OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Inside Marian High School, where Mrs. Kalkowski has taught for 30 years, her journalism students are learning about what the likes of reporters and photographers do.
KMTV visited their class - not for career day, but to hear from the students. As teenagers interested in journalism, their perspective is valuable.
Abby said journalists should be honest and tell the full story.
Coventry said that us, as consumers of information, need to better understand what we're absorbing.
The group then paused to watch this public service announcement, produced by the News Literacy Project and E.W. Scripps, which owns KMTV.
An exercise around infographics was most insightful because it opened up conversation for the students to talk to each other about the things which affect what we think and how we feel.
On the subject of misinformation, Ellie said, "There's false content, fabricated content, stolen, imposter content and manipulated."
Margaret added on, "Like they're looking for a reaction, and they're willing to kind of manipulate the facts in order to get that reaction."
About credible sources, Dominika said, "Something like an expert opinion... but then they say 'an expert opinion is somewhat credible,' but it may contain bias and may falsify what you're saying or what you're researching."
Bias was a leading topic. Layla shared, "We kind of just said the core of bias is, it's gonna be in every story. Stories are made and put together by people And bias is kind of like taking a big topic and choosing what to narrow it down to. So, every story's gonna involve it."
Rowan and Mary added, "There's a lot of different types of bias and then, it can take a lot of different forms. And then, we also said that story selection can be very important for us as journalism students because you need to know the kind of story we should choose and if it's important or not."
Regarding transparency and accountability, Isabel remarked, "Did they list their sources and then, you can also contact them for more information if you're unsure. And then, examine how prior errors were handled. So, did they own up to their error, mistake. And then, how did they, like, deal with that?"
Kerenzia talked to her classmates about 'red flags.' "Along the lines of click bait... and then, also, if it doesn't have any balance. If it's very biased or one-sided with a lot of opinion versus fact."
The students took the thoughtful discussion right up to the bell. Though, the merits aren't just meant for high schools - but kitchen tables in every neighborhood. Learn more about that here.
