The Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University is committed to teaching students how to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports and news sources. It is the only center of its kind in the United States.
With start-up funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2006, the Center developed the nation’s first undergraduate course in News Literacy. More than 10,000 Stony Brook students across all academic disciplines have completed the course in the past decade.
In addition, more than 7,000 students at 18 universities in the United States and in 11 countries have taken localized versions of the course. Through the Overseas Partnership Program, the Center has brought News Literacy to countries including Poland, Russia, China (Hong Kong), Vietnam, and Myanmar.
As part of an expanding initiative to adapt the Center’s curriculum for younger students, News Literacy classes are currently being taught at Herbert S. Eisenberg Intermediate School 303 in Brooklyn, and at several Long Island high schools, including Northport High School, Cold Spring Harbor Junior/Senior High School, and Longwood Senior High School. To support these activities, the Center conducts Summer Academies to train teachers.
A grant to boost civics education in Illinois from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation also has enabled the Center’s staff to train middle school, high school, and community college educators in the Chicagoland area.
Beyond our individual partners and collaborators, the online Digital Resource Center serves as a clearinghouse for innovative news literacy curriculum materials for students, teachers, and the general public.
Our massive open online course, Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens, developed in collaboration with our partners in Hong Kong, has extended the Center’s reach on the online platform Coursera, with more than 5,000 global learners.