Adam Maksl

Developing a News Media Literacy Scale.

Using a framework previously applied to other areas of media literacy, this study developed and assessed a measurement scale focused specifically on critical news media literacy. Our scale appears to successfully measure news media literacy as we have conceptualized it based on previous research, demonstrated through assessments of content, construct, and predictive validity. Among our college student sample, a separate media system knowledge index also was a significant predictor of knowledge about topics in the news, which suggests the need for a broader framework. Implications for future work in defining and assessing news media literacy are discussed.

The Usefulness of a News Media Literacy Measure in Evaluating a News Literacy Curriculum

A survey of college students showed those who had taken a news literacy course had significantly higher levels of news media literacy, greater knowledge of current events, and higher motivation to consume news, compared with students who had not taken the course. The effect of taking the course did not diminish over time. Results validate the News Media Literacy Scale and suggest the course is effective in helping equip students to understand and interpret news.

News media literacy and conspiracy theory endorsement

Conspiracy theories flourish in the wide-open media of the digital age, spurring concerns about the role of misinformation in influencing public opinion and election outcomes. This study examines whether news media literacy predicts the likelihood of endorsing conspiracy theories and also considers the impact of literacy on partisanship. A survey of 397 adults found that greater knowledge about the news media predicted a lower likelihood of conspiracy theory endorsement, even for conspiracy theories that aligned with their political ideology.

Elements of News Literacy A Focus Group Study of How Teenagers Define News and Why They Consume It

Focus groups with teenagers (ages 15–18) were conducted to understand how they define news; what motivates them to consume news; what news sources they use; and how much knowledge about the news media industry, content, and effects they bring to the task of consuming and thinking critically about the news. Findings suggested exposure to news came largely incidentally via social media and/or parents; participants expressed the sense that news would find them. These teens saw news as depressing, conflict-ridden, and something that, although important, was of less value to them than to adults. Considered in light of a media literacy model adapted for news, these focus group participants exhibited a basic sense of news literacy but lacked the kind of knowledge about news industries, content, and effects that could better direct their own exposure, understanding, and subsequent civic engagement.

Protecting the “Impressionable Minds” from the “Impressionable Minds” The Third-Person Effect and Student Speech

Support for student expression and First Amendment attitudes were measured among Missouri high school principals (n = 86). Findings demonstrated that the third-person effect was a significant predictor of these attitudes. The more principals perceived mass media to affect others over themselves, the less supportive they were for student free expression rights, particularly with regard to support for online, off-campus student speech. In addition to applying communication theory to a largely atheoretical field of scholarship, this research helps suggest several directions for future research to better understand restrictions on student speech.