The former Indiana University Director of Student Media has refiled his lawsuit against the university, alleging violation of his First and 14th Amendment rights when he was fired last October.

Jim Rodenbush filed the lawsuit last week in Monroe County Circuit Court. The defendants are the IU Board of Trustees, Bloomington Chancellor David Reingold and Media School Dean David Tolchinsky.

The lawsuit comes after Rodenbush voluntarily dismissed an earlier version of the case in April because of jurisdictional concerns. His attorneys had filed that lawsuit in federal court; this time, the case was filed in state court.

Rodenbush's lawsuit alleges he was fired after refusing to follow administrator requests that he instruct the Indiana Daily Student not to publish news content in its Oct. 16, 2025, Homecoming edition.

The lawsuit says that violated his First Amendment rights because he was fired for refusing to "censor student work in the campus newspaper."

It also alleges Rodenbush was denied due process under the 14th Amendment.

Rodenbush's termination letter from Tolchinsky said his inability to comply with the university's Student Media Plan was "unacceptable." The new lawsuit says Rodenbush's contract required him to ensure the IDS remained financially and editorially independent.

The dispute came amid controversy over the future of the Indiana Daily Student's print edition.

After Rodenbush was fired on Oct. 14, 2025, Tolchinsky cut print editions of the IDS entirely. Reingold reversed that decision later that month and said the paper's editors were authorized to use student media funds through June 30, 2026.

A Media School task force later issued recommendations for student media, including a shared governance structure and an advisory board that would include the dean.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Rodenbush recently began a new job as an associate professor at Western Kentucky University.

The defendants were served with summonses on Aug. 6 and have until Aug. 26 or Aug. 29 to respond, depending on how the summonses were delivered.