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"News literacy is a relatively new field in media studies that focuses on defining and teaching the skills that citizens need to evaluate the credibility of the information they encounter, and on examining the role that credible information plays in a representative democracy. It's also a subject that most students find inherently engaging and relevant. In fact, a recent study found that 84 percent of young people between the ages of 15 and 25 say they would benefit from learning these skills. 3 Exercises in News Literacy"

"When we ask students to challenge their sacred cows but don't give them a new framework through which to make sense of the world, others are often there to do it for us. For the last year, I've been struggling with media literacy. I have a deep level of respect for the primary goal. As Renee Hobbs has written, media literacy is the "active inquiry and critical thinking about the messages we receive and create." The field talks about the development of competencies or skills to help people analyze, evaluate, and even create media. Media literacy is imagined to be empowering, enabling individuals to have agency and giving them the tools to help create a democratic society. But fundamentally, it is a form of critical thinking that asks people to doubt what they see. And that makes me nervous."

"Gold and Phillip offered their insights on examples of rumors and misinformation in the 2016 campaign, discussed the competing issues and agendas they must navigate in their reporting, and chatted with students and educators about the active role young people can play as consumers and creators of news and information about political issues. The hangout was part of a special series on "Building News Literacy, Critical Media Skills, and Political Awareness Today" produced in connection to Letters to the Next President 2.0.  NLP NEWS Check out the News Literacy Project's latest developments. "

"The 1st Annual U.S. Media Literacy Week will be observed November 2nd through 6th. You can help spread the word using the hashtag #MediaLitWk. Here, noted author and consultant Frank W. Baker (@fbaker) offers clear evidence for the need to raise awareness about media literacy in a world saturated by media messages."

"LESSON PLAN: UNDERSTANDING NEWS LITERACY July 24, 2013 To seek truth and report it lies at the heart of any journalist's mission. But what is "truth?" And will we know it when we see it?  Deciphering credible, accurate information from an abundance of perspectives is harder today than ever before. These lesson plans, developed by Megan Fromm and made possible through a grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, will help you discover how teaching news literacy in your program develops critical minds, encourages active citizenship, meets Common Core state standards, and strengthens your publications' public reputation and perception."

"With the advent of "fake news", social media and non-stop media bombardment, three leading media literacy educators explain why media literacy is more important now than ever before."

""News media literacy" isn't just about being able to read and understand the news; the term also refers to the ability to analyze the news for reliability and accuracy and distinguish between fact, opinions and assertions. This task - for the journalist and the citizen in a democratic society - grows increasingly difficult in the digital age as the number of news generators proliferates and the process of creating content becomes less uniform."

"One of the key News Literacy concepts is knowing which "News Neighborhood" you are in. But discerning the difference between news and other forms of information - such as advertising - is becoming harder and harder in the Digital Age. Welcome to the brave new media world of "native advertising" and "sponsored content," and the increasingly blurry line of where "editorial" content ends and advertising begins. Here's one recent example."

"For a look at the sometimes-silly, sometimes-concerning false information that circulates the Internet, The Washington Post offers a weekly roundup on The Intersect, a blog dedicated to digital and Internet culture. Its series called "What was fake on the Internet this week?" can be a resource for teaching news literacy using timely examples that are relevant to an Internet-savvy generation. The most recent blog entry addresses topics such as fake tweets, false reports of a smartphone virus and bogus rumors that the National Rifle Association is banning guns at its annual convention. The Intersect blog also offers commentary on Internet and social media trends, viral content and hoaxes. Here are a few additional websites that debunk misinformation in the news:"

"Students at Capital Preparatory Magnet School, in Hartford, Connecticut, are watching a video of a basketball drill. "Keep track of how many passes the players dressed in white make," Marcus Stallworth tells them. He is a media-literacy educator. Many of the kids correctly count the number of passes. But they don't notice a man in a bear suit who moonwalks across the screen. Why did so many kids miss the furry bear? That's the question Stallworth asks them. The answer, he says, tells us something important about media literacy. For Stallworth, the video shows that people miss much of what's going on around them. "It's the same when we're reading information online," he told TIME for Kids. "It's important to be aware of the messages, and the ways authors are trying to capture our attention.""

"Boyd did not direct her concerns to the institutional actors who are reshaping the public sphere in ways that increase people's access to disinformation through platform capitalism. Boyd never once mentions a tech company or platform in her talk. As Benjamin Doxtdador points out, the disinformation that's fueled by hate groups and spread by algorithms is an embedded feature of the platforms we use. These platforms are nontransparent and outside of democratic control. Instead of mentioning the role of the platforms, boyd claims that media literacy is the problem because it causes people to "doubt what they see." Her SXSWEDU talk repeats a distorted depiction of media literacy as she claims that questioning media has led to social and political destabilization."

"The videos demonstrate the process of facilitating group learning about media literacy. Students are prompted to think critically about all media messages by asking questions such as: * Who produced this media message, and for what purpose? * Is the information credible, how would you know? * What techniques were used to communicate this message? * Who might be the target audience? * Who might benefit or be harmed by this message? * How might other people interpret this message differently? As shown in the videos, teachers respond with evidence-based prompts such as: "What makes you say that and where is that shown in the document?" These literacy principles are often preceded by content questions that encourage students to analyze media documents, including: * What are the main messages here about… (fill in the blank)? * What bias or point of view do you see here? * What information is left out of this message and why? Project Look Sharp developed these materials after assessing how some teachers present media documents to illustrate key points rather than to engage students. The videos include running annotations that explain how to conduct discussions about media messages using the constructivist methodology. Teachers will learn how to shift their practices from predominantly delivering facts to engaging students in rigorous analysis, application of key knowledge, and reflection on their understanding of the mediated world they live in."

"Fake news is nothing new. Despite its rise to fame thanks to the 2016 presidential election, the phenomenon has been around since humans have been able to relay information - from spoken word to the first newspapers and now, to social media. It's also nothing to be afraid of. When armed with the right tools and information, anyone can spot fake news from a mile away. NewseumEd offers free classes and resources on media literacy.  But if you're in a hurry, here's a quick guide to identifying fake news. "

"The NLP classroom program is designed to give teachers and students a concise and comprehensive survey of news literacy. Though it is typically taught as a drop-in unit over the course of two or three weeks in the classroom, it may be integrated over longer time periods. The unit has three main phases: Teacher-led lessons from NLP's original curriculum, lessons taught by NLP journalist volunteers in person or remotely via Skype and a final student project that builds and reflects understanding of NLP's core concepts."

"NLP's digital unit offers an introduction to news literacy through a series of computer-based trainings. The unit includes multiple-choice, fill-in and short-..."

"In addition to the Checkology® virtual classroom, the News Literacy Project offers these resources and services for educators. Check them out!"

"Kent State University is one of only 15 universities across the country to receive a grant from the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) to screen Eyes Wide Open: This is Media, a documentary that explores individual roles in the changing media landscape. Kent State's School of Journalism and Mass Communication will host the premiere at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20, in the FirstEnergy Auditorium in Room 340 of Franklin Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Produced by Pivot TV, the documentary is a call to awareness about the critical balance between being connected, being responsible and being private. "This is a must-see and an eye-opening video for everyone, especially millennials engaged with social or traditional media," says Federico Subervi, Ph.D., professor in Kent State's School of Journalism and Mass Communication and National Association for Media Literacy Education member."

" Why is it important to be critical consumers of news media? How do we discern fact from opinion in The New York Times, and in other news reports? In this lesson, students will become familiar with the layout of the NYTimes.com home page and learn how news and opinion articles are labeled and organized for clarity. Then students will carefully consider the difference between fact and opinion and create guiding questions to help discern between the two when reading a news or opinion piece from any news source."

"Facebook's News Feed, a homepage built by our friends and organized by our clicks and likes, isn't really a "news" feed. It's an entertainment portal for stories that remind us of our lives and offer something like an emotional popper. In fact, news readers self-identify as a minority on Facebook: Fewer than half ever read "news" on the site, according to a 2013 Pew study, and just 10 percent of them go to Facebook to get the news on purpose, as opposed, say, being assaulted by a breaking news event when you're just scanning baby photos. To see this more clearly, let's compare the BuzzFeed network's most viral stories-i.e.: the stories that go biggest on Facebook-to the top stories on Twitter and the most-searched stories. First, here are the top stories on Twitter in 2013. It's a blend of news, like terrorist attacks and music shows, and evergreen silliness with Ryan Gosling and Kim Kardashian. "

" In part two of a three-part series based on a Q&A with former Post Register Managing Editor Dean Miller, we look at how the Internet can be used intelligently. Miller is the director of the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York."