Producing a generation of news literate students is key to the functioning and survival of our democracy. Journalism is considered by many to be the unofficial fourth branch of our government, the watchdog that informs the general populace of what's going on in the government and gives a voice to those who have little means of expressing themselves to those in positions of authority.
Civic engagement can take many forms—community involvement, community service, volunteerism, voting—and some of these depend on being properly informed about what's going on in the community, which leads us right back to news literacy.
The link between news literacy and civic engagement is unmistakable. Those who feel a strong sense of community and who vote in local elections are more likely to attend to local news.
Now, I know what you're thinking—local news? But remember the old saying "charity begins at home." If we as teachers can get students interested, excited, and concerned about local news and their own communities, then we have a greater chance of extending that interest and involvement to larger platforms—statewide, regional, and national.
And one of those platforms is politics.
So much of the chatter these days over fake news is coming from politicians—mostly elected officials, officials elected through the voting process. And if they can be voted in, they can be voted out. But how will we, the common people, know if those elected officials are doing their jobs as promised?
Remember that watchdog role we discussed a moment ago? The press is here to keep us informed. Take a look at some countries that don't enjoy freedom of the press, where the government controls the flow of information. It's a frightening sight. The citizenry is uninformed, or at best informed only with what the government wants it to know. The role of the press in a democracy is critical. Citizens can make informed decisions about their governance because of the knowledge they gather from the press.
Luckily, if we groom students to be thorough consumers of news in high school, we catch them right as they turn eighteen—legal voting age. What a perfect time to kick off the lifelong habit (and civic responsibility) of voting!
Reference
Barthel, M., Holcomb, J., Mahone, J., & Mitchell, A. (2016). Civic engagement strongly tied to local news habits. Pew Research Center.
http://www.journalism.org/2016/11/03/civic-engagement-strongly-tied-to-local-news-habits/
