by Zach Miller
Quick Summary
Media Landscapes resumes its schedule Thursday, September 9, with "Upholding Journalism Standards and Ethics," presented by Star Tribune journalists David Hage and Kelly Smith. The campaign began last spring and will continue through fall. Registration is now open for four upcoming events, and recordings are available for past events.
After a summer hiatus, the successful Media Landscapes campaign relaunches September 9 with Upholding Journalism Standards and Ethics, a free one-hour webinar presented by Star Tribune journalists David Hage and Kelly Smith. Attendees will learn how to look for signs that news sources are practicing journalism standards, and how that impacts the information they share.
The campaign, which kicked off with four events last Spring (recordings are available, see below), will continue through the fall with webinars addressing media literacy among young adults, misinformation among faith groups, and news deserts. Further details and registration links are included below.
About Media Landscapes
Media Landscapes, coordinated by Level Up Minnesota, invites speakers from Minnesota and beyond to address misinformation, filter bubbles, radicalism, media literacy, and related topics. The campaign consists of a series of online webinars and conversations, accompanied by tools and resources to facilitate further exploration outside the hosted events.
Media Landscapes supports Minnesota library staff and other attendees in their quest to understand how fellow citizens navigate the media and information landscape, and how forces within that landscape influence their navigation. Attendees will be presented with skills and strategies for building reflection and intentionality into their own information consumption as well as that of their friends, families, and communities.
An accompanying course, Media Landscapes: 23 Things, supplements the campaign's events with a series of 23 short learning modules through which attendees may deepen their learning and engagement. The course is presented by Minnesota's seven Multitype Library Systems.
Upcoming Events
Upholding Journalism Standards and Ethics (Register)
Thursday, September 9, 2021
3:00pm – 4:00pm
FREE
Reputable news sources adhere to a combination of age-old and modern-day standards, which are much more stringent than the social media community standards many are familiar with. How does a news source show that it has standards it follows and why does that matter? How do you differentiate between good and bad, reliable and unreliable information sources? This session, led by journalists Dave Hage and Kelly Smith from the Star Tribune, will explore how to look for signs that your news sources are practicing journalism standards, and how that impacts the information they share.
Civically Engaging Young Adults Through Media Literacy Education (Register)
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
1:00pm – 2:00pm
FREE
The need for an active and engaged public that represents diverse communities, backgrounds, and beliefs has become more important now than ever before. This is evident with news headlines and propaganda that threaten the liberties of our nation and the ideals of our founding Republic. Young adults today have been bombarded on social media with headlines covering the perils of our nation such as police brutality, voter suppression, and a global pandemic. As a result, they have been compelled to take action and become civically engaged in the social media world. But without the skills to identify mis/dis-information and understand the influence of confirmation bias in the social media space, they may be unaware of how their efforts contribute to online polarization and other challenges. In this session, attendees will learn the importance of using media literacy to engage in public discourse with young adults about public issues. Attendees will gain strategies for engaging students with cyber citizenship skills, social media ethics, and civic engagement through participatory media. Presented by Jimmeka Anderson.
Faith and Fake News: Helping Churches Address Misinformation (Register)
Thursday, October 14, 2021
11:00am – 12:00pm
FREE
How can information professionals use existing community structures outside of libraries to teach people information literacy and critical thinking skills? What does it look like to take our professional skills into spaces in our personal lives? In this session we'll explore how one librarian took information and news literacy workshops to local churches, helping them address misinformation and distrust within their communities. These workshops use existing structures in church congregations to provide space for people to learn information literacy skills as well as reflect on the ways their faith impacts their online habits. Presented by Rachel Wightman.
Uncovering the truth in a news desert (Register)
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
:00pm – 2:00pm
FREE
This session will address the types of critical information that residents of any community in the U.S. need to make wise quality-of-life decisions; the challenges of finding that sort of credible news and information in a news desert; and how libraries, educators, and civic-minded citizens can support the gathering and dissemination of the sort of news and information that feeds our democracy at the grassroots level. Presented by Penny Abernathy.
Past Events
Navigating a World Full of Propaganda, presented by Renee Hobbs
March 23, 2021 – 1:00pm - 2:00pm (Recording)
Deepfakes and the Misinformation Landscape, presented by John Mack Freeman
April 13, 2021 – 1:00pm - 2:00pm (Recording)
Critical Thinking and Evaluating Information, presented by Lisa Hinz
May 5, 2021 – 1:00pm - 2:00pm (Recording)
Using News Literacy to Make Sense of the Current Media Landscape, presented by Michael A. Spikes
May 25, 2021 – 2:00pm - 3:00pm (Recording)
Partner organizations
In addition to Level Up Minnesota, Media Landscapes is supported by the following organizations:
