Enhancing Trust in News through Digital and Media Education – Insights on Academic Initiatives

Abstract

The phenomenon of misinformation has accelerated and reached an extraordinary dimension, which has the potential to seriously damage democracy, and media education is one of the strategies to counter it. In recent years, scholars, school educators, media NGOs, journalists, and other stakeholders have focused on the importance of media education and media literacy in combating digital misinformation.  

This article reflects on how media education could contribute to enhancing trust in news. It provides examples in the form of two case studies: one is the case of an international academic conference and training program on digital and media education organized by a Romanian university, and the other is the case of a massive open online course with modules on media education developed by a consortium of European universities.

Keywords

Media Education, Trust, Media Literacy, Conference, Massive Open Online Course

Media education in the digital environment 

Because we live in media rather than with media (Deuze, 2012), advances in communications technology have instigated a paradigm shift, turning the public sphere into a mediapolis, a mediated public space (Silverstone, 2013). The former passive audience is now part of a “participatory culture” (Jenkins, 2009) where they not only consume media news, but also react, share, comment, and even produce and distribute media content.

In the early days of the internet, such unprecedented opportunities for freedom of expression promised to reallocate the concentration of power away from states and institutions and transfer it to individuals (Schmidt, Cohen, 2014), but counterintuitively, the paradigm of mediapolis has led to challenges that have impacted democratic governance and fueled populism. A study on “building the capacity of youth to critique and create media in digital culture” concluded that “the rise of internet subcultures to advance ideological and partisan stances has impacted the credibility and trust of civic institutions” (Mihailidis, 2018). 

These problems are amplified by the expansion of native advertising, the erosion of the barriers between editorial and advertising, and the rise of large digital platforms which may all have given rise to new forms of media capture (Schiffrin, 2017) enabled by the rise of digital intermediaries, such as Facebook and Google (Schiffrin, 2018). Digital capitalism is the term Buckingham (2020) uses to describe the dominance of a small number of very large companies (which was previously known as communicative capitalism, platform capitalism or surveillance capitalism). 

According to Buckingham (2003), media education “aims to develop both critical understanding and active participation”. Rethinking digital literacy, Buckingham (2020) also reexamines and revises the definitions of the four concepts that form the basis of “critical thinking”: media language (how media create meaning, or how consumers create meanings from media, including the verbal and visual dimensions, as well as the role of hyperlinks and aspects of digital  ‘language’); representation (how media claim to represent reality, as well as how news is selected, how stories are put together); production (questioning who makes these media, how/why they make them; and how media are distributed and regulated) and audiences (questioning who/how/why uses and circulates media, and the level of trust).

Since the beginning of the 20^th century, the concept of media literacy has been circulating in the United States of America and Europe and has been defining the set of knowledge, skills, and habits of mind required for full participation in a contemporary media-saturated society (Hobbs, 2019). Media literacy has entered into the educational and cultural systems as an expanded form of literacy, an intervention designed to address potential harms of media exposure, and an approach designed to integrate digital technology into education; and as a dimension of global citizenship (idem). 

Media education, media literacy and quality journalism are often thought of as solutions to the challenges of the digital transformation of the public sphere and world democracies. In these circumstances, scholars notice that the basic understanding of where news comes from is back on the syllabus as students navigate an increasingly bewildering media environment (Rosenwald, 2017).

Trust in news and news avoidance 

In recent years, there has been a widespread concern about the lack of trust in the media that has reached an unprecedented level in numerous democracies, also because of distinctive types of news avoidance – on the one hand it could be intentional or unintentional nature, and on the other hand it could be consistent, occasional, selective (Skovsgaard and Andersen, 2022). 

When it comes to trust in news, only 40% of news consumers trust most news most of the time, with Finland being the country with the highest levels of overall trust (69%), while Greece and Hungary (23%) have the lowest level (Digital News Report 2024). According to the cited Digital News Report, the factors that influence the level of trust are high standards, a transparent approach, lack of bias, and fairness in media representation (idem).

The phenomenon of news avoidance has become a significant challenge. The percentage of news consumers who say they avoid news, often or sometimes, remains close to all-time highs at 36% across markets, being the most common reasons for this behavior are, among other things, long-running stories (like media coverage of a conflict) or disillusionment with politics (Digital News Report 2024). Fewer people are now participating in online news than in the recent past: only 22% are now active participants, and 47% do not engage in news at all (idem). This is concerning for audience engagement and democratic debate. According to a recent poll in the USA, 39% of media consumers have “none at all” trust and confidence in the mass media (such as newspapers, TV and radio), to report the news fully, accurately and fairly – which is the highest rate since 1999 (Gallup Report, 2024).

The main causes of Eastern European countries’ increased susceptibility to the harmful influence of fake news and disinformation are concentrated media ownership; deficiencies in education policies; and the low levels of institutional and media trust among people (Public Service Media Report, 2023). Furthermore, the Media Literacy Report developed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), shows that there is a critical lack of digital skills among European adults with just 54% of 16–74-year-old Europeans having basic (or above) digital skills. This highlights the ongoing need for media literacy support , as well as news literacy to fight disinformation (idem). 

Research reveals a correlation between lack of trust in journalism and low levels of public news literacy, since “when people feel knowledgeable about how news is regulated and how journalism works, they are more likely to trust the news it produces” (Firmstone, Steel, Saha, 2022).

Insights on Academic Initiatives

I. A case study in Romania – an international conference on digital and media education 

Romania, a democratic member state of the EU and the twelfth-largest country in Europe with a population of approximately 19 million, is ranked 34 out of 41 countries on the Media Literacy Index (2023). Innovative and well-articulated initiatives have been developed by media NGOs or associations, universities, schools and educators. However, these initiatives did not begin until years after the communist regime collapsed (in December 1989). NGOs such as the Center for Independent Journalism, ActiveWatch, Mediawise Society, Funky Citizens and others have developed media literacy projects like: Digital Literacy Transformation for Romanian Youth, The Media Education and Culture Lab, e-Media Education about Representations of Gender, Factual – the fact checking platform etc. When it comes to higher education, there is the example of the Journalism and Digital Media Department from Babeș-Bolyai University (BBU) that introduced the Media Education course in the MA degree programs beginning with the 2022/2023 academic year. Despite these educational initiatives, there is still no national strategy for media literacy education that takes an integrated and systematic approach, and there is limited public discussion about this topic. 

In this context, the authors of this study organized the International Conference and Training on Digital and Media Education at Babeș-Bolyai University  (BBU – which is Romania’s largest higher education institution) in 2023, with support from the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission and of the U.S. Embassy in Romania, together with leading US media education experts and academic institutions – University of Rhode Island, Global Freedom of Expression at Columbia University New York City and Columbia College Chicago, and national partners – The Center for Independent Journalism and Radio Romania International.

The main aim of this conference was contributing to promoting the importance of digital and media literacy education and quality journalism in Romania, as well as to facilitating a dialogue among scholars, media non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), relevant stakeholders, and media professionals. The keynote speakers¹ discussed digital and media education, teaching truth and accuracy in the digital age, as well as the importance of freedom of expression, tackling topics such as polarization, hate speech,  misinformation and civic empowerment. Media education is seen as a key solution in fighting disinformation by Romanian academic, media professional associations, media NGOs and stakeholders, as stressed in the panel titled Enhancing Democracy through Media Literacy². The plenary speeches of the Conference addressed key issues in the field – the digital media ecosystem that is disturbed, the need of integrating technology and culture to withstand disinformation, while the representatives of the Romanian media NGOs (the Center for Independent Journalism and the Mediawise Society) shared their experience gathered in the national and in the European media literacy environment, focusing on their schools and community-based media education initiatives. The Conference’s program also included workshops³ on digital and media literacy practices and teaching tools for Romanian educators, a scientific workshop⁴ that provided insights on academic research in the field, scientific conference panels⁵ and the Fulbright ETA Seminar on Media Literacy⁶ attended by fifty-five American Fulbright English Teaching Assistants Fulbright affiliated with fourteen European and Eurasian countries for the 2023/2024 academic year. 

Mainly, the International Conference and Training on Digital and Media Education facilitated the advancement of knowledge on media literacy education in Romania with the support of international and national scholars, as well as an important platform for dialogue among media non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), media professionals and stakeholders from Romania, all resulting in a number of professional and research national and international collaborations aiming at enhancing media literacy in Romania. 

II. A case study of a training MOOC for European journalism students 

At the EU’s level, according to the European Commission, media literacy is considered a crucial skill for citizens of all ages, enhancing their critical thinking and ability to better navigate in the digital media environment and identify disinformation. According to Cháro Sádaba and Ramón Salaverría (2023), the European Union’s authorities have adopted a dual model approach about misinformation – first, they have developed a stronger legal framework against disinformation aimed to create a safer media environment in which digital platforms accept their corresponding responsibility; secondly, they have promoted a model of co-responsibility of citizens that encourages active citizenship. Media can contribute to bringing EU topics into local communities and therefore enhance the development of the European public sphere, which is crucial to the EU’s democracy. 

We examine the case of the innovative Training MOOC for European Journalism Students – Covering Cohesion Policy in Europe (https://cope.csd.auth.gr/) which includes fact checking and media focused modules. This Massive Open Online Course, officially launched in 2024, was developed by six European universities and two European professional associations in collaboration with 21 regional partners⁷ through an European project, co-funded by the European Union (January 2023 to June 2024) that emphasized the relevance of the media in enhancing the European public sphere, while primarily focusing on covering cohesion policy in Europe. 

The MOOC was created as an interactive e-learning platform for journalism students in all EU member states and beyond, and the content is available in all 24 EU languages. 

The main objectives of the project included both providing basic knowledge on the EU and on the EU Cohesion Policy, as well as presenting best practices in EU reporting and emphasizing the important role of media coverage of the EU and also providing journalism students and professors objective, critical and fact-based multimedia reporting techniques for local audiences.

The multimedia content is divided into fourteen modules that correspond to the structure of an academic semester. Module 6, titled EU & The Role of Media, addresses the media coverage of EU affairs, journalists’ responsibility and the media’s (potential) impact on societies and decision-making processes. By accessing Module 10, titled Getting the facts right in Cohesion Policy coverage, journalism students are trained in fact-checking techniques, using the EUfactcheck framework which is a methodology developed by the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA). 

The MOOC’s content is user-friendly, has creative layouts and is enhanced with relevant research, numerous helpful resources, interactive scenarios, and interactive elements to test the knowledge gained by users, such as quizzes or drag-and-drop exercises. In order to encourage students to report local stories, the MOOC includes “local windows” that provide insights on the national and local dimensions, examples of EU media coverage with specific local angles or focus on economic aspects related to EU Cohesion Policy, unique to each EU country. 

Furthermore, the project team also created an e-handbook that provides users who prefer text-based content access to the complete MOOC.

This MOOC, a cutting-edge teaching tool, could support the curriculum development of journalism schools and training centers that are interested in teaching about the EU’s cohesion policy and other EU related topics, media coverage of the EU, reporting on EU news or fact-checking EU news stories. 

Final considerations

A re-imagining of media literacy is necessary to respond to the emerging ecosystem of distrust, spectacle, and hostile information environments (Mihalidis, 2018). Systemic media education strategies and initiatives could also contribute to the enhancement of trust in news and quality journalism in this general context, restructured by digital connective platforms, data and algorithms(idem). It is important to develop efficient methods and tools to rebuild trust in the media ecosystem in both national and local communities. 

Developing media literacy education initiatives is imperative, particularly due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) generated media content. Enhancing media literacy could help to counter misinformation, and this is crucial for a democracy to function.

Footnotes

1 Dr. Renee Hobbs, Professor at Harrington School of Communication and Media, University of Rhode Island, and Co-Director of the Media Education Lab; Dr. Yonty Friesem, Co-Director of the Media Education Lab and Associate Professor of Communication at Columbia College Chicago; and Dr. Hawley Johnson, Associate Director at Global Freedom of Expression, Columbia University, New York.
2 With the participation of H.E. Ligia Deca, Romania’s Minister of Education; Despina Andrei, the UNICEF Romania Communication Manager; Ioana Avădani, the President of the Center for Independent Journalism; Eugen Cojocariu, the Director of Radio Romania International and Vice President of EURANET (European Radio Network); Valentin Jucan, the Vice President of the National Audiovisual Council of Romania; Dr. Radu Meza, Director of the Journalism and Digital Media Department (BBU), and Dragoș Stanca, the President of the Romanian Bureau for Transmedia Audit.
3 Conducted by Dr. Renee Hobbs and by Dr. Yonty Friesem
4 Conducted by Dr. Nic Nistor, at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
5 Forty-five national and international scholars discussed digital and media education in their presentations
6 The Fulbright ETA Seminar was led by trainers Dr. Renee Hobbs and by Dr. Yonty Friesem, organized by the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission in partnership with our Journalism and Digital Media Department, coordinated by Loredana Bucuroaia, from the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission.
7 The consortium of European universities included the Technical University Dortmund (Germany), which was the coordinator of the project, AP University of Applied Sciences (Belgium), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), Babeș-Bolyai University (Romania), University of Porto (Portugal), University of Wrocław (Poland), and the professional media association ARENA for Investigative Journalism in Europe. The European Journalism Training Association (EJTA) supported the project, provided important criteria and created content for the MOOC’s development. Regional partners from twenty-one EU member states contributed to the project by providing the “local windows” with insights on the national media ecosystems and practices.

The authors acknowledge the use of online tools https://www.deepl.com/en/translator and https://languagetool.org/ to translate some words, to check grammatical structures/vocabulary and to refine the academic language – as they are not native English speakers.

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