By Nathaniel Frederick II, PF&R Chair, frederickn@winthrop.edu

Creating a news literacy event in your community or on your campus is an ideal opportunity to promote and justify why journalism history matters.

The PF&R committee for 2019-2020 will emphasize diversity and inclusion, as well as offer assistance to members interested in creating public service events that help celebrate journalism history.

This article offers an example of a news literacy series as public service to the campus and community that includes students, professors, and media practitioners that can easily be adapted to include journalism historians.

Winthrop University organized a media literacy series titled, “News Literacy and the Future of Journalism.” The series was free and open to the public and included eleven events from September 2018 to April 2019 that sought to deepen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections among democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. The project was an eight-month collaborative effort among SC Humanities, Winthrop University, and the SC Press Association. Additional support came from the North Carolina Humanities Council, The Newseum in Washington, D.C., The John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy, the Departments of Mass Communication and Political Science, and the College of Arts & Sciences at Winthrop University.

Topics included fake news; editorial cartoons; opinion writing; investigative journalism; crowdsourcing; and the future of journalism.  The format was mostly featured panelists, but also film screenings with discussion.

A series of this nature would be an excellent opportunity for journalism historians to collaborate with media professionals and demonstrate the importance of journalism history to an interdisciplinary audience. Another benefit is that scholars as well as students can make important professional connections.

Including a journalism historian on a news literacy panel could provide necessary context to understand issues related to topics like fake news and the impact of editorial cartoonists. Also, having a panel of historians of the black press offers a unique perspective in contextualizing contemporary issues of race and representation in the media. Members of historical societies, broadcast and print journalists, and podcast hosts could be interesting additions to such a program.

An event of this scope obviously requires funding.  Collaboration with other departments and colleges also helps to lighten the economic load. Relying on local and regional professionals as participants also helps to decrease costs. Humanities councils look favorably upon collaborative events that include the local community and university students. It is also important to note that the series does not need to be large. It could be two or three events throughout the semester.

We must make a case for why journalism history matters.  I encourage member of our division to think broadly and creatively about ways to advocate for journalism history on your campus.