Newhouse School to hold Media Literacy Day April 8

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications will host 66 sixth-grade students from the Syracuse City School District’s Edward Smith Elementary School on Friday, April 8, for Newhouse’s annual Media Literacy Day.

Sponsored by the Newhouse Diversity Committee, the event serves to educate elementary school students about opportunities in the communications field.

“It is always a pleasure to see how engaged, curious and responsive sixth graders from Ed Smith—a Syracuse City school—are,” says Tula Goenka, associate professor of television-radio-film and a member of the Diversity Committee. “I am just afraid that with all the cuts in funding to our local schools, this might change. Our teachers work extremely hard and they need our support, not to lose their jobs. The future of our children is at stake. And we all need to become more involved. Say Yes to Education should support children, parents and educators K-12.”

“Media Literacy Day at Newhouse has become an eye-opening experience for the students,” says Richard Rogers, a sixth-grade teacher at Edward Smith School. “They enjoy all of the presentations put forth by the professors and come to realize all of the various forms of media and the impact that they have on their everyday lives.”

The students will be welcomed at the Newhouse School at 9:30 a.m. and will then attend three workshops that will introduce them to advertising, print journalism and television-radio-film.

Participating Newhouse faculty members include Harriet Brown, assistant professor of magazine; Ed Russell, associate professor of advertising; and John Wolf, doctoral student and adjunct instructor in television-radio-film.

For more information about Media Literacy Day, contact Goenka (315) 443-3376 or tgoenka@syr.edu.