How “fair and balanced” is the news you consume? Do you question the news you see, hear and read? If so, where do you turn to determine fact from propaganda? The McCormick Foundation recently announced a new grantmaking initiative, Why News Matters, to help fund new literacy programs. On Eight Forty-Eight, we speak with several experts involved in programs that promote news literacy.

We’re joined by Clark Bell, Journalism Program Director of the McCormick Foundation, Dean Miller, the Director of the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism and Teresa White, Free Spirit Media (FSM) News Program Coordinator. Also joining us is Vennetta Sims, a senior at Gary Comer College Prep. She’s participated in the FSM program during her entire high school career.