For initiatives that effectively educate about journalism and news media in ways that help young audiences navigate all kinds of content as they develop news habits and knowledge key to developing active citizenship. A key is a clear, important impact.
WINNER - The Student View (United Kingdom)
SLIVER AWARD - Top Story (Kenya) & Checkology (USA)
SPECIAL COMMENDATION - Troll Factory (Finland)
Presentation to the top winner at News Xchange, 20-21 November 2019, Paris, France.
PARTNERS:
THE STUDENT VIEW, United Kingdom
WINNER
The winner, The Student View, was founded in 2016 by English and Civics teacher Solomon Elliott from London who wanted his teenage pupils to learn about disinformation by first becoming investigative journalists themselves. Journalists from publications such as The Financial Times coach the students and the charity has launched 72 pop-up newsrooms in schools throughout the country, mostly serving students from low-income backgrounds, and features a 12-hour media literacy course and publication partnerships with five local newspapers including the Oldham Times. The Student View now advises similar efforts in Mongolia (Remo) and Bulgaria (The Media Bootcamp).
What the judges said:
This program not only provides a high quality media literacy education program for youth, but it is also a great example of how to restore trust in journalism and ensure an appreciation for the role journalists play in society. The pop up newsroom empowers youth!
TOP STORY, Kenya
SILVER AWARD
The Top Story reality television show features an investigative reporting competition for journalism students and has a documented impact on the media literacy of its audience.
What the judges said:
This initiative, an iteration of an Armenian activity, doesn’t benefit only the students but has research-based proof that it is also beneficial to the public. Well done!
VIDEO - Al Jazeera coverage (9 minutes)
Download the full case in a pdf deck (4.2 mb)
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CHECKOLOGY, USA
SILVER AWARD
The News Literacy Project (NLP) developed the Checkology virtual classroom to empower educators to teach news literacy skills through lesson plans that help students determine what they can trust, share and act upon. The initiative has research-based results, users in 109 countries and reflects NLP's own journalistic foundations.
What the judges said:
We felt that this initiative achieved scale, impact and sustainability, which are rare things to find together in any media literacy programme. The virtual connection to journalists was an innovative and easy-to-access tool that we felt would have the ability to make a lasting impression on the students. Bravo!
VIDEO - Student Story: Diego Hernandez
TROLL FACTORY, Finland
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
This brand new educational simulation from Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, combines real-life social media examples with a gamified storytelling experience and attracted 21,000 unique visitors in its first month of existence.
What the judges said:
Though Troll Factory is too new to be able to fully assess, we love the concept and platform and how they teach about algorithms and use interactive storytelling. We appreciate the uptake in the first month and think it has the potential for a great appeal to young people (now that the English version is done!). We also appreciate the plans to work closely with newsrooms moving forward in order to better highlight value of journalism.
ENGLISH VERSION: https://trollfactory.yle.fi
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