The world gathered in Africa to fight climate change, Ukrainians battled to save their nation, in the U.S. candidates battled for control of Congress. It is time to take a deep breath and think: What else happened? End-of-year current events quiz News Decoder...
Algorithms that track the terms we plug into search engines determine what appears on the pages we pull up. Why does that feel so creepy? SEO concept by Anya Berkut/Getty Images More and more, we seem to get ads related to topics we plug into a search engine — long...
News Decoder has been a return to roots for me — a startup with slim financial returns that belie both its social worth and the joy of working with youth. The author is the founder of News Decoder. This month he is turning over management of the educational nonprofit...
Last month we offered a list of books for aspiring journalists. Now, here’s a selection of films all news journalism buffs should see. After compiling a list of books for aspiring journalists, I was curious about other media forms that could inspire young people...
News Decoder’s correspondents have covered the world’s biggest stories over decades. Here are books they suggest would-be journalists should read. “Books to read for aspiring journalists” I was looking for publications that would help me, as well as...
Marie Colvin started as a journalist writing for a New York trade union. She ended up a war correspondent who changed people’s lives. Medical staff examine Marie Colvin in Colombo’s eye hospital in Sri Lanka, 17 April 2001. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) A...
Susan Ruel reflects on the life and career of Marie Colvin, an accomplished foreign correspondent killed in Syria in 2012. Colvin reported on major conflicts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, believing someone has to go there and see what is happening. “She always told the stories of the ordinary men and women who bore the consequences of the power struggles and wars waged by political leaders,” Committee to Protect Journalists Executive Director Robert Mahoney said. With more journalists murdered or missing this year than in nearly all of 2021, the rights of journalists in war zones cannot be taken for granted.
Exercise: Ask students to discuss how media coverage of war and conflict zones has evolved and what they think accounts for the increased threat against journalists.
How we perceive events like the war in Ukraine depends on our news sources. While never perfect, news media perform invaluable services. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears on a television screen at the stock market in Frankfurt, Germany, 25 February 2022....
Many Russians dream of a democratic future. But an onslaught of propaganda shields Vladimir Putin from opponents and obscures the truth. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during the Victory Day military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi...
The world is awash in misinformation. But can we rein it in without eroding free speech? Our podcast explores this thorny issue facing our societies. News Decoder · Let's Talk About It This story won second prize in News Decoder’s 12th Storytelling...
Many young people find it difficult to write. They can struggle to convey their thoughts and can get bogged down in convoluted sentences. Our recommendation is to write as though you are explaining an issue to your family over dinner – to keep it simple. That’s one reason a podcast can offer a more natural way to examine an issue, even one as thorny as free speech. In their engaging podcast, Chloe Patricof and Anabella Paige of The Hewitt School speak naturally about a tough topic – misinformation – and turn to the managing editor of a U.S. media company to explore whether government regulation is an answer. Such a conversation can be an alluring way to delve into a knotty issue.
Exercise: Have your students pair up and record a conversation about a polarizing issue in their community, making sure to try to convey the views of all legitimate sides.
While around the world misinformation and lies abound, in Africa, stories transmit morals, acceptable behavior and universal truths. “Anansi the Spider” by Annie Wong (Headexplodie), courtesy of Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. In a time of widespread...