Former WNBC anchor Mary Civiello spent an afternoon with Professor McCarthy’s news video students, reviewing their first stand-ups. Civiello explained that stand-ups can provide a transition in the middle of a story or an ending that showcases a journalist’s on-the-scene reporting. Her top tip:  it’s what you say but also how you say it. Several times, she told students to think about what the words in their standup meant to them and to bump up their energy level as if they were speaking or reading to young children. She also advised anyone on camera to keep their arms bent at waist level so they could use their hands more naturally when speaking.

Macaulay honors students in Prof. Sissel McCarthy’s news literacy class took a deep dive on how to find both primary and secondary sources for their final research paper with media studies librarian Tony Doyle.

Media studies librarian Tony Doyle takes Macaulay honors students on tour of research resources for their News Literacy course. Students will be writing about how they use their news literacy skills to find and evaluate news stories about a top issue of the day, like Medicare for all or arming teachers in schools.

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Prof. McCarthy’s Macaulay honors students in News Literacy in a Digital Age learned about fact checking last week from ProPublica‘s deputy managing editor Eric Umansky. Umansky was a founding member of ProPublica back in 2008 and has overseen two Pulitzer Prize winning projects at the online nonprofit newsroom. With 75 reporters dedicated to investigative journalism, Umansky says ProPublica reports on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust and stays with a story as long as it takes to hold people and institutions accountable. He told students the most important question journalists need to ask their source is, “How do you know that?” The other principles the guide his work at ProPublica include: no-one sourced stories, no surprise journalism (i.e. give people a chance to respond before publication), a non-response is not a denial and only write what you know.