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their views, however, since the Brexit referendum, a third said they had read more political news. Part of this lack of trust, she said, was


due to poor media plurality in the UK. Just three companies (News UK, Daily Mail Group and Reach) dominated 83 per cent of the national newspaper market. Five local news groups covered 80 per cent of the market and two companies owned nearly half of all commercial analogue radio stations, she said, quoting new figures from the Media Reform Coalition show. Te other cause was the lack of


investment in journalism and the cut in numbers of journalists. She cited figures from the media consultancy, Mediatique, which in its report for the Cairncross review into the press, estimated the number of front- line journalists had fallen from 23,000 in 2007, to 17,000 today. “Tis leads to less fact-checking, less in- depth investigative reporting and more so-called churnalism,” said Kate Morris. Journalists had a role to play in


rebuilding the trust in our news and in helping young people how to spot quality news that can be trusted and to understand why it is vital to a functioning democracy, she added. Even journalism students found it difficult to distinguish from news and adverting copy: “Pressure on newspapers, caused by the loss of online advertising revenue to Google and Facebook, has led to some resorting to clickbait copy to generate clicks for advertisers, and the blurring of advertorials and rise of native advertising is skewing good journalism.” Te Guardian Foundation’s NewsWise helps 9- to 11-year-olds recognise disinformation, bias, opinion, rumour and media-driven hoaxes such as the Momo Challenge. Te foundation, funded by Google and working in partnership with the PSHE (Physical, Social, Health and Economic) Association and National Literacy Fund, found that only 2 per cent of children had the critical literacy skills they needed to tell whether a news story was real or fake.


Te three-second challenge


Lucie Spicer (pictured) is education co-ordinator of Shout Out UK which promotes political engagement among young people. Te project teaches them to think critically about the information they consume. Media Minded, a series of


sessions for teachers to develop critical literacy skills.” Tey also learn about the role of journalists in holding power to account. A recent lesson discussing the Windrush scandal proved popular. “Tey enjoyed discussing the issue and


having their say on an ‘adult’ subject; they had a clear view on how unfair it had been,” said Angie Pit. Te BBC’s Young Reporter scheme


events held in Birmingham, Belfast and Newcastle last year, gave tips to avoid “being fooled by the media” which included asking them to analyse their emotional response to a story, to be aware of their own biases and to look further into a story’s source. Tey were shown how images can be easily be manipulated. “Most young people will only read the Metro if there is no Wi-Fi,” said Lucie. “Instagram and Snapchat are the main sources of their news. Tey prefer YouTube to TV. Tey need to learn how to work out how to access news that is accurate and can be trusted. My challenge is to get them in the habit of counting to three while they think about a story or link before sharing it on social media.”


Angie Pit, NewsWise project director, said: “If we want to build trust, we can’t be a closed shop, we have to open our doors. “Tere is a classroom at Te Guardian and we also go out to schools all over the UK. We create teams of sub-editors and editors with an editor-in-chief (who has a visor) to show them how to produce news stories and fact-check and we run training


plays a similar role for 11- to 18-year-olds, working in partnership with schools, colleges, youth organisations and charities, and the young people get to meet BBC journalists and presenters, such as Huw Edwards and the Newsbeat team. Like NewsWise, it creates resources for schools and colleges. NUJ members are involved in other schemes, such as Press Pass, a week-long initiative set up in 2012 between the Irish press industry and schools which is held every November.


Pupils learn about the writing, analysis,


preparation and photography involved in puting a newspaper together. Online Media Law, run by Holly Powell- Jones, educates social media users about media law and ethics in the UK – including in schools.


Catherine Deveney is a journalist and author working on the NUJ Media Skills for Schools project in the Highlands. It teaches teachers and pupils how to produce newspapers and radio shows with high journalistic and ethical standards. It nurtures young talent and offers pathways, such as apprenticeships, to young people interested in media careers. Te biggest challenge is the funding, Catherine Deveney says: “Te project is the perfect vehicle for several government strategies, but funding is piecemeal and there is a lack of cohesion and coherence. “Tis is common among many of these


projects and it is too important to have a hit and run approach to such an important issue – it needs to be sustainable and embedded knowledge.” Any ideas Alexa?


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