NLP’s National Journalism Advisory Council to deepen partnerships with newsrooms, help build trust in media

Building on its history of partnerships with journalists and news outlets, the News Literacy Project is launching its first National Journalism Advisory Council. This group of prominent leaders will help the nonpartisan education nonprofit deepen NLP’s engagement with news organizations and journalists, amplify its mission, and assist news outlets in strengthening trust with their communities.

The public’s lack of news literacy skills combined with historically low levels of trust in the news media present a dire threat to the health and stability of our democracy. Council members and NLP will work together to tackle these pressing issues.

Meaningful partnerships with journalists and news organizations have been central to NLP’s mission since the start of the organization in 2008. Award-winning reporters have served as hosts for NLP’s Checkology virtual classroom® and visited schools across America as part of the organization’s educational program. Newsrooms have served as hosts for events including NLP’s NewsLitCamps®, free training opportunities that bring together educators and practicing journalists, and have supported National News Literacy Week by donating add space to help spread NLP’s message.

Council members bring a wealth of experiences to NLP, with representatives from legacy publications in print and broadcast, members in leadership roles in pioneering digital and nonprofit media, and journalists with track records for innovation and excellence in their fields. The initial members are:

• Nicole Avery Nichols, editor-in-chief of Chalkbeat
• Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project
• Kim Brizzolara, documentarian, film producer and former journalist
• Matea Gold, national editor of The Washington Post
• Stephen F. Hayes, CEO and editor of The Dispatch, and NBC News political analyst
• David Hiller, former president and CEO of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, and former publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times
• Bill Keller, former correspondent, executive editor and columnist at The New York Times, and founding editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project
• Scott Kraft, editor-at-large at the Los Angeles Times
• Indira Lakshmanan, global enterprise editor at the Associated Press
• Joy Mayer, director of Trusting News
• Tim Miller, writer-at-large at The Bulwark, MSNBC political analyst, and host of “Not My Party” on Snapchat
• Tracie Potts, executive director of the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College, and former national correspondent at NBC News Channel
• Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19^th*, and former executive editor of The Texas Tribune
• Peter Sagal, radio personality, author and host of NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! 
• Adam Symson, president and CEO of The E.W. Scripps Company
• Pierre Thomas, chief justice correspondent at ABC News
• Amy Weisenbach, senior vice president and head of marketing at The New York Times
• Lauren Williams, co-founder and CEO of Capital B, and former senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Vox
• Catherine Woodward, poet and former journalist
• Jose Zamora, chief communications and impact officer at Exile Content Studio