News Literacy Initiative continues growth

After a two-year pilot phase, the Penn State News Literacy Initiative continue to grow and make an impact.

It was launched in October 2022 as the Bellisario College collaborated with WPSU, the College of Education, University Libraries, Student Affairs, Penn State Harrisburg, and Penn State Outreach to help students become more informed citizens and counter a trend of news avoidance.

Under the direction of Matt Jordan, an associate professor and head of the Department of Film Production and Media Studies, the initiative added student ambassadors, created a podcast (“News Over Noise”), developed resources for K-12 educators, and worked with non-University partners on special events — including a celebration of U.S. Media Literacy Week.

“It’s important that all students are informed, and well-informed citizens make democracy stronger,” Jordan said. “Unfortunately, the ‘noise’ of news sometimes chases people away. Ideally people would find their news from legitimate and local sources. That’s becoming more of a challenge though.”

With information and programming, the initiative strives to help people find the best sources and then develop ways to en gage in their communities.