The week of Feb. 2-6 is regarded as National News Literacy Week. Media literacy, a rising issue concerning the ability to critically analyze and evaluate sources of information and possible biases, is vital in today’s world of clouded reporting and fake news.

“Media literacy is not necessarily something that we implement explicitly into the newsmedia program, but something that is around us all the time that we use as a tool,” Wolfpack editor-in-chief Jane Yermakov said. “It’s our job as journalists to do the research and make sure we are sending out credible information when reporting.”

Yermakov said that student reporters are urged to verify facts and provide context from all sides before publishing, instead of hastily reacting to potentially false sensational headlines or viral posts. According to Yermakov, through the process of pitching stories, interviewing and writing, they gain valuable knowledge about media literacy, allowing them to be more professional reporters.

“When the rest of the world doesn’t want to think critically, or lacks the ability to, as writers and journalists we should strive to fill that gap as best we can,” Yermakov said. “Question literally everything, and the answers might show a bigger picture than what was initially presented, which helps prevent misinformation when all the context clues are put together.”

However, Tseng said this responsibility does not fall solely on journalists, consumers of media are also burdened with the weight of trusting responsibly.

“Media literacy equips people with the skills to question sources, recognize bias, verify information and think critically rather than accepting content at face value,” Quill and Scroll honor society vice president Allie Tseng said. “We are constantly consuming media everyday. It’s so important that we know how to properly process and evaluate what we’re seeing. Overall, being media literate allows us to be more informed and responsible.”

Tseng reflects on how her experience producing content for the yearbook, newsmedia and broadcast programs have helped her better grasp the gravity of this issue.

“Media is never completely neutral, even when the intention is to inform,” Tseng said. “Working in a high school journalism program has  shown me how easily misinformation can spread if journalists don’t take the time to be accurate. At the same time, it’s helped me become a more critical consumer of media. I now question headlines, look for credible sourcing, and think about why a piece of media was created and who it’s meant to influence.”

Students like junior Simon Olson, who have only recently been exposed to the backstage aspects of journalism through their Journalism 1 class, said misinformation has previously affected them.

“A lot of people I know oftentimes will look at something and you could argue it’s not fake, but it’s so exaggerated to the point where it’s very one-sided and they don’t address both sides of the argument,” Olson said. “And because of that, they only look at it from that standpoint.”

Through her experience in the news programs, Yermakov said media literacy helps prevent misinformation and aid in the discerning of fake news.

“I find myself eating up the story the news reporter on my TikTok feed is telling me before I take a step back and realize that the entire thing wasn’t even real,” Yermakov said. “I also have parents, and though I’m happy to say they’re not entertained by ridiculous AI videos of babies and animals, they are also not immune to radical headlines and fake news. No one is really, which is why it’s important to improve media literacy.”

Yermakov said media literacy is more important now than ever, especially with the rise in artificial intelligence generated content, exaggerated news and clickbait headlines.

“With the state the internet is in, it’s important that you don’t take anything at face value. Once again, ask questions and dig deeper,” Yermakov said. “Think critically about what you’re watching because you don’t want to get caught up in the media frenzy and make yourself look like a fool.”