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Importance of news literacy

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News literacy resources

Stance:

Informed citizens are a crucial part of a democracy. As both producers and consumers of news, student journalists must understand the principles of news literacy.

Social Media Post/Topic:

Your students produce news, but are they news literate? Here are some resources to teach them the basics.

Reasoning/suggestions:

Given the current controversy around fake news and concerning results from the 2016 Stanford research studyabout students’ inability to differentiate fake from real news, news literacy is a crucial skill for our students.

According to the Radio Television Digital News Foundation, “News literacy is the acquisition of 21st-century, critical-thinking skills for analyzing and judging the reliability of news and information, differentiating among facts, opinions and assertions in the media we consume, create and distribute. It can be taught most effectively in cross-curricular, inquiry-based formats at all grade levels. It is a necessary component for literacy in contemporary society.”

The foundation identifies six principlesbehind news literacy to help students evaluate their personal news consumption and their publication content.

Resources:

News Media Literacy PowerPoint, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission

Six principles behind news literacy, Principal’s Guide to Scholastic Journalism

Evaluation Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning” (executive summary of Stanford Education study)

Students Have ‘Dismaying’ Inability To Tell Fake News From Real, Study Finds, NPR

The News Literacy Project

News, Information and Media Literacy, SchoolJournalism.org

News and Media Literacy, Common Sense Media

Media Literacy Now

Introducing news literacy, American Press Institute

 

 

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