UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State will celebrate the 12th annual U.S. Media Literacy Week Oct. 26-30 with journalist panels, workshops and campus events that are open to the public.
The week kicks off Oct. 26 with three panels of professional and Penn State student journalists from 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Bellisario Media Center on the University Park campus. Each panel will run for about an hour, with time for audience members to ask questions.
Students from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications will also play a role. Members of CommAgency, the college’s student-run communications and creative unit, will livestream the events on the Bellisario College’s website. Registration is available online.
U.S. Media Literacy Week is a celebration organized by the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). This is the fifth year Penn State has participated through the Bellisario College’s News Literacy Initiative.
“Media literacy is an essential skill because we are surrounded, bombarded and live our lives through media,” said Cory Barker, an assistant teaching professor in the Bellisario College and co-organizer of Penn State’s Media Literacy Week. “Having a better understanding of what media means and how specific types of media are conceived, produced, distributed, advertised to us and actually get to us on our devices, I think is essential.”
Past kickoff events featured nonprofits working in media and media literacy. This year’s lineup centers on journalists working throughout Pennsylvania and in different roles.
Programming continues throughout the week, with each day tied to the national Media Literacy Week framework of access, analyze, evaluate, create and act.
Highlights from this week’s events include:
• Oct. 27, noon: A public workshop on artificial intelligence and misinformation at Schlow Centre Region Library in State College
• Oct. 27, 2:30 to 4 p.m.: A hybrid workshop at the Foster Auditorium of Paterno Library, with guest speaker Deanna Troust, founder of Truth in Common, focusing on digital media, fact-based decision-making and respectful discourse
• Oct. 28, 9:30 a.m.: A workshop with the Mid-State Literacy Council, which helps people navigate the English language and learn everyday tasks such as banking and renting
• Oct. 28, noon to 2 p.m.: Representatives from the News Literacy Initiative will host “Lunch & Learn” sessions at State College Area High School
• Oct. 29, 5 to 7 p.m.: An informational table at the HUB-Robeson Center focused on how students get and feel about the news
• Oct. 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: An interactive session about current events to promote the Student Readership Program in the Central Atrium of Pattee Library
“I hope people come out of this with a better understanding,” said Tyler Nolt, a Penn State student media literacy ambassador. Student media literacy ambassadors, like Nolt, will be on hand during the week to help promote media literacy by encouraging students to think critically about the information they consume and better understand how media influences their everyday lives.
Nolt emphasized the importance of recognizing how social media platforms influence the content people see and the emotions they experience.
“Do I like that this company that I'm choosing to engage with is trying to make me angry or sad or feed me these emotions I otherwise wouldn't have?” Nolt said.
Although most events take place on the University Park campus and many are geared toward undergraduates, organizers hope to reach a wider audience, including K-12 students, local residents and people from different cultural and language backgrounds.
“There's a lot more going on behind the scenes that you're not going to find out about if you don't look for it,” Nolt said, pointing out the need for greater media awareness. “This week is about getting people to understand both that concept and then what comes after that.”
The News Literacy Initiative will also survey Penn State undergraduates on how they feel about the news, where they get it and how they use it. Students who want to pursue this topic further can enroll in a one-credit course to become media literacy ambassadors.
For the full schedule of events, to register for the Oct. 26 kickoff and to watch the livestream, visit the Bellisario College website.