The educational mission of The Media School at Indiana University is to provide students with the means to develop the abilities critical for interpreting and evaluating the mass of mediated information circulating in modern societies; to develop an understanding of how the mass media work—how they produce meaning, how they are organized, and how to use media wisely and ethically as informed citizens participating in a global digital world. The mission carries a huge responsibility along with the opportunity for a strong societal impact: how to develop the ability to create and manage media messages that provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.

The Media School was inaugurated in 2014 and moved into the newly renovated Franklin Hall in 2016. The School's component parts have a long history on campus and the School's journalism program has had a long association with renowned Hoosier reporter Ernie Pyle, who was killed in World War II.