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.”

Does My Child Need Me to Lead or to Follow?

DOES MY CHILD NEED ME TO LEAD OR TO FOLLOW? by Claudia Schwarzlmüller is an international best-seller which covers “A Radically Simple Way to Parent Children from Infancy Through Age 6.” Schwarzlmüller is a child psychologist with over twenty years of experience. Her tone is wonderful – calm, compassionate, nonjudgmental, and definitely striving to represent the child’s viewpoint. For example, in the Your Toddler section, she describes behavior which is SO familiar (e.g., a toddler “loves taking things out and putting them away”… and “needs to repeat behaviors many times in order to learn … repetition is the name of the game”). She discusses thinking and playing (when a child “learns about objects by putting them in his mouth, banging them against something else, studying, turning, rubbing, or throwing them”), as well as feelings and relationships, movement, and speech. To me (a relatively new grandmother), the insights Schwarzlmüller offers are spot-on, valuable and actionable (e.g., she lists a series of play schemas and what your child learns from practice like Positioning (a sense of length, height, distance), Transforming, Connecting, Enveloping, Transporting, Dividing/Scattering (geometry/math, quantity, shapes, volume), Sorting, Filling, and Orientation). She writes about allowing your child to lead (“give them the freedom to try things out and as much free time to play as possible”), but also notes, “Children need to find their bearings and to feel safe. You are the missing partner in this social dance if you don't assume your role in moments of leading. Your child is searching for balance between moments of leading and moments of play, just like the rest of us.” Additional parts of the book deal with Your Baby, From Toddler to Preschooler, From Preschooler to Kindergartener to First Grader, plus introductory material, a list of references, and further reading suggestions. Publishers Weekly called this text “a valuable resource for parents of young children [in which] research-based insight meets practical guidance.” I heartily concur and I am highly recommending DOES MY CHILD NEED ME TO LEAD OR TO FOLLOW?

THE MIXED + MULTIRACIAL GUIDE TO WELLBEING by Namalee Bolle is subtitled “Navigating Family, Identity + Healing.” Bolle divides the text into three parts: Unpack, Discover and Thrive. She describes her own history (British born of Sri-Lankan and Dutch-Jewish heritage) and that of other multi-racial people as she encourages readers to reflect on their unique situations. It felt at points as though this text was more about therapy-type exercises and less about actual research findings (of which there may not be many). However, I did gain insights from reading about children who are multiracial – as she says, they are racially different to both parents. That may seem obvious, but it is worth pausing and contemplating that idea along with how difficult it is for all of us to find our identities as adolescents and how these children must learn to recognize/accept that “I am this and this and that.” I plan to look into the children’s books that she recommended (e.g., The Truth about Dragons) and also to watch 1000% Me, an HBO/Max documentary. Overall, an interesting starting point for more discussion and research.

Genius at Scale by Hill, Tedards, and Wild

GENIUS AT SCALE by Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards, and Jason Wild is an in-depth, thoughtful look at “How Great Leaders Drive Innovation.” The authors’ credentials are impressive: Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (HBS); Tedards is a graduate researcher in organizational behavior at HBS; and Wild is he former Global Vice President of CEO Co-Innovation and Customer Engagement at Microsoft. Together, they essentially use case studies and real-world examples to talk about Architects, Bridgers, and Catalysts effecting change in their organizations. Some of the companies and groups mentioned are P&G, Pfizer, Mastercard, Delta Airlines, as well as food organizations in Africa and Italy and the Sampark Foundation which promoted educational advancements in India.  

GENIUS AT SCALE is very accessible, with differently sized helpful headers, a conversational tone, and a focus on individuals and their stories. Much of this necessitates a new way of thinking, like Mastercard’s emphasis on a Framework to Grow, Diversify and Build in the “World Beyond Cash” or P&G’s increasing recognition that “the product economy was shifting to an experience economy.” The authors note that “as much as leaders would like to plan their way to innovation, their job as architects is to help their teams and organizations act their way instead,” referencing a vivid descriptor from previous research: “it's like shifting from leading an orchestra to a jazz ensemble: while their sheet music provides some guardrails, the musicians have to improvise, listen, and adapt to each other as they perform.” Another chapter looks at the establishment of the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi, stressing the importance of continuous learning and adapting to local practices, needing “to create an environment where all caregivers could be ‘contemplative and creative rather than reactive problem solvers’.” While reading, I found many insightful comments like when the Sampark leadership opined “If you launch a decision as an initiative, people wait for it to fail. If you launch it as an experiment -- indicating that you will reverse it if it doesn't go right -- people participate in shaping it. They own it.” The authors and those they studied repeatedly point out how critical it is to have a “foundation of shared purposes and values -- a sense of community." GENIUS AT SCALE is clearly extensively researched with notes comprising at least ten percent of the book; there's also a helpful index and the online bibliography contains a list of over 700 books and articles.  Highly recommended.

Conquering Crisis by William McRaven

CONQUERING CRISIS by best-selling author and retired Admiral William McRaven (Sea Stories and Make Your Bed amongst others) is subtitled “Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them.”  McRaven once again shares insightful advice based largely on his varied military career where he says, “I learned early on what actions must be taken to resolve the crisis quickly and come out with one's professional and personal reputation intact.” In this new collection he describes what he sees as five phases of a crisis: assessment, reporting, containment, shaping the outcome, and managing. For example, his first lesson is “First Reports Are Always Wrong,” and he notes that in a chaotic crisis there frequently is early inaccurate or misleading information, using both the WWII Battle of the Bulge and a 1983 exercise near Chile to illustrate the point. Subsequent lessons include ideas like “Bad News Doesn't Get Better with Age” or “Weaponize the Truth.” In addition to the memorable examples (McRaven is a great storyteller), each chapter/lesson is summarized with a few key points. Publishers Weekly says, “leaders looking for an edge in high-pressure situations will find value here.” I concur.

The AI-Savvy Leader by David De Cremer

THE AI-SAVVY LEADER by David De Cremer is an excellent book on a complicated subject – so well-organized and not afraid to name the elephant in the room: too many leaders do not understand AI and are abdicating their responsibility for managing its adoption. De Cremer is dean of the D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University and the founder and director of the Centre on AI Technology for Humankind (AiTH) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School. He subtitles his text “Nine Ways to Take Back Control and Make AI Work” and after explaining what AI is (computational systems with a self-learning ability), proceeds to devote chapters to topics like inclusion and balance. For example, he recommends that leaders “build a flat communication culture” thereby ensuring quicker communication flow and promoting feedback and information exchange. He uses bold typeface and boxed material to stress key points as in chapter 5 (Vision) where he says that holistic communication and showing empathy “gives employees confidence that AI adoption is not an end in itself but a means to an end with full recognition of the interests of the workforce.” He describes the importance of getting buy-in from all stakeholders (employees, customers and society). In addition, he devotes an entire chapter to emotional intelligence’s soft skills (“curiosity, empathy, communication, and critical and proactive thinking”). Yes, learning about AI is important, but De Cremer notes again and again that emphasizing employees’ value and “portraying AI as a useful and supportive coworker” is essential to “turn AI into the tool that creates the value that you as a leader want to create.” Notes and an Index represent between five and ten percent of this text published by Harvard Business Review Press.

The Bonfire Moment by Gonzalez and Yellin

THE BONFIRE MOMENT by Martin Gonzalez and Josh Yellin is subtitled “Bring Your Team Together to Solve the Hardest Issues Startups Face.” Experts in this area, Gonzalez is the creator of Google’s Effective Founders Project, a global research program, and Yellin co-founded Google's first Startup Accelerator. Together they argue that “ignoring people issues in favor of technical, financial, and strategic issues is a fatal trap. Those deceptively minor, hard-to-quantify team challenges or undermine your success if not confronted with resolve.” Gonzalez and Yellen have crafted a text with two main sections; the first describes why teams are harder than tech and the second looks at what to do about it. Their discussion is filled with numerous examples, particularly in the tech industry (Google, Shockley Semiconductor, General Magic, etc.). 

Based on their one day intense workshop that was the highest rated experience of Google Accelerator, THE BONFIRE MOMENT is a useful guide for managers and investors, and they intend to offer online support and materials. Those are “coming soon” although the book itself has several Appendices (describing the Effective Founders Project, a playbook in advance of the workshop, assessment tools, and a user guide) included. It will be interesting to watch these ideas develop further; there is much to ponder and learn from here. 

When Women Lead by Julia Boorstin

WHEN WOMEN LEAD by Julia Boorstin offers a look, in the author’s words, at “understand[ing] how some women had been able to become exceptions. … how they had done it - and what we can learn from them.” Boorstin is CNBC’s Senior Media & Tech correspondent, an on-air reporter who created and launched CNBC Disruptor 50, an annual list of private companies that are transforming the economy and challenging more established industry leaders. She uses her networking and reporting skills to identify and interview mostly female executives and entrepreneurs. Those narratives, combined with insights from academic research, provide the outline for Boorstin’s book which highlights strengths like being more empathetic, being more open to varied views, and leading with vulnerability. Her book is divided into three parts: How and Why Women Build Strong Companies; Fixing Problems; and Creating New Patterns. Boorstin is an engaging writer and provides anecdotes across a variety of industries, including healthcare, fashion, and finance. I particularly liked the image she referenced of Bumble going public with founder Whitney Wolfe Herd ringing the opening Nasdaq bell with her toddler on her hip. Our business students (and readers in general) will benefit from discussing and embracing Boorstin’s summary of women’s leadership models: “communal, empathetic, vulnerable, and purpose driven.” WHEN WOMEN LEAD received a starred review from Kirkus (“showing the positive impact of diversity and argues convincingly that the best counter to bias is citing the profitability figures and performance evidence for women-led firms.”). 

Politics, the Press, and Leadership

If the hearings from the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol are not enough of a political “fix” for you, here are a couple of recent books whose authors have long experience in Washington:

SUPPRESSION, DECEPTION, SNOBBERY, AND BIAS by Ari Fleischer is subtitled “Why the Press Gets So Much Wrong—And Just Doesn't Care.” Fleischer, former White House Press Secretary and Fox contributor, stresses that the media today is itself too insular and therefore too focused on young, college-educated, Democratic-leaning readers and their concerns. Although it is hard to reconcile that position with my own experience listening to well-respected 75 year-old Judy Woodruff on PBS, his book does devote roughly twenty percent to notes and may therefore aid researchers interested in the media and its influence. Unfortunately, Fleischer himself takes a very biased and combative tone. He rightly notes that “many newsrooms have abandoned objectivity for subjectivity,” but he continues to criticize CNN (there is an entire chapter) and The New York Times (another chapter) while seemingly annoying Fox’s failure to broadcast the recent hearings in their entirety or the many rules imposed by Sinclair Broadcast Group on local affiliates. There is a failure overall to look at established media across the entire spectrum; just this last week, so many Wall Street Journal readers objected to their editorial which – without proof – implied that the story of a 10 year old being raped and needing an abortion was not true. Fleischer’s argument would be stronger if he offered a more balanced set of examples.

We do need an active, free press capable of addressing the many critical issues we face: women’s reproductive rights, climate change, voting rights, gun control reform, health care, war in Ukraine, plus its impact on the world’s food supply, and other economic factors like inflation and employment. But, as Fleischer points out we do not even agree on how to describe current circumstances; he cites data that 50% of Fox viewers say that America is probably not or definitely not a systemically racist country; comparable figures for CNN (13%) and The New York Times (7%) reflect a very different perspective. Fleischer could also have spent more time discussing how the loss of local newspapers and reporters has likely fueled the feeling expressed by Pew Research Center survey respondents that news media “don’t understand people like them.” As the Pew summary notes, the reasons for feeling understood vary with subgroup – another nuance that Fleischer does not develop fully. SUPPRESSION, DECEPTION, SNOBBERY, AND BIAS missed an opportunity to more neutrally document the media’s role.

HEARTS TOUCHED WITH FIRE by David Gergen explores “How Great Leaders are Made.” Gergen has an impressive set of credentials: a White House adviser to four US presidents of both parties, over two decades as a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, and a senior political analyst for CNN. Drawing on work by Joseph Campbell about the hero’s journey, Gergen encourages readers to look both inwardly, evaluating their own strengths and weaknesses, and outwardly, building relationships and forming teams. Thus, he examines both leadership qualities and how a leader deals with others. Highly relevant for our students are the many examples of leaders in action which he includes, particularly since many of them are young (Malala, Greta Thunberg, and Parkland students like David Hogg). A key point is the importance of preparing young people for lives of service and leadership by unleashing their idealism. Many of our sophomore students complete a project about what makes a leader and they would likely benefit from reading and discussing Gergen’s Executive Summary with 20 key takeaways (e.g., “Try hard things, Fail, Move on”). Extensive notes make up roughly twenty percent of HEARTS TOUCHED WITH FIRE; for more on this text, here is a video of Gergen discussing it recently on PBS NewsHour: