Rhode Island High School Journalism Day is set to return this Friday, May 19, and we at the Rhode Island Press Association (my volunteer gig as co-president) couldn’t be more excited at the day we have put together.
Last year’s first year in a virtual forum, after years off since the old days of in-person gatherings, was a great success, but we’re expecting the second one to include about three times as many Rhode Island schools, or 30 or more. We’ve heard from so many teachers and administrators that their students are excited to participate.
Rhode Island PBS is co-sponsoring Friday’s event, which will feature two sessions each hour from 9 a.m. to noon, so eight total. Sessions will also be recorded for those who can’t make it on the day of.
I’m also so thankful to so many great Rhode Island journalists who have agreed to be part of the event in its second year, and they’ll be covering topics including investigative journalism, finding the story behind the story, women in journalism, ask a reporter anything, lifestyle journalism, and sports reporting. We’ll even have “ins and outs of the business” sessions in both English and Spanish. Tim White of WPRI again delivered the keynote, which can be found on YouTube.
Some 30 schools have indicated interest to this point, but there’s plenty of room for more. If you have students who want to learn more about journalism, either in hopes of one day getting into the field or just to learn how to be a better news consumer or involved citizen, email us at ripressassociation@gmail.com for more.
News literacy remains one of the critical issues of our time, particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence, deep fakes and malicious disinformation, and I can think of few better ways to help the younger generation prepare for the future than by bringing together a solid group of ethical Rhode Island-based journalists to share their process and about the hard work they put into getting the stories that matter.
Our future depends in large part on people who care about the truth, and the work it sometimes takes to get to it, and that’s what Friday will be all about. Rather than being scared about what’s to come, why not as a young person (or anyone) be emboldened in knowing that you have the tools necessary to stay informed.
The truth is, despite continued attempts to lump all of the “media” into one nefarious category, news folks come in all forms, and the ones I know in Rhode Island care about where they live and want this to be a better place, and they’ve seen firsthand how simply sharing stories in the right way can bring about positive change.
It’s why we were so proud at The Breeze to recently win the R.I. Press Association Community Outreach Award, chosen by journalists in Idaho, for our work on many fronts, including student initiatives such as the State Spelling Bee and journalism initiatives, and wider community efforts such as addressing food insecurity and cleaning up litter.
Is the delivery of important information ever going to be a perfect science? Absolutely not. Are there bad actors who are in the news for all the wrong reasons? 100 percent.
Have you ever heard of astroturfing? What about engagement bait? Troll farms? Confirmation bias? If you yourself want to become more adept at navigating information during this time where facts are increasingly hard to decipher, check out the nonpartisan News Literacy Project at www.newslit.org.
Shorey has been editor of The Valley Breeze since 2017. He lives with his wife and three children in Cumberland.
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