Jour365 News Literacy

Analysis of news and information. Development of news literacy skills to evaluate sources, bias, opinion, transparency and other attributes. First Amendment, culture of journalism, participatory media and democracy.
Journalism Majors: Elective
Non-majors: Upper-division GE Social Sciences
Information Competency | Writing Intensive
Recommended preparatory course: Jour100 or equivalent
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 InService Learning and Civic Engagement:*
Every Fall semester, News Literacy students have had a community engaged learning experience virtually collaborating with NewseumED | Freedom Forum Institute in Washington, D.C. They partner with them to apply the knowledge and skills they learn in the course to solve real-world problems. During Fall 2021, students expanded the project from previous years by developing "The Conversation" -- an evidence-based strategy to disrupt disinformation by talking to someone who believed conspiracy theories, hoaxes, rumors or other types of falsehoods. In Fall 2020 Jour365 students facilitated a virtual Disinformation Teach-In to raise awareness about news literacy and developed Student Voice projects to use their voices for personal and social change. These projects continue the service-learning partnership begun in Fall 2018 when News Literacy students facilitated a California Voter Forum to inform the campus community about the mid-term election candidates and issues. Check out the California Voter Forum and  Student Voice projects from Fall 2018 and Spring/Fall 2019.
*Community Engagement applies only to the online course section. Students in the other section will be invited to participate in a webinar and other online events.

Learning Objectives

Overall Learning Goal:  Students will learn to empower themselves with critical thinking skills to cope with the barrage of news and information in the hyper-connected media ecosystem of print, broadcast, digital and social media. Special attention on the role of the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate in a digital democracy, and the responsibility of citizens to keep informed and actively participate in the democratic process in American society.
  • Develop critical skills to analyze the influence of news on individuals and different publics from local to global.
  • Understand the historical, theoretical, legal and societal contexts for producing, distributing, and consuming news in the emergent participatory digital society.
  • Evaluate news media gatekeepers, sources, bias, opinion and transparency in the changing culture of journalism.
  • Reflect on news media messaging and the role of the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate in a democracy.

Student Learning Objectives (click here)