ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how news outlets decide that an event might be personal and relevant to students, how biases happen in the news, how to spot them, and why a balanced news diet is essential to media literacy. It also examines the role of journalism in a society and the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on news media. The honest news media are really, truly trying to help students understand the world and equip them with the information their need to be an engaged and informed citizen. The chapter explains the importance of watchdog reporting to democracy and describes the obstacles to excellent journalism. Watchdog journalism strives to ensure that public officials, public institutions and public dollars are doing what they are supposed to be doing: serving the public. The chapter summarizes the impact of digital technology on traditional journalism and evaluates an example of shoddy or fraudulent news coverage.
