Teaching News Literacy in the Age of AI

World Press Freedom Day will be celebrated on May 3, 2026.  It's worth a look at new books related to this topic.  

TEACHING NEWS LITERACY IN THE AGE OF AI by Cathy Collins, an award-winning library media specialist, is an excellent resource. I wish that more schools made this topic (helping students to “recognize quality journalism, spot deepfakes, challenge misinformation, and critically analyze conspiracy theories”) a priority, but Collins has done a great job of compiling suggestions of resources (including multimedia tools and learning standards) related to these issues. A few examples (not all of which are free) include: Checkology (including several of their helpful posters); The News Literacy Project; ISTE (she extensively references their standards); PBS Learning Media; and Newsela. Some of her information is revealing, but from a decade ago and warrants updating, as do her references to Stanford History Education Group, now called Digital Inquiry Group. However, the more I read, the more excited and interested I became. It does take a while to get to the section on “Learning Activities,” but that is filled with ideas related to Social Studies, Science, Health, Mathematics and more. Also, this text could work well in a secondary newspaper class – an entire lesson could review the Code of Ethics for the Society of Professional Journalists or the eight factors (e.g., timeliness, proximity, interest, conflict) which Collins lists that “news organizations might use to evaluate whether to cover a particular event.” There are multiple Appendices, including a News Literacy Glossary. As Collins writes, “The future of informed citizenship is less about passively consuming information and much more about actively interrogating it. … Teaching them to question what they see, seek diverse viewpoints, and practice self-regulated attention is more important than ever.” 

THE INFORMATION STATE by Jacob Siegel (a contributing writer at Tablet, an American conservative magazine focused on Jewish news and culture) is subtitled “Politics in the Age of Total Control.” Siegel makes some thought-provoking claims such as when he explores the relationship between information and state power (“regime’s ultimate aim was not to censor or oppress, but to rule. … the information state refers to a form of government that replaces the democratic principle of consent with control”). However, I was very disappointed by his early comment when he wrote “I doubt that more than a few dozen people had been conversant in the finer points of the disinformation field at the start of 2016.” He only had to look at the critical thinking or information literacy (a term not included in his book) work being championed by librarians and educators at that time or the winner of that year’s National Business Book Award: A Field Guide to Lies by Daniel J. Levitin. In addition, Seigel seems to have a bias against President Obama and some of the actions taken by his administration; he certainly objects to attempts to even insinuate that Russia influenced the 2016 election while simultaneously rarely referencing the blatant and obvious lies from subsequent administrations. Overall, reviews are mixed: Booklist says, THE INFORMATION STATE “will challenge and enlighten readers on every page,” whereas Publishers Weekly describes it as a “hit-or-miss debut account.”

Duty, Honor, Country & Life by William H. McRaven

DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY & LIFE by William H. McRaven (Sea Stories, Make Your Bed, and others) takes its title in part from a speech by General MacArthur. In fact, this new book is filled with speeches that McRaven himself has delivered over the last decade or two. In that sense, it harkens to a more hopeful time and lives up to its subtitle: “A Tribute to the American Spirit.” Examples of the texts that appear include a National Football Foundation Speech (2016), a New York Historical Society speech (2023), and commencement speeches from MIT (2020), UT Southwestern Medical School (2015), and University of Texas at Austin (2014) to name just a few. McRaven had an amazing 37-year career as a Navy SEAL followed by time as the Chancellor of the University of Texas. A patriotic and thoughtful person, he prefaces each speech with a brief commentary and has also included several pieces of his own poetry, plus some from his grandmother. Readers will readily see the values, including family, which are so important to him and those he feels define the country (“liberty, equality, self-government, individualism, the rule of law, and religious freedom”). 

Like McRaven’s other writings, this is an inspirational text – in fact, I was at a local Barnes & Noble yesterday where a customer was requesting it. PBS NewsHour also filmed a recent interview:

If your spirits need a lift, look for DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY & LIFE and other titles by McRaven.

Freeze Fresh Meal Prep by Crystal Schmidt

Soon-to-be-released FREEZE FRESH MEAL PREP by Crystal Schmidt offers “160 Meal Starters and Make-Ahead Dishes for the Freezer.” The photos are lovely – very colorful and appetizing. The recipes themselves are relatively straight-forward, and Schmidt includes many comments offering helpful advice (e.g., type of containers to use for freezing). I did think this type of cooking might require a bit of a mindset shift.  Honestly, I would rather cook and freeze a complete meal for some future time than cook, freeze, and still have to prepare a meal (even something as simple as Sloppy Joes) based off the frozen “starter.” It is worth a try, though, and Schmidt nicely splits this cookbook into categories like soup starters (full of nutritious vegetables and usually requiring a blender), meal starters, vegetable side dishes, and pie, crisp, crumble and cobbler fillings (based on fresh, seasonal fruit treats). A few sample recipes? How about Versatile Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce or Egg Roll in a Bowl? Booklist called FREEZE FRESH MEAL PREP “perfect for beginners. … This is a must-have for readers who enjoy eating fresh, homemade meals that cut down on prep time.”

Bumblebee Season by Eileen Garvin

BUMBLEBEE SEASON by Eileen Garvin (Crow Talk) is the sequel to her debut novel The Music of Bees. She provides an update on the progress that wheelchair-bound Jake Stevenson is accomplishing with his bee hives and Queen of G Honey business located near the Hood River in Oregon. But there is much more to the story as Garvin introduces us to other characters. One is Abigail Elizabeth Plue, a young teaching assistant at the local university; she is interested in insects and nature, but she has difficulty with self-regulation and cooperating with others, resulting in a transfer to study bees. Flaco (“skinny”) is the nickname of Sebastian Santiago Luna Lopez; he’s only fourteen and has been sent North (entering the US without papers) by his mother to keep him away from the cartel in his hometown. Along with Jake, each is struggling with personal issues and rejection by a loved one, but Garvin unites them through a shared desire to protect the environment and a growing respect and care for each other. Belonging and community are key ideas in this book which she has dedicated to “anyone who’s ever longed for home.” BUMBLEBEE SEASON received a starred review from Booklist (“Undoubtedly inspired by her own experiences as an Oregon beekeeper, Garvin is a master at creating hive-like communities vibrating with characters readers will enthusiastically embrace.”).

The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown

Somehow, I kept hearing about THE LOST BOOK OF ELIZABETH BARTON by Jennifer N. Brown prior to its publication and I am glad I was able to read a preview of this historical fiction debut. The story is set in two time periods, the 1500’s when Elizabeth Barton (a real person regarded as a visionary and saint by some) and 2023 when fictional academic Alison Sage has discovered a bound copy of Barton’s prophecies and is invited to an exclusive conference to discuss her research. From the beginning something seems off, but Alison is new to the professional attention and gladly shares with other professionals (Roger, Charles, Westley, Marla, Brian and Arjun) whose work tangentially relates to her own. They actually stay at a Manor House within walking distance of the priory where Elizabeth (The Holy Maid of Kent) lived. Brown alternates the time periods so as to provide background about the dangers surrounding the religious conflicts when Henry VIII was planning to divorce/annul and (re)marry. She also describes possible motivations and actions of the prioress and Elizabeth’s benefactors, basing her writing on texts, letters or sermons and families who lived at the time. It is a fascinating look at that period. Modern day Alison, however, seems a bit naïve especially when she rekindles a romance with a fellow scholar. THE LOST BOOK OF ELIZABETH BARTON received starred reviews from both Booklist (“Recommend to fans of Wolf Hall and all readers consumed with the treacherous Tudor times.”) and Publishers Weekly (“excels at depicting the manipulation of women across the centuries … . Fans of historical suspense will be wowed.”).

Save the Date by Mallory Kass

SAVE THE DATE by Mallory Kass is, as several members of my book club would say, “a palate cleanser.” Kass, who has written previous bestsellers as Kass Morgan, offers a romantic comedy set at a wedding in Maine as her adult fiction debut. The action revolves around three women: bride-to-be Marigold who discovers she still has feelings for an ex-husband; Matron of Honor Natalie who is suppressing long held feelings for the groom; and lawyer Olivia who is Marigold’s sister and out to find her own perfect match. It is all a bit ridiculous and fairly predictable, but as Publishers Weekly says, “Fans of romantic comedies with a Hallmark Channel vibe will enjoy this heartwarming tale.” Cute and undemanding, if a bit slow paced and full of fluff, SAVE THE DATE will leave readers smiling. Below is a great graphic summarizing all of the confusion; the fact that none of the characters are shown with faces simply confirms how little they know themselves and their feelings. 

Planet Money by Alex Mayyasi

PLANET MONEY by Alex Mayyasi and the Hosts of NPR's Planet Money calls itself “A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life.” This book takes an approach similar to the podcast and offers definition, description and discussion of economic concepts while using real life examples. Mayyasi starts out with an informative look at how food banks built a mechanism to better allocate donations. He later looks at topics like “How We All Get Richer, Forever,” “The Zoom Boom vs. Happy Hour,” or “The Labor of Finding Love.” His stories are memorable (e.g., the Mets and Bobby Bonilla Day to explain compound interest) and relatively easy to understand; as the authors say, “This book gathers the most useful and essential wisdom from our reporting and adds many freshly reported stories chosen to illuminate the most practical and powerful lessons in economics today.” PLANET MONEY received starred reviews from Booklist (“a welcome and in-demand addition to any library’s finance shelves”) and Library Journal. Sadly, graphics did not format well in the preview, but the book is well-researched, with Notes and an Index comprising at least fifteen percent of the text.