnews.
The decision to reduce to a monthly print edition this summer was made in the spring of 2023, but events in the last year since then have led us to fear more cuts in the future. As we ended the 2023-24 academic school year, we marked an unprecedented moment in the IDS’ history by holding a walkout April 25. For 24 hours, the IDS did not publish content online and only posted breaking news on social media. Former IDS editors-in-chief Salomé Cloteaux and Nic Napier published a letter explaining why the walkout had to happen. The IDS, along with other student media like IU Student Television and WIUX, is under threat by the university.
Over the years, the IDS has been forced to decrease professional staff, reduce the number of print editions and abandon opportunities to make money. Cloteaux and Napier warned there was nothing left to cut from the IDS without significantly changing its current form — being forced to reduce to printing monthly this summer is just one example.
IU student media is vital to the university and the city of Bloomington. The IDS, an editorially independent student-led news organization, was founded in 1867. For 157 years, it has provided students with opportunities, serving as building blocks for their future careers, and has been a main news source for the IU and Bloomington community.
The university won’t support student media and has and will continue to force us to make cuts which hinder our ability to serve the community. Many community members rely on our print edition to keep them informed; most of our newsstands are emptied before the end of the week. The IU and Bloomington community deserves more than a monthly paper, so we will continue our fight for the IDS’ future to provide the news.
We are very thankful for readers like you that pick up our papers and read our stories on idsnews.com. Your support helps keep the spirit of student media and local journalism alive. Hopefully we will be able to continue to serve you for many years to come.
Readers can support us by making contributions to the IDS Legacy Fund.
