WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight Features News Literacy

Our theory of change is that if we invest in news literacy programs, Chicagoans will become smarter news consumers and ultimately more engaged as citizens. This morning, I had the privilege to join Tony Sarabia, host of WBEZ's Eight Forty-Eight, to discuss our new funding initiative, Why News Matters.

The discussion also included two of our grantees: Dean Miller, director of Stony Brook University's Center for News Literacy and Teresa White, the news program coordinator for Free Spirit Media. Free Spirit is one of Chicago's premier youth media organizations and is at the forefront of blending news literacy principles into its training programs.

You can tune into the recording of today's broadcast on WBEZ's website.

By the way, Dean Miller will be in Chicago on Friday to work with high school journalism advisors at the Scholastic Press Association of Chicago conference, hosted by Roosevelt University.  This summer, Miller will be conducting a news literacy training  for Chicago area educators. We will provide more details as they become available.

We look forward to hearing your Why News Matters project ideas and invite all type of organizations―

non-profits, businesses and individuals―to submit applications on how to create a more news-literate, critically thinking Chicago citizenry.