Media Literacy in the Digital Age: Navigating Information in a Complex World
Date/Time
Date(s) - October 30, 2024
8:00 am - 9:30 am
Location
University Tower
1034 S. Brentwood Blvd., 17th Floor
St. Louis, MO 63117
Online registration for this event is now closed. Walk-ins will be accepted at the door starting at 8 a.m. If you need to make changes to an existing reservation, please contact Kayla Dix at kaylad@focus-stl.org.
In an era of information overload, media literacy has become an essential skill for navigating the complex landscape of news, social media and digital content. We’ll delve into the critical importance of media literacy, exploring how individuals can become more discerning consumers of information and more responsible creators and sharers of content. With the proliferation of misinformation and increasing influence of media on public opinion, understanding how to critically evaluate and engage with media is more important than ever.
Our panel will feature:
- Moderator: Mike Miller, Associate Editor, Business, St. Louis Magazine
- William Freivogel, Publisher, Gateway Journalism Review
- Art Holliday, News Director, KSDK 5 On Your Side
- Donnell Probst, Deputy Director, National Association for Media Literacy Education
- Julie Smith, Communications Instructor, Webster University
This session is free and open to all.
SCHEDULE
Doors open at 8 a.m. for check-in and networking, and the panel discussion begins at 8:30 a.m.
DIRECTIONS & PARKING
This event will take place on the 17th floor of University Tower, located at 1034 S. Brentwood Blvd. across from the Galleria in Richmond Heights. Free parking is available in the garage or surface lot. To use the garage, pull up to the building and turn right to enter the connected South Garage. Feel free to park in any space that is not denoted as reserved. Once parked, follow the signage to the back lobby entrance on Level 1. The MetroLink’s Richmond Heights Station is also located within walking distance.
ABOUT OUR PANELISTS
Mike Miller is St. Louis Magazine’s associate editor, covering business, news, and sports, and is the editor of SLM’s BizSTL and CITY SCene newsletters. He previously wrote for publications such as the Bloomington Herald-Times, SB Nation, Public Opinion, and the Baltimore Sun, and worked as an adjunct instructor at Indiana University’s Media School.
William H. Freivogel is a professor and former director of the School
of Journalism School at Southern Illinois University and publisher of
the Gateway Journalism Review. He worked for the St. Louis Post-
Dispatch for 34 years, serving as assistant Washington Bureau Chief and
deputy editorial editor and writing about civil rights, civil liberties and the law.
Editorials about civil liberties abuses by Attorney General John Ashcroft were a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2002; he won the ABA’s Silver Gavel Award in 2016 for legal analyses written for St. Louis Public Radio about the death of Michael Brown and in 1992 for a series marking the 200th birthday of the Bill of Rights. Journalism review projects in 2022 and 2023 on police accountability and the Supreme Court won national recognition.
Art Holliday is the news director at 5 On Your Side. His broadcasting career spans more than four decades in news and sports, including more than 45 years at KSDK. Art came to 5 On Your Side in 1979 and worked as a sportscaster until 1989 when he began a 22-year stint co-anchoring Today in St. Louis. Besides anchoring, Art served as managing editor and twice was executive producer of the morning newscast. He most recently co-anchored the 4 p.m. newscast and co-hosted a radio show on KTRS.
Art’s broadcasting work has been recognized with numerous awards, including three sportscasting Emmys in 1985, 1988, and 1989. He’s been inducted into the Missouri Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame of the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists, and the St. Louis Media Foundation Television Hall of Fame. He’s received the President’s Award from the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the National Alliance on Mental Health’s Media Award, and the University of Missouri-Columbia’s prestigious Faculty-Alumni Award. He is a native of St. Charles, Missouri and earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Donnell Probst is Deputy Director for the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). She oversees operations, events, and human resources and leads strategy for branding, communications, and membership. Her career spans management and leadership roles in both nonprofit and corporate sectors, including libraries, special education, insurance, and the creative arts. She has also taught media literacy at the community college and university level.
Donnell received a Master’s in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University and a B.A. in Mass Communications and Media Studies from Arizona State University. She lives in St. Louis with her husband, has three children, and has two rescue puppies, Hans and Franz.
Julie Smith is on the faculty of Webster University where she has taught media literacy and media-related classes since 1997. She is the author of “Master the Media: How Teaching Media Literacy Can Save our Plugged-In World” as well as a book on how to increase student engagement in the university classrooms.
Julie has been fortunate to preach media literacy from church basements to ballrooms, from Argentina to Uzbekistan. She and her husband are currently adjusting to the empty nest and they don’t hate it.