How to Measure the Effects of Media Education Activities on High-school Students’ News Consumption

The current information environment combines traditional media - television, newspapers and the radio - with new forms of distribution, such as the internet and social media (Chan et al., 2021). While this context is affecting the work of journalists, who have to stand out from the abundance of news available, it is also changing the practices of consumers, who are faced with information overload (Gautellier, 2010). Moreover, social media are turning users into producers of news, making it difficult for them to determine whether a piece of information is believable or not (Campos, 2018). Yet, in a well-functioning democracy, citizens must have access to reliable news to make informed decisions and actively participate in society. The concept of news literacy has emerged in response to these issues. It encompasses the abilities and knowledge needed to access, analyze, and evaluate news content, and the understanding of the changing information context in which it is produced, distributed and consumed. Some studies have looked at how media information literacy (MIL) can make news consumers more aware of their media practices (Swart, 2021; Tamboer et al., 2022). Some of the researchers also questioned the role that journalists should play in media education: some believing that their expertise is necessary, others not wanting to limit media education to education in journalism (Hobbs, 1998; Jaakkola, 2022). This paper presents a research project examining the effects of MIL activities led by journalists in high-school classrooms in northern France. Over six weeks, six classrooms took part in media education and journalism workshops. As a culmination of these workshops, students produced a news media piece, such as an interview, a podcast, or a news-focused Instagram account. Participants’ news consumption was measured using a pre- and post-test questionnaire based on Likert scales. These scales assess three key dimensions: individuals' motivation to seek information, their trust in news and media, and their information practices. Indicators are used to evaluate each dimension. Motivation is defined in three categories: amotivation, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Trust in news is assessed using a scale that assigns a grade of trust or distrust for each participant. Information practices are examined in terms of the types of media used by respondents, their interactions with news and information, and the actions they take to personalize their media environment. The primary goal is to explore the impact of the MIL workshops on these dimensions, while also examining the correlations between these factors. Preliminary results show positive changes in all three dimensions studied. There also appears to be a positive correlation between motivation to seek information and information practices. This will help us to identify the factors that need to be considered in media education activities to improve the general level of news literacy.