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The Media Literacy Maven
A member of our Education staff on Facebook Live provides tips and tricks on how to navigate the murky waters of fake and misleading news. View past episodes here.
NewseumED’s Media Literacy Maven is your resource for teaching the importance of being critical news consumers. Periodically, she takes viewers through her favorite media literacy moments from the past week, providing tips that teachers can give their students on how to tell real news from fake news and navigate the current media landscape.
Check out Media Literacy Maven episodes.
2018 EPISODES:
- Feb. 14, 2018: On this Valentine’s Day, show your loved ones you care by pausing to think before you share… stories on social media. The Maven shares some tips for evaluating whether or not a story is truly share-worthy. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 14.
- Jan. 17, 2018: Is that news story fake, or just flawed? The Maven uses examples from front pages of historical newspapers to discuss the difference. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 13.
2017 EPISODES:
- June 9, 2017: On the run from junk news? Based on a downloadable poster, the Maven gives you a handy acronym for sorting good media from bad media. (Last episode before summer break.) Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 12.
- April 28, 2017: If your reaction to a news story is, “Aha, I KNEW it all along!,” you might be exhibiting confirmation bias. Watch the Media Literacy Maven explain how we tend to look for information that confirms our beliefs and ignore information that challenges them. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 11.
- April 14, 2017: They say that seeing is believing, but can you always believe what you see? The Maven discusses how fake news stories use the power of image to make their stories seem more credible, and how your students can avoid getting tricked by this tactic. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 10.
- April 5, 2017: The substitute Maven provides tips and resources to debunk fake science stories, including that bananas are bad for you and Pluto gets planet status again. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 9.
- March 24, 2017: The Maven discusses how fake news can move quickly through the fake news ecosystem, whether publications with fake news should be prominently displayed at grocery store checkouts, and how you can’t always trust primary sources. Download a PDF of linkscited in Episode 8.
- March 17, 2017: The Maven discusses defamation in the news — what content is and isn’t protected by the First Amendment. Learn the difference in defamation laws between public and private figures, and dig into a current defamation case involving a well- known celebrity. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 7.
- March 10, 2017: The Maven discusses how to analyze polls being cited in the news. Learn how to dig deeper into poll results by evaluating four key factors: timing, sample size, method and participants. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 6.
- March 3, 2017: Using newspapers from the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages exhibit, our Media Literacy Maven highlights press choices in different local papers’ coverage of President Trump’s address to Congress. Learn how to identify a news outlet’s potential biases or preferences based on things such as article placement, headline and image selection. Interpreting the values of different publications based on their coverage can be a valuable skill in assessing media bias. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 5.
- Feb. 23, 2017: The Maven discusses the wide variety of motivations behind fake news, how easily it can be spread, and how the backlash caused by it can even be used as a promotional tool. For example, 20th Century Fox’s advertisement campaign for the new movie “The Cure for Wellness” involved creating several fake news websites that were very realistic. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 4.
- Feb. 15, 2017: Enter the throne room of our Media Literacy Maven as she delves into some tricky issues in the media today, such as the pros and cons of anonymous sources, distrust in the media, and fake Twitter accounts. As any journalist worth their salt knows, you gotta verify verify verify! Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 3.
- Feb. 10, 2017: The Maven tackles the balance between freedom of speech and privacy, phony news sites, Photoshop manipulation and deception, and the dangers of sloppy reporting. Part of becoming media literate is learning to recognize the distinction between regular news outlets and truly fake news outlets. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 2.
- Feb. 3, 2017: Katharine Kosin premieres as our Media Literacy Maven, as she shares some of her favorite media literacy moments from the week! Parody accounts, jumping the gun, voter biases and more — it’s happening all around us, all the time. Watch as our Maven separates fact from fiction. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 1.
