Newspaper in classroom: Flunking out

Teachers are using more online sources to discuss news-related issues in the classroom, with less use of newspapers -- particularly local daily publications -- according to a new survey from the Carnegie-Knight Task Force at Harvard University.

Findings of the survey were announced in an article by Joe Strupp in Editor & Publisher.

The findings, which are drawn from surveys of both newspaper executives and classroom teachers, could have sharp implications for the many Newspapers In Education (NIE) programs sponsored by newspapers nationwide, which many of the dailies use to help boost circulation.

"In America's schools, local newspapers are losing out to the Internet," said Alex S. Jones, director of the Shorenstein Center and a member of the Task Force. "We need to start rethinking how the NIE program can be most effective and how to bolster local media in the classroom."

The study notes that "teachers, as they have moved to the Internet, have switched from using hundreds of local news outlets to making use of a small number of national ones. Internet-based news in the classroom is dominated by the websites of a few top news organizations including CNN, PBS, and The New York Times. In fact, the classroom use of non-U.S. websites, such as BBC's, even exceeds the use of local TV or newspaper sites."

The survey polled 1,262 social studies, civics, and government teachers, who were asked about their use of news in the classroom, as well as 253 Newspapers-in-Education directors at daily papers.

See Strupp in E&P or

Full report : The 20-page report titled “The Internet and the Threat It Poses to Local Media” is a report: from the Carnegie-Knight Task Force on the Future of Journalism Education. It can be downloaded in PDF format.