The Media Literacy Project

A 'Random Minds' Project

This is it. This is the beginning of something new that I’ve been teasing for quite some time now. And this post is just a first step to what I hope will become a much bigger project.

You see, I’m building a media literacy resource—the kind that I wish I had in my very brief stint as a high school teacher. What I had found online was rather lacking, and packed with its own kind of bias. So I’d like to help build something better, not just for teacher to be able to use in classrooms (whether high school or college) but also individuals so that they can be armed with a powerful toolkit to help them decipher and properly analyze media coverage that they encounter on a daily basis.

Initially, the beginning of this project will be rather humble. A post on this Substack, which will be continuously updated. But eventually, I hope to move this to its own website and continue to expand the educational tools and resources available for free access. Some of the things that I’m considering adding include analysis and breakdown current stories to help illustrate how narratives are crafted, relevant interviews, and, in time, most ambitiously, a voluntary certification process that will lead to greater accountability and transparency within journalism.

This is an ambitious project and I cannot do it alone, nor can I do it all at once with limited resources (both in terms of finances and time), so it won’t happen overnight. Still, I hope to build something great and contribute towards fixing the problem instead of ignoring it. If you’re interested in helping, or just learning more as we progress, feel free to fill out this VERY short form.

The debut guide, focusing on deciphering media bias will be released later this week. I hope you will share widely. If you have tips to share, feel free to comment below — the guide will be a continuously updated living document.

Although I keep most posts open to the public, if you’d like to support this project or this Substack as it grows, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Got ideas for future posts or want to send feedback? Email me.