News LiteracyEducating better citizens and student journalists

Megan Fromm, PhDSalzburg Academy on Media & Global Change

@megfromm / megfromm@gmail.com / Prepared for educational use only

Agenda• What is news literacy

• Incorporating news literacy into your program

• News literacy and Common Core State Standards

• Lessons for your classroom

• Additional resources

“To be news literate is to build knowledge, think critically, act civilly and participate in the democratic process.” —Robert R. McCormick Foundation

What is news literacy?

A tale of two literacies

Media Literacy Concerned with the greater

understanding of the communication processes required to understand and consume many forms of media.

“Media literacy is the ability to encode and decode the symbols transmitted via media and the ability to synthesize, analyze and produce mediated messages.” —National Association for Media Literacy Education

News Literacy Concerned specifically with

how citizens discern truth in news media.

Emphasizes value and role of news in democracy

“How to know what to believe.” — The News Literacy Project

Aimed at consumers AND producers of news

News literacy is a process, a skill set and an acquired disposition.

•Informed citizens are essential to good government and free society.

•There is a public value to sharing accurate, newsworthy information.

•The Internet has changed how people receive news information and now people have to take a more active role in becoming well informed and sharing accurate information.

•Accurate information is available online, but so is poor quality, misleading information.

•The Internet makes it possible to independently fact check and verify information by looking at multiple information providers.

•In assessing accuracy of information, it is important to consider who is providing it and their sources and whether the information includes verifiable facts and key perspectives as opposed to opinions and unsubstantiated conclusions.

Main Concepts of News LiteracyCreated by Baruch College Professor Geanne Rosenberg and Alan Miller, director of the News Literacy Project, in collaboration with Dean Miller, director of Stony Brook University’s News Literacy Center, and Tom Rosenstiel, founder and director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism

•To be well informed, one should get news from multiple outlets representing different perspectives.

•It’s important to follow a story over time to be able to trust the information.

•Some news and information has a strong bias, and there are ways to recognize this.

•One should be skeptical of information based purely on anonymous or biased sources.

•It’s important to be aware of one’s own biases and assumptions and seek reliable information that challenges one’s own views.

•It is important to be open minded rather than having fixed opinions that can’t be changed even with new facts.

Main Concepts of News LiteracyCreated by Baruch College Professor Geanne Rosenberg and Alan Miller, director of the News Literacy Project, in collaboration with Dean Miller, director of Stony Brook University’s News Literacy Center, and Tom Rosenstiel, founder and director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism

Learning Outcomes

Students will distinguish verified information from opinion, agenda and spin

Students will identify biased information sources

Students will seek information that is contextual and thorough

Students will understand the limitations of a 24-hour news cycle on truth and context

Students will possess the skills to evaluate, analyze, and fact-check the trustworthiness of today’s news

Students will understand the greater democratic and ethical imperatives for producing and consuming factual information

Why news literacy matters

• “There is no global issue, no political arena, no academic discipline in which the statement of problems and the framing of possible solutions are not influenced by media coverage.”

— Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change

• Not all your students will become journalists, but all must face the obligations of what it means to be a citizen of democracy and lifelong media consumer

• News literate students make better journalists

In your classroom:

• Journalism skills address form and function• We ask: What goes first? What goes last? How do

we best present an idea?

• News literacy addresses the prevailing concepts, structures and practices of today’s press• We ask: Why these sources? Why not those? Why

now? How are xyz related? What is the larger context of this message? How do we know what’s true?

News literacy in the scholastic journalism

curriculum

1. The First Amendment2. Journalism history3. The business of journalism4. Nonstop news5. Citizen ‘journalism’ and social media6. Journalism and social responsibility

The First AmendmentUnderstanding the nature of the Fourth Estate

Instead of: • A lesson on freedom of the press, libel or privacy

Why not: • A conversation about the premium America places

on these freedoms when compared to other countries, and how that reflects values unique to a democracy

Compare freedoms globally

Canada Charter of Rights & Freedoms

Values social equality and collective rights over freedom of expression

Germany Basic Law

Values human dignity, protects against invasions of privacy more than it protects for freedom of expression

First Amendment limitations

What information (if any) is inappropriate for public purview?

Examining the evolution of journalism through a news literate lens

Journalism History

Instead of: • A lesson on the evolution of different journalistic

mediumsWhy not:

• An analysis of how the “impartial journalist” really functioned throughout history

“Activists can and often do reveal the truth, but the primary objective remains winning the argument.” —David Carr, The New York Times

Elizabeth Eckford arrived at Little Rock’s Central High School too early and was heckled by the crowds. As she walked away to sit on a bench, a novice education reporter saw how upset she was and sat down with her until school officials arrived.

The reporter was harshly criticized for “inserting” himself into the story.

—The Race Beat—America.gov

—Chip Reid, NBC

Case in point: Glenn Greenwald

Journalist for The Guardian

“It is not a matter of being an activist or a journalist; it’s a false dichotomy…It is a matter of being honest or dishonest. All activists are not journalists, but all real journalists are activists. Journalism has a value, a purpose — to serve as a check on power.”—Greenwald as quoted in the New York Times on his activism

Activist, government skeptic

“A critical, campaigning column on vital issues of civil rights, freedom of information and justice – and their enemies, from the award-winning journalist, former constitutional litigator and author of three New York Times bestsellers.” —Greenwald on The Guardian blog he writes

What happens when news media must rely on others for access to the story?

The Business of JournalismHow economics and capitalism shape news media

Instead of: • Teaching students how to sell advertising, pitch a

product and manage fundsWhy not:

• Explore the effects of media conglomeration and de-regulation on the diversity (or lack thereof) in news media today

—Frugaldad.com

—Frugaldad.com

Private/market ownership model

Pros No government control

Medium for anti-government views

Competition breeds ingenuity, better products

Large media companies benefit from economies of scale

Cons Profit reigns supreme

Public interest secondary

Homogenization of voices because of convergence

Concentration of viewpoints

—globalization101.org

Public sphere model

Pros Publically-funded, so

impetus to serve public interest

Provides resource regardless of ability to pay

Cons Lack of competition

Lack of consumer support can derail product

—globalization101.org

Ownership models & content

How do you balance ad revenue with journalistic obligation?

Would you run a story about a shady local business if they are also an advertising partner?

Nonstop newsHow 24-hour news is redefining standards for accuracy

Instead of: • Teaching students how to adapt content for online

mediumsWhy not:

• Develop skills to analyze online sources, fact-check breaking news and crowd-source for accuracy

“A publish–then filter–world”

—Poynter.org

—Poynter.org

—USAToday.com

—TheWeek.com

—TheWeek.com

http://storify.com/ericsnowden/eric-snowden

Fact-checking in the digital age

1. Follow the links2. Learn how to use simple tools, like public

records3. Understand what normal social media use

looks like

—mediabistro.com

How do we know what to believe on the Internet?

Evaluate three areas:1. Authorship2. Content3. Format and structure

Authorship 1. Does the site identify the individual or

institution who authors the site? 2. Is a contact person identified with an email

address?3. Does the site have a commercial sponsor or

co-sponsor?

Content What is the purpose of this site?

1. To inform? 2. To teach? 3. To persuade?4. To express?5. To entertain?6. To make money?

Format and Structure

1. Is the site easily readable and navigable? 2. Do the graphics enhance the information or merely

decorate the website?3. Does the site provide for interactivity and exchange?4. Are the spelling and grammar flawless?

Citizen ‘journalism’ and social mediaThe benefits and limitations of every man, the journalist

Instead of: • Teaching students to use social media to promote

their publicationsWhy not:

• Evaluate the difference in practice and product between trained, professional journalists and the emerging citizen journalist

• Appreciate the value of added eyes/ears in the field

Kevin Sites, once a journalist for Yahoo, spent a year traveling around 20 conflict zones across the world. With only a translator, Kevin visited places that more traditional news reporters have never accessed.

Codes of ethics

Professional journalist Seek truth and report it

Do no harm

Act independently

Be accountable

Citizen journalist

?

Motivations

Professional journalist Expose wrongdoing

Provide context and facts for public dialogue

Hold authorities accountable

Provide balance of content between what public wants to know, needs to know, and should know

Citizen journalist

?

Examine: The $2.5 million blogger lawsuit

1. In 2011, blogger Crystal Cox used her opinions and facts from anonymous sources to claim an Oregon lawyer was a thug, thief and liar

2. The lawyer sued for defamation

3. Cox argued that Oregon’s Shield Law protected her from naming her anonymous sources

4. Judge ruled she was not a journalist, and therefore not protected by the Shield Law

Judge’s ruling: what is journalism?

—Poynter.org

Journalism and social responsibilityThe conflation of watchdog and activist media

“In republics, the great danger is that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.” —James Madison

—niemanlab.org

“Gay marriage” or “marriage equality?”

A 2011 Rutgers-Eagleton Poll in New Jersey found that 52% of voters believed same-sex marriage should be equal.

=This number jumped to 61% when the issue was framed in terms of “marriage equality.”

To what extent do the media shape how we perceive even the simplest of events?

Final thoughts

“A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking

to itself.”—Arthur Miller

If so, then news literacy demands we ask not only what is being said, but what isn’t, and why.

Are we still awake?

Common Core State StandardsHow news literacy concepts satisfy the new trend

• readily undertake the close, attentive reading that is at the heart of understanding and enjoying complex works of literature

Students who meet the Standards:

• habitually perform the critical reading necessary to pick carefully through the staggering amount of information available today in print and digitally

• actively seek the wide, deep, and thoughtful engagement with high-quality literary and informational texts that builds knowledge, enlarges experience, and broadens worldviews.

• reflexively demonstrate the cogent reasoning and use of evidence that is essential to both private deliberation and responsible citizenship in a democratic republic

• develop the skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening that are the foundation for any creative and purposeful expression in language

Funny, our student journalists do ALL of this every day.

And twice on Sundays worknights.

Anchor standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

• Write in inverted pyramid style

• Identify the most important of the 5ws and h for an effective lead

• Create an informative/explanatory policy manual that reflects on your publication’s standards for newsworthiness and source credibility

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

• Use online sources for secondary research or to locate expert sources

• Use proper attribution at all times

• Create a staff policy for determining acceptable online sources

• Teach students how to identify and locate authors/creators of websites

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

• Editors find and replace loaded/biased words in a news story

• Analyze how loaded word choices compromise the fairness of a news story

• Compare/contrast news stories that highlight different sources/views as most prominent

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

• Write editorials and op-eds • Analyze and evaluate daily op-eds for rhetorical strategies and logical fallacies

• Determine which rhetorical strategies would be most useful for your audience (high school students)

Reading: Informational Text

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

• Read news stories to identify the lead, accurate use of inverted pyramid, fact placement, quote usage, and transitions

• Analyze your publications’ stories to identify which perspectives are present, which are missing, and to evaluate whether presentation of facts and subsequent inferences are fair and objective

Writing

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrate understanding of the subject under investigation.

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

• Write in-depth pieces on topics of relevance to today’s students

• Assign students to cover beats

•Explore the ethical and practical considerations your students face in being members of the community they cover

• What happens when the “subject under investigation” is the greater “you?”

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2b Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

• Identify the 5ws and h

• Determine logical and most significant order

• Provide adequate background/context detail

•Discuss and decide as a staff what “sufficient” means. Is it sufficient to tell each main side of a story? What if there are more than two sides? Who decides what is sufficient?

Speaking & Listening

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

• Maintain a three-source minimum for every story

• Tell stories in alternative story formats

• Emphasize secondary coverage

• Evaluate and compare news creation and presentation across mediums

• Understand how different mediums promote/ limit different levels of credibility

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.5 Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

• Use different story version for online and print media

• Teach students to write for web

• Evaluate the ethical considerations of using digital media to tell traditional news stories (i.e. headline placement, image placement, music, visual effects, access)

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.

JOURNALISM NEWS LITERACY

• Fact check!

• Learn to ask “how do you know?” after every fact claim

• Understand the business and economic constraints on today’s media that affect credibility