Measure the quality of the message using local newspapers

Reach out to school districts and ask fifth-grade teachers if they would be interested in using the local newspaper for this project. After all, reporters use these steps to determine the accuracy of information every day.”

Roxie Murphy, NIE Coordinator

Have questions about using NIE?

Send Roxie an email at rmurphy@mopress.com. She's got lots of ideas for how your newspaper can better connect with students, teachers and the classrooms in your readership area.

Attachments

20261008-100702-02d-NIE Media Literacy.pdf

Newspapers work every day to build a relationship of trust with the communities they serve, striving for truth and accuracy, fairness and balance while maintaining independence. However, according to a Pew Research Center article, 51 percent of U.S. adults said they generally find it difficult to determine what is true and what is not when they get the news.

Newspapers In Education invites the press to help students and teachers dive into media literacy by learning how to measure the quality of the message using local news in the classrooms. Ask the class to consider where they get their news. Can they trust the source? Are they trained reporters? Are they experts on the subjects they are writing about?

News is everywhere. From social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X to TikTok videos and more, these distant relatives of newspapers aren’t held to the same standards as the press. Additionally, with the rise of generative AI, more and more Americans are finding it hard to identify what’s real and what isn’t.

However, traditional news agencies such as newspapers, radio and television stations work from behind the scenes to investigate the accuracy and facts before they reach the reader. Encourage students and teachers to explore how news reporters evaluate information for accuracy before it's published. Have them use the same methods to determine the accuracy of a published article in the local newspaper.

Remind readers and educators that once they understand how to use the test, it can be applied to any platform and help them stay informed or look for a different source. Steps to measure the quality of a message include:

• Who wrote the article? Is the reporter known in the area? Is it possible to research them on the internet to find out more about their background? After reading about the author, does the reader still feel confident in the research?
• When was the article published? News platforms will publish the article with a date, usually at the top of the story or masthead. Make sure the information isn’t old or outdated.
• Identify who the article was written for, the target audience. Is the information meant for everyone, or does it primarily affect a specific group of people? Why is this group being targeted?
• What is the tone of the article? Is it neutral, inflammatory, or persuasive? Are there implied biases or values? News reporters ask the five Ws, Who, What, When, Where, Why and How to help gather news and strive for neutral, factual storytelling.
• Identify the lifestyles, values and points of view represented in the article. Were any omitted? Why? Are there quotes from multiple sources? What are their connection to the story? Did the reporter include information from multiple sides or explain why they didn’t? Does the information show bias?
• Does the article outline the evidence, providing supporting details to back claims? Are the details or claims verified by someone else? How could the story be interpreted by different people? Angles could be social, financial, or historical, to name a few. Despite how people are drawn into the story, the article should show an attempt to include all sides.
• Know that images can and may be altered to promote misinformation. Do a reverse image search using Google or another tool to find out if the visuals have been misrepresented or altered in any way.

Consuming media can be a lot and requires a certain amount of responsibility. Learning what questions to ask when reading information will help readers better understand what is real, what isn’t, and how the reporter tested facts before they were published. If students find that the information doesn’t meet the requirements, they can ask themselves why not and decide if they want to trust the information.

In the classroom, practice will help students and educators process the information faster. For a fun visual game, check out Two Truths and AI found at Commonsensemedia.

Reach out to school districts and ask fifth-grade teachers if they would be interested in using the local newspaper for this project. After all, reporters use these steps to determine the accuracy of information every day.

Sources

Pew Research Center https://www.pewresearch.org - “Many Americans say they often come across inaccurate news – and have a hard time knowing what’s true” on Oct. 29, 2025.

Common Sense Media - https://www.commonsensemedia.org/two-truths-and-ai