National News Literacy Week 2023 Explores Declining Public Trust In News Media

This year’s fourth annual National News Literacy Week, from Jan. 23 to 27, will encourage news consumers to stop the flood of misinformation and learn how to identify trustworthy news. The week includes events and resources that will explore the complex issues relating to declining trust in national news media and highlight successful efforts to help rebuild credibility.

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, faith in the media is falling across the globe, and particularly in the United States. Only 39% of American adults said they trust the media in 2022, down six points from 2021. At the same time, concern about false and misleading information is at an all-time high. This year’s news literacy event tackles these challenges with free tips, tools and conversations, both online and in-person.

National News Literacy Week is co-presented by the News Literacy Project, a national nonpartisan education nonprofit and the nation’s leading provider of news literacy resources, and The E.W. Scripps Co. The week aims to elevate the role of news literacy and a free press in our democracy by empowering everyone with the skills they need to sort fact from fiction.

“The American public is struggling to make sense of the crush of news and information they are confronted with daily, as misinformation surges on social media and local news outlets shrink,” said Chuck Salter, NLP president and CEO. “News literacy skills help media consumers understand what makes news trustworthy, and National News Literacy Week will help ensure that more people can confidently navigate the news.”

To help bolster public trust in the news, this year’s theme will examine past missteps made by newsroom decision makers and help demystify how the news gets made at credible outlets.

“A healthy democracy depends on an informed and educated citizenry and a trustworthy journalism industry,” said Adam Symson, Scripps president-CEO. “For this year’s National News Literacy Week, we’re shining a light on the news gathering and reporting process to further enhance openness and transparency with our local and national news audiences across the country.”

Two of this year’s events will be livestreamed and in-person.

• We regret the error: Public trust and media accountability: 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 23, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. National newsroom leaders from the Washington Post, NPR, Axios, Scripps and more discuss the lessons they’ve learned from past mistakes — editorial, business, staffing and otherwise.
• Trust issues: How Chicago news outlets build credibility in their communities: 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Innovative journalists from the Chicago Sun-Times, Block Club, City Bureau and Northwestern will explain how they are earning trust by involving their audiences in the editorial process.

For educators, NLP and NBCUniversal News Group will host on Jan. 27 a virtual NewsLitCamp, a professional learning experience that connects teachers with practicing journalists. Sessions are designed to help educators build news literacy expertise they can bring back to their classrooms.

Other livestreamed discussions will include participants from the American Psychological Association, NPR member station KQED-FM San Francisco; Teens for Press Freedom, a national youth-led organization; EduColor, an educator advocacy group that supports communities of color; and misinformation experts from NLP. Visit NewsLiteracyWeek.org for a full listing of events, participants and supporting organizations.

Here are more ways the public, educators and journalists can get involved:

• Watch our public service announcement, which encourages viewers to “stop the flood” of misinformation by learning how to identify credible sources of news and information.
• Visit NewsLiteracyWeek.org to learn about the events happening over the course of the week and specific actions you can take to improve your own news literacy skills.
• Share your support for news literacy via social media by using the National News Literacy Week social media toolkit.
• Join the conversation on social media using the #NewsLiteracyWeek hashtag.