- News Literacy Project is a partnership between E.W. Scripps and USA Today
- Nearly half of teens surveyed think the press does more to harm democracy than protect it
- Eight in 10 teens surveyed reported seeing posts on social media that spread or promote conspiracy theories, and of those, 81% said they are inclined to believe one or more of them.
The majority of teens struggle to distinguish between different types of information, such as news, advertisement, opinion, and entertainment.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It's been six years since the E.W. Scripps Company partnered with USA Today, to host National News Literacy Week. It's an opportunity to connect with viewers on-air and online to foster a better relationship in what we do, and how we do it while understanding the latest trends that are constantly changing."Good morning, Titans, and welcome to another edition of the Frontier Morning Show."
Students at Frontier High School in Bakersfield produce two newscasts per week, to keep the student body informed about the latest happenings on campus.
I was invited to be part of their show during National News Literacy Week. In an age where more young people rely on social media for news and information, this newsroom is teaching an old-school lesson in accuracy and being well-informed.
"There's a lot that goes into each script," said Bryce Hatch who teaches the Video Production class, "and every section that they have to focus on requires some different parameters."
Hatch is the 'news director' for this class, and in addition to the technical aspects of putting on a newscast, he's helping these young journalists navigate a confusing landscape of information.
"They come in all the time, something they saw on TikTok, Snapchat, or YouTube. They want to talk about it and know what the validity is," said Hatch.
"We know that people rely on social media for their news and information," said Hannah Covington with the News Literacy Project.
Covington is the Senior Director of Education Content. She has been studying the declining trust for legacy news stations and why they're turning to more 'bite-size' content.
"Influencers that may or may not be following standards for quality journalism," said Covington, "or verifying information before sharing it with their audience."
In the group's latest study, a survey of teen information attitudes, habits, and skills, the NLP found that almost half of the teens surveyed think the press does more to harm democracy than protect it. Also, 8-in-10 say information from news organizations is no more impartial than other content creators online. Students in Mr. Hatch's class, sit on both sides of the news desk.
"It's important that we share accurate information that's not misleading, and we're a credible source," said Precious Karuga, a senior anchor in the class.
"There's a huge gulf between what they can say as a person with their social media, and how they have to focus on the validity of it for Frontier High School,' said Hatch.
And while there aren't any scandals or conspiracy theories in the newsroom, students are bombarded when they walk out the door.
"Has anyone dealt with A.I. videos?"
The emergence of generative AI videos is adding a new set of questions when it comes to what's real.
"My general rule on the internet is take it with a grain of salt," said Wyatt Luchau, a senior anchor in the class, "is it real or not, it's kind of a struggle."
The top giveaway for AI videos of pictures of a person is the fingers, but experts say you need to look beyond that.
"It's more important than the visual clues," said Covington, "you need to think who shared it, what's the source, and what others say. Verification goes a long way to getting credible information."
Covington added that professional journalists need to do a better job of telling our own stories, when it comes to the stories we cover, explaining how we do the work we do.
One small way is to connect with students in the classroom, to humanize the profession.
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