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“To be news literate is to build knowledge, think critically, act civilly and participate in the
democratic process.” —Robert R. McCormick Foundation
News literacy refers to the ability to read, respond, and record news stories. In modern times, it has taken on additional
meaning. Now news literacy also refers to the ability to identify different types of bias in the news and in ourselves to be
a better informed citizen. News literate people know their place as media consumers is more than just a passive
digestion of whatever stories come their way. They understand they must be active participants in the process of
accessing and delivering information.
Be sure to have a thorough understanding of the 12 concepts of news literacy and to ask me any questions prior to
Friday’s exam.
Bias is when you have an opinion or perspective on something. In journalism, bias can be a lense
with which is a story is viewed. For example, some Fox news stories are told with a bias against non-republican views.
Being aware of bias helps us as consumers be sure that we are making our own judgements on information. Viewing
several articles of the same story is one way to weed out bias from information. Journalism generally strives to remain
unbiased, telling facts objectively.
Objective reporting means that it only presents information without any opinions. Objective and
unbiased are synonyms.
A cynical view would be one that is negative and highly critical, always looking at the downside. A cynical
view would be a type of bias.
A republic is a type of government that has a chief-of-state that isn’t a monarch (typically a president). The
body of people are free and are able to elect someone to represent them in government. America is sometimes
considered a republic. This is not to be confused with the Republican political party.
to differ in opinion. Examples: “Margot began to voice her dissent against her friends’ love of fast food for
lunch.” “Eventually the dissent growing between the church and state boiled over, and the Puritans embarked in search
of a new land.”
Thomas Jefferson once said that, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” Consider this quote. If patriotism is
a love of one’s country, how is going against policies and questioning the acts of the government a way to demonstrate
that love?
the concept that people seek out information that confirms their own beliefs, rather than
looking for information that represents all sides. This relates heavily to the news literacy concept #11.
You need to know the differences between the value systems of the Republican and Democratic parties. I suggest
looking at each parties’ official site and reading through the values and positions on the issues. It is important as an
American citizen that you each be able to identify slants and biases presented in the news based off of political stance.
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[Main_Concepts_of_News_Literacy]
Created by Baruch College Professor Geanne Rosenberg and Alan Miller, director of the
News Literacy Project, in collaboration with Dean Miller, director of Stony Brook University’s
News Literacy Center, and Tom Rosenstiel, founder and director of the Project for Excellence
in Journalism.
Reprinted with permission—for educational use only.
1. Informed citizens are essential to good government and free society.
2. There is a public value to sharing accurate, newsworthy information.
3. The Internet has changed how people receive news information and now
people have to take a more active role in becoming well informed and sharing
accurate information.
4. Accurate information is available online, but so is poor quality, misleading
information.
5. The Internet makes it possible to independently fact check and verify information
by looking at multiple information providers.
6. In assessing accuracy of information, it is important to consider who is providing it
and their sources and whether the information includes verifiable facts and key
perspectives as opposed to opinions and unsubstantiated conclusions.
7. To be well informed, one should get news from multiple outlets representing
different perspectives.
8. It’s important to follow a story over time to be able to trust the information.
9. Some news and information has a strong bias, and there are ways to recognize
this.
10. One should be skeptical of information based purely on anonymous or biased
sources.
11. It’s important to be aware of one’s own biases and assumptions and seek reliable
information that challenges one’s own views.
12. It is important to be open-minded rather than having fixed opinions that can’t be
changed even with new facts.