Student journalists reveal chilling effects, legal dilemmas, and financial pressures while reporting on campus conflicts.
The University of Washington’s Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy (CJMD) held an event on Oct. 8th, bringing together student journalists, legal experts, and university faculty to discuss the legal rights, ethical responsibilities, and realities facing student journalists today. The panel highlighted how student journalism is no longer a training ground for young people who dream of becoming reporters, storytellers, and community servants. Instead, it has transformed into the front lines in the emerging struggle for freedom of expression.
Across campuses nationwide, student journalists now find themselves covering conflicts that test not only their reporting skills but their rights as reporters. Take the recent murder of Charlie Kirk. This happened at Utah Valley University, where student reporters at the Daily Utah Chronicle had to make decisions on how to report on the attack. Notably, student journalists who have covered the ongoing Israel-Gaza protests have faced assaults, arrests, and even jail time for simply doing their job on campus. Censorship by institutions of higher education has also been reported. On Oct. 7 at Indiana University, administrators from the Media School instructed the student media director and student editors of the Indiana Daily Student to censor their Oct. 16 issue. When the news director called out and pushed back against this censorship, he was terminated from his position.
The panel brought to light three main themes: the chilling effect, legal and ethical challenges such as takedown requests and financial censorship, and the expanding role of student journalists in national free speech debates.
The panelists:
Morgan Bortnick, the editor-in-chief of The Daily at the University of Washington. She joined The Daily in 2023 as a politics beat writer and now leads the paper, shaping its editorial vision and guiding staff through today’s media challenges.
Piper Davidson, a fourth-year UW student studying Journalism and Public Interest Communication. A former editor-in-chief of The Daily, she now reports on arts, culture, and local issues in Seattle.
Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel at the Student Press Law Center, supporting student journalists nationwide. He co-led the 2013–14 “Tinker Tour USA” to promote student press rights.
Matthew Powers, UW professor in Communication and co-director of the Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy. He researches media ethics and political journalism and previously worked as a professional journalist.
“In many ways, [student-led publications] are in the crucible of some of the biggest issues regarding free speech, open inquiry, free expression in American society writ large,” Matthew Powers, a professor in the Department of Communication and co-director of the CJMD who served as a panelist at the event, said.
The chilling effect
The biggest takeaway, according to Powers, is what journalists call the “chilling effect.” Students, faculty, and staff, as reported by the Daily’s student reporters, are increasingly afraid to speak on the record due to fear of backlash, doxing, or social isolation.
“One of the issues that student media are facing—and that both of the student panelists talked about—is that it’s become increasingly difficult to get people, students, faculty, staff, to speak on the record on these topics,” Powers said. “There is, in some sense, kind of a chilling effect that’s going on, where there’s concern for a variety of reasons, not wanting to speak or be quoted.”
The hesitancy undermines open debate and the journalistic mission to present diverse perspectives. Powers found that social conformity plays a role in the unwillingness to speak up. While Powers admits this is not an irrational fear—students have been targeting for sharing their voices in university publications—the trepidation students feel about facing consequences for exercising their first amendment rights runs counter to the foundational values of both journalism and universities.
Takedown requests and financial censorship
The second key issue that emerged during the panel had to do with legal issues regarding requests from international students to remove past opinion pieces due to safety or visa concerns. This highlights a larger issue—when personal protection is at stake, free expression hangs in the balance.
Hiestand, the panel’s legal expert, noted that this is the first time since he began his career in 1989 that guidance for student media has been reconsidered to address such dilemmas.
Another concern is “financial censorship,” in which universities quietly reduce or withdraw funding from student media to discourage critical coverage. While difficult to prove, this practice raises critical questions about press independence.
Evolving role of student journalists
As student journalists are increasingly at the forefront of national conversations about free speech and open inquiry, and as protests, political conflicts and violence, and social debates unfold on campuses, university newsrooms have become the “papers of record” for some of the country’s largest and most influential institutions—universities.
With local media shrinking, students are often the only reporters consistently covering how universities navigate these tensions. And who better to report on student issues than the students themselves.
“In a campus environment like UW, there may be an observed or experienced pressure to align with dominant viewpoints or avoid controversy,” said Bortnick, current editor-in-chief of the Daily. “When debate is discouraged, this creates an environment of self-censorship, even if a source holds valuable or informed opinions, out of fear of judgement, backlash, and other social consequences.”
By documenting these issues with vigilance and that unique student perspective, student journalists are not only reporting on-campus news but are also shaping national dialogue on press freedom and democratic responsibility.
The main point Powers wanted attendees to walk away with was how important it is to pay attention to these new pressures in order to support student journalists as they navigate these challenges. The CJMD plans to continue its discussions of press freedom and other related issues in the future.
Support the Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy (CJMD)
Help student journalists continue their critical work by contributing to the CJMD. Your donation supports programs, panels, events, and initiatives that protect press freedom, uphold democracy, and provide critical training for the next generation of journalists.
Sign up for our newsletter (Scroll down to sign-up and stay up-to-date on our news!)