This is the time of year for pulling out recipes that have been tucked away in well-worn binders or folders for the past 12 months.
In my house, the best recipes are usually loose pages printed long ago, splattered with ingredients from years of cooking and annotated with tips to improve the outcome or satisfy specific tastes.
One of my family members is a new doctor in their first year of residency. When they finished their last rotation in Everett, they joined my daughter and me this past week for a morning of baking tea rings, a Christmas treat with a long tradition in each of our homes that dates back at least a couple of generations. Scribbled throughout the recipe at my house were notes from years of trial and error and tasty triumph, including the word “NO,” which I had written some years ago in all caps next to the instructions about adding powdered sugar frosting.
Despite the warning that frosting was not needed, the white sugary stuff ended up all over one of the two tea rings we made, and that was the sweet, wreath-shaped, cinnamon roll-like baked good that went home with the doctor to their apartment in Seattle to share with friends. They were very happy, and it was satisfying to know the family recipe, once again, made a difference.
I think that’s the whole point of recipes — to make something good. And the best way to do that is to share them.
I’ve got a favorite recipe I’d like to share with you, and I hope it becomes a tradition in your home (if it’s not already). It’s a recipe for helping to develop news literacy. Now I know that might not sound very tasty, but it is incredibly good. News literacy is the ability to determine the credibility of news and other information and to recognize the standards of fact-based journalism to know what to trust, share and act on.
Being able to spot real journalism and understand how much we need it every day is really important. So I hope you’ll try out this recipe and pass it on to the next generation, especially if you want to promote a healthier community and a stronger democracy — because that’s what local journalism can do.
This recipe includes five basic steps to help determine if the source for information is legitimate or not, and it is based on a resource from the News Literacy Project, a leading provider of nonpartisan education on news.
Recipe for “Is It Legit?”
Step 1: Do a quick search. Conduct a simple search — that extends beyond social media — for information about the news source.
Step 2: Look for standards. Reputable news organizations aspire to ethical guidelines and standards, including fairness, accuracy and independence.
Step 3: Check for transparency. Quality news sources should be transparent not only about their reporting practices but also about their ownership and funding.
Step 4: Examine how errors are handled. Look for evidence that the source is accountable for mistakes and corrects or clarifies errors.
Step 5: Assess news coverage. Take the time to read and assess a few articles to determine if the reporting is original or coverage from other sources or just opinion.
You can get more details about each step at newslit.org/tips-tools/is-it-legit-five-steps-for-vetting-a-news-source. Be sure to take the quiz!
The wonderful thing about media literacy is that the recipe for it can be shared in many ways and in bite-size pieces.
For example, if you have lots of people on your holiday gift list — especially young students in Snohomish County — consider giving them a gift subscription to The Daily Herald (either a digital subscription or a print subscription, which includes digital access). That way, your loved ones, friends, neighbors and colleagues can get to know and experience local journalism for themselves. Talk with them regularly about what you read in The Herald and how you use the information. Ask them what they are reading and how they know what they can trust.
Another good thing to remember about sharing media literacy is this: It’s never too early to start helping others learn the recipe. One morning this week, I was talking with my almost-3-year-old granddaughter about the weather outside, which was covering the yard with a thick layer of fog. I said it was foggy. Being still 2 years old, she disagreed. And I replied, “It’s an indisputable fact that it is foggy.” OK, perhaps “indisputable” wasn’t the best word choice for communicating with a toddler, but I think she understood that facts are important.
I hope you’ll enjoy the “Is It Legit?” recipe. And have fun cooking up great ways to share it — for the sake of our community and democracy.
I wish you a wonderful holiday season and a new year filled with trusted local news!
Brenda Mann Harrison is the journalism development director for The Daily Herald. To learn more about the impact of local news and how you can join others in supporting community journalism, go to heraldnet.com/local-news-impact, send an email to brenda.harrison@heraldnet.com or call 425-339-3452. The Daily Herald maintains editorial control over content produced through community-funded initiatives.
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