Academic Commons

Integrated News Literacy Concepts and Skills in Teaching Mobile Journalism

Charles B. Wang Center

Along with the rapid development of technology infrastructure, Vietnam is witnessing a powerful transformation in media activities. One of the significant changes is the advent of a new media form named mobile journalism. Collecting news from various sources is the most difficult task for journalists writing for the emerging mobile platform. Most of the news will be easily found on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Zalo, etc. On the one hand, journalists can take advantage of the huge volume of information which is multidimensional and has consistent, timely coverage. However, these sources of news, that often lack transparency, clarity, or act as unnamed sources entirely, may be used to serve self-interested ends. Due to the lack of verification and news literacy skills, there have been many spectacular cases in which mobile journalists in Vietnam were tricked by false information from social media. It is obvious that in this age of information overload, not only the audiences but also the journalists are in a battle to decide the smartest way to ensure the timely and accurate transfer of news on mobile platforms. Above all, critical thinking skills and the ability to evaluate the reliability of information are the key to journalists’ success in the context of “mobilizing”. In this context, the Faculty of Journalism and Communication designed the mobile journalism course for thirdyear students. In this subject, lecturers have integrated knowledge in news literacy with teaching skills and knowledge based on the tools: I’MVA/IN and the information evaluation for Mobile News; Making Mobile News; Bias and Fairness on Mobile News; Images and Video for Mobile News in order to equip future Mojos with the ability to determine the reliability of information and sources in the process of news investigation. This allows them to verify the accuracy of information before it is consumed by readers, which will strengthen the reliability and credibility of mobile media. After a period of teaching and through conducting surveys from students, we have come to realize that the efficiency of I’MVA/IN is considerable in practice and has been successfully applied by students in researching and writing news reports. Moreover, there have been some vital changes since the time students first applied I’MVA/IN; students, in their roles as readers and journalists, are now more proactive in clarifying the accuracy of information on social media as well as other news sources. During the course, we realized that interactive learning methods and techniques would help to increase our students’ engagement and make students better understand the importance of news literacy. For example, the class is definitely much more interesting when role-play games, study cases, or personal sharing activities related to news literacy are applied.

https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/cnlglobalconference/cnl2017/one/11