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FREE WEBINAR SERIES

How to find news you can trust

Skills for seeking credible information

How can we determine whether sources are credible? The News Literacy Project is offering a free webinar series to help you successfully navigate the crowded and rapidly changing information landscape.

April 12, 19 and 26 | 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT. Register once to access all three sessions.

SESSION 1 | APRIL 12, 2023

What is quality journalism?

News outlets help us make informed decisions as engaged citizens in a democracy, but the process of creating the news isn’t always transparent. This session will pull the curtain back on how quality, ethical journalism is done and how it seeks to inform us fairly and accurately. 

Journalists Brandon Pope of WBEZ and Molly Parker of Lee Enterprises will discuss their work to build credibility and trust with the public and the standards that guide the newsgathering processes.

Brandon is an award-winning and Emmy-nominated journalist, host, podcaster, media critic and columnist, with experience covering a range of topics from politics to sports. He is currently the host of On The Block: Powered by Block Club Chicago on CW26, and the MAKING podcast series from WBEZ and NPR. He is president of the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists and is an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago.

Molly, a ProPublica distinguished fellow, is an investigative reporter with Lee Enterprises’ Public Service Team, where she works with regional reporters in 25 states to produce impactful, data-driven local journalism. Her investigative work has highlighted oversight failures in public housing, examined shortcomings in child welfare services and exposed a culture of abuse and cover-ups inside a rural Illinois mental health hospital. She is also an adjunct professor of investigative reporting and media ethics at Southern Illinois University.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT.

Molly Parker
Headshot of Brandon Pope
Brandon Pope
SESSION 2 | APRIL 19, 2023

Understanding news media bias

People frequently perceive and allege bias in news coverage, but what does this really mean? What makes a piece of news biased, and who decides? This session will empower you to evaluate the fairness, accuracy and impartiality of news coverage.

Journalists Amethyst J. Davis of the Harvey World Herald and Stephanie Casanova of Signal Cleveland will join us to talk about how the journalistic standards we learned about in Session 1 can be applied to confront and avoid bias in news reporting. 

Amethyst is the founder of the Harvey World Herald in Harvey, Illinois, where she oversees growth and development, including outlining editorial trajectory and content. A member of the community advisory board for Chicago Public Media, she was recently named a Casey Fellow with the National Association of Black Journalists Black News & Views, where she covered health and COVID-19 for the NABJ’s newly launched digital news service.

Stephanie is the criminal justice reporter with Signal Cleveland, a nonprofit newsroom in Ohio. She formerly covered criminal justice and breaking news at the Chicago Tribune. A bilingual journalist, she has been a reporter and copy editor for local newspapers in South Dakota, Kansas and Arizona.

 Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT.

Amethyst Davis
Amethyst Davis
Stephanie Casanova
Stephanie Casanova
SESSION 3 | APRIL 26, 2023

How fact-checking works

With the digital deluge of misinformation, it’s getting more difficult to know what to trust. A number of fact-checking organizations have emerged and are taking up the charge to combat the spread of misinformation. These fact-checking platforms have debunked some of the most viral images and videos springing up on social media. 

Fact-checkers Dan Evon of the News Literacy Project’s RumorGuard™ platform and Rafael Olavarria of Factchequeado will talk about their work and share skills you can use to check the accuracy of information. 

Dan debunks viral rumors for NLP’s RumorGuard platform, which empowers the public to push back against misinformation. Prior to joining NLP in 2022, Dan worked as a reporter for Snopes.com, the internet’s oldest fact-checking site, where he monitored disinformation networks and addressed viral rumors.  

A Venezuelan immigrant who fled political persecution, Rafael graduated with a degree in international affairs from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He began his journalism career as a producer and writer for CNN and was a multimedia journalist with Univisión, where he won 11 Southeast Emmy Awards. 

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT.

Dan Evon
Rafael Olavarria
Rafael Olavarria

Custom news literacy training

The News Literacy Project offers engaging, interactive in-person and virtual workshops and webinars to teach adults how to verify the accuracy of information and evaluate the credibility of sources.

We provide training to civic organizations, private companies, community groups, social clubs and more. Sessions include timely, real-life examples geared toward your group’s interests, tips and tools and an interactive question-and-answer period.

Civic and community training

Help your members tell fact from fiction in their inboxes and social feeds with a custom news literacy training. Whether you’re a civic engagement organization or a social club, your members will benefit from these essential media literacy skills.

Contact Alee Quick at  to discuss your training needs.

corporate training

Help your employees navigate our increasingly complex information landscape with confidence. Companies receive valuable guidance on steps they can take to protect their brands from harmful mis- and disinformation.