民主在黑暗中消亡：如何閱讀和批判性分析新聞

News literacy is a subset of media literacy focused on helping people process and understand news media messages, to locate more factual and credible information, and to think critically about what counts as news. News literacy is also about recognizing that quality, credible, independent news and journalism are critical components of any free and democratic society. This four week class will engage learners to understand where to find various forms of information and how to critically analyze that information.  

Week 1 will begin with the consideration of sources - where we find our news in 2022.  This will include a look at all media sources, including social media, blogs, google searches and various types of digital media, as well as radio and television news sources.  We will consider each of these sources as well as the benefits and downsides of each of these media sources.

Week 2 will consider breaking news, media bias/manipulation, and mis/dis-information.  Using critical analysis exercises to identify bias and manipulation, we will consider tools such as corroboration and evaluation to discern the trustworthiness and veracity of the information being received.  Ultimately this week will allow learners to find credible, authoritative and diverse sources to gain current and reliable news of the day. 

Week 3 will look at the rules of journalism and journalistic ethics, the difference between editorials, opinion sections and edited news articles, helping to understand the value of each of these types of articles that are find in print and digital media.  After all, free societies and people depend on the flow of trustworthy knowledge and information. Journalists and their ethical commitments are central to this process, and the news and media they create are how citizens learn about their world.  Understanding the process is key to consumers of news trusting what they are reading. The difference between state and free news sources will be considered. 

Week 4 will culminate in our understanding how to fact check and critically consumer the news.  As news literate consumers we will engage in the consistent practice of establishing and verifying facts.  As critical thinkers we will engage in the consistent practice of taking those facts and critically analyzing them to form our own, individual, independent opinions which are backed up by reason and fact.