How do you know if the article you’re reading has its facts straight? This is the central question that inspired Cathy Garrard’s class, Bias in American Media. Garrard is a journalist with over 25 years of experience and is currently a senior editor at Hearst Magazines. In Garrard’s course students will learn how to become savvy consumers of news as well as thoughtful editors. Read our interview with Garrard below!
What can students expect from the Bias in American Media class?
CG: I’m coming at this media literacy course from two different directions. It’s essential to learn how to recognize balanced, well-reported news stories, but it’s equally important to understand how your own personal bias impacts how you interpret the news you read. In many cases, personal bias has a major impact on the news outlets you regularly follow, which leads to continued left-side/right-side divisions in American society.
What inspired you to teach this course?
CG: When I first started teaching Fact-Checking for Accuracy in Spring 2019, I added a media literacy element in the form of a weekly reading assignment. I asked students to read the same news story across three different websites with differing political bias, using Allsides.com as a gauge. The students love it and learn so much—as do I!—so it seemed clear that an entire course could and should be taught on the subject.
Why do you think it’s important to not only be a savvy consumer but also a thoughtful editor of the news?
CG: When people understand how to spot the difference between accurate reporting and misleading or untruthful news, you can help stop the rampant spread of misinformation. People thoughtlessly share inaccurate information all the time both on social media and in casual conversations. If you want to work in the media industry, you need to understand how to present information in the most accurate, informative way possible. Otherwise, you’re part of the problem.
How has your experience as a journalist informed how you teach this subject?
CG: I got my first fact-checking gig in the 90s. Back then, “fact-checking” was not a household term. It was mainly done by magazine publishers, and most readers weren’t even aware it was happening. My colleagues and I used to joke that we were “the janitors of truth.” A description that I would happily put on my tombstone, may I add. But content certainty has been part of my journalistic DNA since the very beginning of my career. If you can’t believe what you read, why bother?
What do you find most rewarding about teaching this class?
CG: Quite honestly, teaching media literacy skills is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my career. I’ve had students tell me that they were able to diffuse tensions at the Thanksgiving dinner table with the tools they learned in the class. Or that they started following the news again because they’re less intimidated by it. To have that kind of positive impact in people’s lives is extremely meaningful to me.
Bias in American Media starts February 28th, sign up here.
