The Shop Talk panelists this week continue their discussion about fake and misleading news.
Jasmine Crighton said the prevalence of fake news is alarming to her as a journalist and it should be alarming to everyone who cares about being informed. She’s worried that many people don’t recognize fake news when they see it.
Crighton said journalism should challenge your notions and beliefs. She said if you agree with everything written on a particular site, you might be looking at fake or biased news.
Rich Egger suggested it might make sense for schools to provide civics lessons about spotting fake and biased news. He said students should grow up knowing the difference between what’s real and what’s fake.
Egger said well-known and long-standing news organizations are generally good sources of fair reporting, but he doesn’t want legitimate start-up media to suffer because of suspicions caused by those that spread fake news.
Will Buss said legacy news organizations deserve credit for their long track records of solid reporting, even if that puts start-ups at a disadvantage.
Buss said news consumers need to be more educated about sources and should use common sense, especially when reading something online. He said fake news can hurt democracy.
Jasmine Crighton is News Director of NEWS3 at Western Illinois University and Will Buss is the Director of Student Publications at WIU.