We talk a lot about Millennials as digital natives and what that means for reaching this influential generation. Of course, access to the Internet gave rise to citizen journalism, a movement that is both empowering and problematic. I’m afraid elementary school students today are growing up with no common definition of “truth” and news literacy will suffer if we don’t act.
I’ll be the first to admit journalism – and journalists – are not perfect. Throughout my time in journalism school, the definition of objectivity was a hot topic. Sometimes journalists make mistakes and, in rare cases, use poor judgment when making editorial decisions. That said, imperfect press freedom beats the alternative.
Imagine a culture where powerful people and organizations are not questioned by any third parties. Where they control the narrative and never run the risk of being exposed for corruption and human rights violations. This reality exists in many parts of the world. That’s why there are 262 journalists sitting behind bars for doing their jobs (source: Committee to Protect Journalists). They are not the enemy of the people; they are often giving a voice to people who have none and risking their lives to do so.
How you can help
If the problem is teaching people the ability to tell the difference between fact and fiction, what’s the solution? According to a recent report from PEN America, students need to be taught news literacy before middle school in order to be “inoculated” from disinformation. Fortunately, there’s already a tool available to help from a venerable name in the news business: TIME For Kids. The editors and writers work closely with their peers at TIME to “help make the world comprehensible to students in ways they can trust.” TIME For Kids reaches 1.8 million students across the country. There are many teachers who want to incorporate the publications into their classroom, but lack the budget to do so.
If you share my concern about news literacy, please consider joining me in supporting these motivated teachers. Visit DonorsChoose.org and search for “TIME For Kids”. If you’re not familiar with DonorsChoose.org, it’s a non-profit that allows you to support classroom projects so teachers don’t have to spend their own money to teach their students. You can give as much as is comfortable for you.
I’ve already funded projects that include subscriptions to TIME For Kids in Texas and North Carolina. And I’ve got my eye on a few others. Plus, ICYMI, Salesforce.com founder and social capitalist Marc Benioff is buying TIME. So the future is bright for the titles created under the brand.
I’ll still worry about the future of journalism and a society where facts are open to interpretation. Knowing I can put real news in classrooms across the country today helps.