College of the Arts
Photo of Chapin Hall, home of the Cali School of Music
News
March 17, 2023

Montclair Mayor Joins MSU Panel For ‘Truth Matters’ News Literacy Education Event

Posted in: College News and Announcements

(From Left to right: Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, SCM Director Dr. Keith Strudler, WNBC Anchor Pat Battle, WNJU Telemundo Consumer Reporter Liz Gonzalez, WNBC/WNJU Vice President Digital Ben Berkowitz and SCM Professor Dr. Bond Benton.)
(From Left to right: Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, SCM Director Dr. Keith Strudler, WNBC Anchor Pat Battle, WNJU Telemundo Consumer Reporter Liz Gonzalez, WNBC/WNJU Vice President Digital Ben Berkowitz and SCM Professor Dr. Bond Benton.)

In January, Governor Phil Murphy signed a law making New Jersey the first state to require news literacy education for grades K-12.

Mary Scott, a faculty advisor at Montclair State University, is leading a team of students who have created a news literacy campaign (@msutouchgrass) to educate the campus community on how to spot and stop the spread of misinformation.

Montclair Mayor and President of NJEA Sean Spiller joins the Montclair State PRSSA Bateman Team (Left to Right: Miriam Aguirre, Driton Cadraku, Robyn Platz, Rami Niwash, Gabby Florendo, and (Montclair Native) Professor Mary Scott) at “The Truth Matters: Building a News Literate Nation” panel discussion on campus.
Montclair Mayor and President of NJEA Sean Spiller joins the Montclair State PRSSA Bateman Team (Left to Right: Miriam Aguirre, Driton Cadraku, Robyn Platz, Rami Niwash, Gabby Florendo, and (Montclair Native) Professor Mary Scott) at “The Truth Matters: Building a News Literate Nation” panel discussion on campus.

A recent panel discussion at MSU, “The Truth Matters: Building A News Literate Nation” with WNBC’s Pat Battle and Telemundo’s Liz Gonzalez, was part of a month-long campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of misinformation. In collaboration with WNBC and WNJU/Telemundo, students heard tips and experiences in navigating misinformation; the panel recording will be made available to all NJ high and middle school educators to support in news literacy education.

Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, who is also president of the New Jersey Education Association, along with other panelists, spoke of the challenges media organizations face when reporting accurate and timely news in today’s 24/7 news cycle.

Scott says the team’s efforts and content will be shared with New Jersey middle and high school educators to support Governor Murphy’s new legislation mandating news literacy education for grades K-12. The campaign is part of a prestigious national PRSSA Bateman competition for their client News Literacy Project.

Watch the program