Whitman was the site of one of NLP’s first three pilot programs, and the project is now in its third year at the school. It will reach more than 350 students in AP government and 11th-grade English classes this school year.
The project also held a series of three public events featuring prominent journalists and other public figures at Whitman last year. More than 400 adults and students attended each of the Fall Forum presentations.
The Chicago Tribune published a report on the News Literacy Project’s impact in Chicago in its Jan. 19 editions.
In the article, students, a teacher and a parent discuss how the project has sparked their interest in the news and connections to the wider world.
“I used to only watch the news when I would see violence and kids getting shot in my neighborhood,” said Alyssia Nunley, 12, a student at Marquette Elementary School. But she said that after participating in the project for the past two years, “I started watching the news more often and talking about it with my family.”
The News Literacy Project had a string of remarkable successes in 2010.
In only its third year, NLP greatly expanded the number of partner schools, teachers and students that it is reaching; had its students showcased at a national event at the Newseum and on PBS.org; held a series of highly successful public events, and raised its profile both through coverage of the project in other news media and through reports prepared by NLP participants that were published on websites and in newspapers and magazines.
It also added four distinguished members to its board, including Gwen Ifill of...
The Chicago Sun-Times has joined the News Literacy Project, becoming the second news organization in Chicago—and the 18th nationally—to participate.
“There may be no more critical link to the next generation of readers than the News Literacy Project,” said John Barron, publisher of the Sun-Times.
“It provides vital information about trusted sources … and about trusting sources,” Barron said. “Equally important, it fosters an invaluable person-to-person connection between media professionals and the coming wave of news consumers. We at the Chicago Sun-Times and Sun-Times...
Don Baer, the worldwide vice chairman of Burson-Marsteller, a strategic communications firm, has joined the board of the News Literacy Project.
One of the country’s most prominent media and communications executives, Baer has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. From 1994 to 1997 he was a senior adviser to President Bill Clinton, serving first as the president’s chief speechwriter and later as the White House’s director of strategic planning and communications.
“Don is the original renaissance man, with deep experience in journalism, media, marketing,...
The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) supervises the High School Journalism Initiative, the largest online host of teen journalism. The site displays students’ reports, photos, podcasts and video journalism and offers training and teaching materials.
Student Reporting Labs connect students with a network of public broadcasting mentors, an innovative journalism curriculum and an online collaborative space to develop digital media, critical thinking and communication skills while producing original news reports for PBS NewsHour Extra.
The Poynter Institute’s News University is an online journalism training program that offers 65 courses as diverse as writing and reporting techniques, multimedia story-telling and ethics. The site also provides access to the Newseum’s “Be a Reporter” and “Be an Editor” games.
The foundation's High School Broadcast Journalism Project helps students become broadcast journalists by offering programs and activities that fund, support and advocate electronic journalism education nationwide.
The network produces a daily 10-minute commercial-free newscast available to teachers and students throughout the school day. It also provides news quizzes, learning activities, fact sheets and commercial-free editions of in-depth reports by CNN’s Special Investigations Unit.
The Newseum, in Washington, D.C., is an interactive museum that combines information about the history of journalism with the latest digital technology and games, allowing visitors to experience what it’s like to be a reporter or make challenging ethical decisions.
Media Literacy Clearinghouse is a website developed by Frank W. Baker, a former broadcast journalist and media literacy instructor. It provides tools and information for educators who want to learn more about media literacy and integrate the topic into the classroom.
Investigative Reporters and Editors, or IRE, was founded more than 30 years ago by a small group of reporters who wanted to share reporting and writing tips. Now based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, it is dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting. It has created a forum in which journalists worldwide share story ideas, newsgathering techniques and sources
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, non-profit organization based in New York City that promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the rights of journalists. Its site includes detailed information and case studies about journalists and media workers who have been abducted, attacked, imprisoned or killed.
The Committee of Concerned Journalists is a consortium of journalists, publishers, newspaper owners and academics. One of its aims is to create a national conversation about the principles that distinguish journalism.
The Columbia Journalism Review’s mission is “to encourage and stimulate excellence in journalism in the service of a free society.” Founded in 1961 under the auspices of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, the magazine examines the news media’s performance. Its website delivers timely criticism and reporting.
FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, monitors the factual accuracy of statements by major U.S. political figures in television ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.
The New York Times' Learning Network is a free site for teachers, students and parents and includes content for grades 3-12. Each weekday the Learning Network offers new interactive activities, such as lesson plans, news summaries and quizzes, based on the reports in that week's New York Times.
The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect was written by former journalists Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. It is taught in journalism schools nationwide and has been published in 38 languages.
Newsthinking, by Bob Baker, a writing consultant and former Los Angeles Times reporter and editor, focuses on mental organization for journalists. Baker is also the proprietor of the website Newsthinking.com.
