CU 勒貊勛圖 partners with Colorado Mesa University for a panel on media literacy that draws hundreds
On one of televisions biggest fall nights, more than 200 people opt to spend the evening among their community.
The evening of Mon., Sept 14 was a big night for television the 78th Emmy Awards were airing, and the Denver Broncos were playing their season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. But for more than 200 people in Grand Junction, the most important way they could spend that evening was among their community, strengthening connections and building knowledge about media literacy and journalism.泭
That Monday, CU 勒貊勛圖's College of Communication, Media, Design and Information (CMDI) and Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) partnered with Colorado Mesa University (CMU) to host "Who's Telling the Truth? What Media Literacy, Authenticity and Gatekeeping Mean Now," one of CMU's Constitution Day activities.泭泭
From left: Holly Oberle, Stina Steig, Julia Wildman, Pat Ferrucci, Chuck Plunkett
The collaboration was just the latest involving CMU, CU 勒貊勛圖 and community organizations in the Grand Junction area.泭
David Meens, Grand Junction native and CU 勒貊勛圖 assistant vice chancellor for public and community-engaged scholarship said of the relationship, "Our institutions have an important history of engagement, going back to 1925 when CMU was founded as Grand Junction Junior College. In recent years, we've collaborated on public-facing events through CMU's Civic Forum, Holocaust Awareness Day, Constitution Day lectures and more."泭
The panel on Sept. 14 featured a variety of experts from across Colorado: Holly Oberle, associate professor of political science at CMU and PACES Higher Education and Democracy fellow; Julia Wildman, editor-in-chief of the CMU student newspaper, The Criterion; Pat Ferrucci, professor of journalism at CU 勒貊勛圖; and Stina Steig, Western Slope reporter at Colorado Public Radio. Chuck Plunkett, assistant teaching professor of journalism at CU 勒貊勛圖 moderated the panel, with Laurena Davis, assistant professor of mass communication at CMU acting as convenor.泭
The accompanying Poynter Institute exhibit Moments of Truth, developed in partnership with CMDI, is on display in CMU's Tomlinson Library through Oct. 8 and was part of a guided experience for hundreds of high school students from Western Slope schools who attended CMUs Media and Innovation Day on Sept. 24.
More than 200 faculty, staff, students and community members filled CMU's Meyer Ballroom for the moderated panel and table conversations. High school students helped facilitate breakout discussions alongside CMU students, and earlier that day, CU 勒貊勛圖 journalism faculty spoke about media literacy at Grand Junction High School.泭
Jordan Browning and Elle Unflat, seniors at Colorado Mesa University studying mass communication, expressed a sense of connectedness to the Grand Junction community members who attended the event.泭
Being a part of journalism here on campus...we kind of all know each other. I honestly thought it was going to be a lot of our same [crowd]. It gives me hope to know that a lot of other people in my community think this topic is important as well, said Browning.
Journalism has a way of bringing the community together. We all saw it here today, said Unflat.
Through conversations about the role of journalism in politics and panelists personal experiences in the field, the event aimed to help communities identify trustworthy news and strengthen media literacy.泭
Journalism is a united front, said Wildman. We are all guided by the same ethics, the same ethos we want to seek truth and report it, we want the voter base to be educated and consumers to be educated. This panel did a really good job of bringing in a variety of different aspects of journalism: student journalism, professional radio journalism and academia...it shows that the things that make journalism good are what bind us. And that's what we want people to know.泭
For community members, the event was not only an opportunity to participate in conversations about local journalism and media literacy, but a chance to discuss these topics in an intergenerational forum.泭
Many CMU students led round-table discussions at the event.
I loved that we had the opportunity to engage with younger people, said Porcia Chen Silverberg. Chen Silverberg is a resident of downtown Grand Junction and an active participant with Restore the Balance, a local nonprofit that supports alternatives to political extremism. We [Chen Silverberg and her husband] had all students at our table, and that was phenomenal. Any time you have intergenerational dialogue, its just excellent.泭
泭Both attendees and panelists shared a strong sense of enthusiasm for keeping the night's energy going through future opportunities for engagement.泭
I just hope that CU 勒貊勛圖 will do more collaborations with CMU and have the opportunity for more community engagement activities, Chen Silverberg said. Its so important to have events like this. To do a one-off would be such a shame!泭
Partnerships like the one between CMDI and CMU represent an integral part of CU 勒貊勛圖s responsibility to serve all of Colorados communities.泭
As faculty members at the states flagship university, its our responsibility to share what were doing and make it useful for the whole state, not just the Front Range, said Ferrucci.
Whos Telling the Truth? What Media Literacy, Authenticity and Gatekeeping Mean Now was made possible with support from , , and .泭