PSA: Why readers should understand how newsrooms decide what is newsworthy

“With imperfect information, we make imperfect decisions.”

That line, taken from the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder, neatly summarizes why the crisis of mis- and disinformation demands urgent attention from all sectors of society — including the news media.

Our newsrooms are supporting the third annual National News Literacy Week (Jan. 24-28) to help more people learn to determine the credibility of content they encounter and use the standards of fact-based journalism to know what to trust, share and act on.

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It is vital that news consumers attain the skills to discern fact from fiction, understand how our newsrooms decide what is newsworthy, and recognize the standards we follow to ensure trust in what we publish or broadcast. This is essential if fact-based information is to remain central to our discourse and the functioning of our democracy.

In our role as the Fourth Estate, it is our mission to keep the public well-informed and to provide high-quality journalism that holds those in power accountable. In addition, our audiences must be news literate — and empowered to make fact-based decisions about their lives.

We pledge to double down on efforts to be fair, accurate, representative and transparent in our journalism — and crystal clear on what is opinion and analysis and what is straightforward news reporting. Everyone — including educators, students, parents, community members, business leaders, politicians and social media influencers — relies on the fact-based information we provide every day.

We urge you to take a moment to become news literate. Visit NewsLiteracyWeek.org to learn more about what you can do to avoid spreading misinformation.

Please join us in securing a fact-based future where we can all make the best decisions for our communities and our country.

Mary Irby-Jones,

Executive Editor, The (Louisville) Courier Journal

Also:

Michael Anastasi,

Editor, Tennessean

Nancy Barnes,

Senior Vice President for News and Editorial Director, NPR

Todd Benoit,

President and COO, Bangor Daily News

Peter Bhatia,

Editor and Vice President, Detroit Free Press

Greg Burton,

Executive Editor, The Arizona Republic

Nicole Carroll,

Executive Editor, USA Today

Chris Dolan,

President and Executive Editor, The Washington Times

Timothy C. Dwyer,

President and Publisher, The Day

Patti Epler,

Editor and General Manager, Honolulu Civil Beat

Richard A. Green,

Executive Editor, The Press Democrat

Scott Kraft,

Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times

Beryl Love,

Executive Editor, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Alan Miller,

Founder and CEO, News Literacy Project

Amalie Nash,

Senior Vice President of News and Audience Development, Gannett

Chris Quinn,

Editor, cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer 

Michael Shearer,

Editor, Akron Beacon Journal

Ethan Shorey,

Editor, Valley Breeze

President and CEO, The E.W. Scripps Company

Irving Washington,

Executive Director and CEO, Online News Association

Amanda Zamora,

Co-founder and Publisher, The 19th*

Jose Zamora

Senior vice president, Univision News

Laura Zelenko,

Senior Executive Editor of Standards, Training, Diversity, and Talent, Bloomberg News

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: PSA: Why readers should understand how newsrooms decide what is newsworthy