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,...
A broadcast piece done by students participating in the News Literacy Project in Chicago is now posted on the PBS.org site. This inaugurates the project’s collaboration with “PBS NewsHour Extra,” an educational program that works with schools in Chicago and elsewhere and showcases students’ work.
The piece, “Peer Pressure,” was produced by nine middle schools students in the spring of 2010. Three seasoned radio journalists and NLP fellows—Natalie Moore and Lynette Kalsnes, both of WBEZ public radio, and Irene Tostado of Univision—worked with the students to help them plan and...
The News Literacy Project (NLP) has begun its second full year in the classroom, partnering with five new middle schools and high schools in New York City, Chicago and Bethesda, Md.
In the 2010-11 school year, NLP will work with at least 25 teachers in at least 11 schools to reach nearly 2,000 students — significant increases in all three areas.
It is also introducing a thoroughly revised Classroom Guide, new lesson plans and improved primers for teachers, journalists and NLP coordinators. It has enhanced its assessment process for students and teachers as well.
The News Literacy Project has produced a video of its first month in middle school and high school classrooms in New York and Bethesda, Md. which is now available on our YouTube channel.
The 6-minute video provides an overview of the project and takes viewers into the classroom with its teachers, journalist fellows and students. It also includes music for an original song written for the project, “Check It Out!”
The video was produced by the project’s staff in collaboration with volunteer participants from The New York Times, “60 Minutes,” NPR and the Los Angeles Times. ABC News...
Reuters has joined the News Literacy Project, making it the third major wire service and the 17th news organization to participate.
“Reuters is proud to be part of this initiative,” said Martin Howell, head of editorial learning for Reuters in the Americas.
“It is essential that new generations not only know about the importance of a thriving and diverse media industry but that they can also tell the difference between opinion-based and fact-based journalism,” he said. “Our journalists understand the importance of sharing their experience and tackling these critical questions with...
Gwen Ifill, one of the country’s leading journalists, has joined the board of the News Literacy Project.
“We are delighted to welcome Gwen,’’ said NPR President Vivian Schiller, who chairs the project’s board. “Her outstanding work, renown and expertise as a journalist and her stellar personal qualities make her a superb addition. We look forward to Gwen’s role in directing the project as it grows and increases its impact in the future.”
Ifill has already participated in the News Literacy Project as a co-host of an event in the spring of 2009 and has spoken to classes at Walt...
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.
