Last month’s fifth annual National News Literacy Week highlighted the importance of news literacy and local news in a healthy democracy, just as millions of Americans prepare to vote in local, state, and federal elections this year.
The initiative was co-presented by the News Literacy Project (https://newslit.org), a nonpartisan nonprofit that teaches people how to tell fact from fiction in the news and information they consume, and the E. W. Scripps Company, a diversified media company and one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters. Online and in-person events provided educators and students with easy-to-adopt tools and tips for navigating our information landscape.
“Two things are necessary for a healthy democracy: a more news-literate public and a vibrant local press,” said Charles Salter, president and CEO of the News Literacy Project. “National News Literacy Week is one way that we are leading a movement for news literacy across the country, ensuring that everyone has the skills they need to be informed participants in our civic life.”
“Scripps’ longtime motto is ‘give light and the people will find their own way,’” said Adam Symson, Scripps president and chief executive officer. “Across our local and national newsrooms, this translates to a responsibility to help news consumers sift through all the information that is now available at their fingertips. This year’s National News Literacy Week spotlights this important function of the free press and empowers the public with tools to recognize credible information.”
The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals—and ultimately a stronger democracy.
