Two newspapers hit my childhood home’s doorstep every morning.

The Charlotte Observer delivered national and world news wrapped around full-color sports and lifestyle sections. It was, and still is, a robust and respected metro publication serving the largest city in North Carolina.

The Winston-Salem Journal, meanwhile, focused more on local news. Looking back, the Journal was the Inter Lake of my youth — the regional daily where a reader could look up prep scores from the night before and read about the people who call the Appalachian Mountains home.

My mom and I took turns with each edition over breakfast before school as the “Today” show played on a little 9-inch TV propped up on the kitchen counter.

Those two papers, along with Bryant Gumbel, Jane Pauley and Willard Scott, essentially shaped my worldview as an adolescent. The Clinton years, the Great Blizzard of ’93, the Rodney King riots and the O.J. trial all played out through those trusted news lenses.

Today, my own children are beginning to navigate a much more complicated media landscape.

Sure, they look at the Inter Lake and the Whitefish Pilot, and the “Today” show still plays in the background every morning. But I recognize that as they grow older and venture further into their own media sphere with their own devices, they’ll need a rock-solid foundation in news literacy to make sense of today’s sticky web of news, paid content and outright misinformation.

Deciphering trusted journalism is no longer clear-cut. Social media algorithms are tailored to influence, not inform, and opinionated content that parades as news is among the most-consumed media today. The rapid rise of AI has changed everything, too. It doesn’t help that figures of notoriety and authority have no qualms about sharing fabricated content intended to sway public perception.

Setting my daughters up for healthy news and media habits will be no easy task.

A 2024 report from the News Literacy Project paints a bleak picture, as most teens today struggle to accurately distinguish between news, opinion and advertising. Only half of those surveyed could identify an article with “commentary” in the headline as an opinion piece, and only half could point out branded content as a paid advertisement. More concerning, 80% of teens say they are inclined to believe the trove of conspiracy theories they encounter on social media.

It’s clear that news literacy has become a blind spot in parenting and the education system at a time when youth need and want it most. In fact, 94% of teens in the survey said they want news literacy instruction in school. Currently, only nine states offer some form of news literacy curriculum, and Montana isn’t on the list.

In a first step to making that happen locally, the Daily Inter Lake is teaming up with Kalispell Public Schools this month to lead the course Civic Voices: Introduction to News Media. Over the next five weeks, editors and reporters with the Inter Lake will meet with Kalispell Middle School eighth graders to discuss journalism and guide a variety of news-gathering activities.

The course opens with an emphasis on news literacy, where students will deconstruct a newspaper and other forms of media spanning social media, podcasts and video platforms. Students will also learn the basics of news gathering and, by the final week, take a shot at writing a community profile.

Through this outreach, we hope to set a foundation for critical thinking about media, and the role responsible journalism plays in democracy and an informed citizenry.

The News Literacy Project also encourages parents to take action at home. Talk with teens about how content delivered in social media feeds is intended to amplify certain narratives. Help them find credible sources and weed out fabricated content. Read the local paper together and ask how they feel about current events.

Whether at home or in school, let’s prepare today’s youth to be responsibly engaged citizens of the future by making news literacy a central part of civics education.

Regional Editor Matt Baldwin may be reached at [email protected].