This column might be preaching to the choir.
The fact you are even reading these words, either with a print newspaper or mobile device in hand, means you still put value in local media – and hopefully trust.
You are also probably aware both are in decline these days, as social media has taken a dramatic hold on the news industry.
I’m not here to whine about the perils of local journalism, although I have plenty to say on the topic after three decades at this newspaper. As concerned as I am about the current state of affairs, today’s diatribe has more to do with the future, with particular concern aimed at the younger generation who, like it or not, now consider “Twitter for old people and Facebook for really old people.”
Those quotes are taken from an interview with a high school journalism advisor who was among a random group of nearly a dozen interviewed by board members of the Northern Illinois News Association (NINA) concerning the issue of “news literacy.”
In a nutshell, that term means having the critical thinking skills to be able to evaluate the reliability and credibility of news sources and new forms of information, including those often mistaken for journalism.
Last week at NINA’s 65th annual Award Conference that topic was front and center, with a particular focus on Public Act 102-0055.
Never heard of it? Neither had I, despite the fact it affects my profession, especially the future of it.
The bill, passed by the Illinois Legislature in 2021, mandates that a unit of instruction in media literacy be taught in every public high school in the state beginning in the 2022 school year.
The law comes with a lot of words, but not necessarily much guidance. Which is likely one reason some high schools have not done a stellar job of implementing the mandate into their curriculums.
On one hand, I see why educators are not exactly champing at the bit to add to their workloads, as school districts are hit with plenty of mandates. That being said, the importance of “news literacy” at a time when there is so much disinformation floating around out there cannot be understated.
And certainly it should not be ignored.
Let me be clear: This is not a partisan problem. There’s all sorts of fake news being propagated and spread on both sides of the political fence. As humans, we want to believe stories that reinforce our worldviews. And social media has made it easier than ever to fall into those information silos without ever coming up for air.
I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. What you might not realize, however, is what this is doing to a generation that has likely never held a newspaper in its collective hands. Nor have many of their parents, who get a majority of their news from “the old people” Twitter feeds or bizarre sources of news platforms on the internet.
“Even the smartest kids in the class don’t know what a newspaper is,” admitted one high school journalism advisor.
Which is why NINA reached out to a number of schools to find out whether courses in media literacy were in their curriculums – or even on their radars.
While some are finding ways to meet the bill’s mandate, others have barely started the process, or admit no compliance plans are in the works.
“When someone at the school makes it a priority, then it will get the attention,” insisted one interviewee.
“We cover some of it in rhetorical analysis and other aspects of it in our satire unit in an AP English Language class,” said another advisor.
Note the word satire.
Seriously, the good news is that when I reached out to Aurora public schools, I was pleasantly surprised to find school districts not only have made a concerted effort to introduce news literacy into their curriculum, they believe wholeheartedly in the initiative.
And they are not teaching it in isolation but rather as a topic that can be introduced in numerous ways.
For example, East Aurora School District 131 starts teaching the basic concept in all elementary grades, then ramps it up in middle and high school through a computer program called Neptune Navigate that focuses on “teaching kids to be good digital citizens,” said Lisa Dallacqua, assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction, assessment and grants.
“It is definitely embedded in all our courses,” she said, noting the importance of 21st century students not only being able to “do more research, investigation and exploration” but to understand their responsibility when it comes to determining the value of that content.
“It is not an option,” Dallacqua said of the mandate, adding that no device should be put into the hands of children unless there are efforts to not only keep the child physically safe but also socially responsible.
Across the river, West Aurora School District 129 plans to review its approach to guarantee compliance, but has already tackled the mandate via several social science/civics units, as well as sophomore English and sophomore honors English, where students learn to evaluate source credibility, reliability and bias, according to Liz Wendel, executive director of secondary education.
At Indian Prairie School District 204, news literacy is “most prominently found” in journalism and media production courses, but is “integrated into all levels,” said Mike Purcell, director of high school curriculum and instruction.
For example, in freshman human geography, students evaluate sources provided to them to understand an author’s point of view and to look for what voices are included or excluded in the message. In English, they look at how language can explicitly and implicitly influence readers.
This continues through sophomore and junior classwork, he said, and then goes into senior year via U.S. government and a selection of senior English classes, where “they are asked to apply these skills through synthesis of multiple messages and later advocacy for their ideas.”
Rather than look at the younger generation as the problem, educators and journalists agree we need to focus on them as the answer. As Purcell points out, just “because they are not reading newspapers or watching the six o’clock news does not mean they are uninterested in the world around them.”
What it does point to is a news delivery system that needs to be changed, and if using TikTok drives them to the bigger story, then so be it. Which is all the more reason journalists and schools should work together to promote news literacy.
In a message to his colleagues before the conference last week, Roger Ruthhart, who has seen NINA take on plenty of causes over his nearly 30 years with the organization, insists nothing is more important than this effort the group is now beginning.
As NINA Board President and long-admired Chicago-area journalist John Lampinen pointed out in a conversation we had later, an informed citizenry is necessary for democracy to survive and thrive.
And that means there is work to be done on both sides, added the recently-retired editor of The Daily Herald.
“So much is at stake.”
