Welcome to Citizen One!
My name is Maria Skiles and I am the Bureau Chief for Citizen One’s Cloverdale Pilot Project. On behalf of the Citizen One administrators, contributors, student authors, and myself, I would like to thank you for being here.
Being “here” not just in terms of being on the mobile app or the website, or for having landed on this story, but for being “here” within an evolving sphere of consciously created and consumed news and media. We want to thank you for being a part of a community that takes the reliability of its news seriously.
Where We Get Our News Matters
As an educator, I am concerned about my students’ ability to critically analyze and comprehend not only what it is that they are reading, but where that information is coming from. I want my students to be media literate. In today’s social media-saturated world, understanding where the news that we read is coming from, and whether or not it can be trusted, has become exceedingly tricky.
Courtesy Pew Research Center
According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 53% of Americans claim to get their news from social media either “often” or “sometimes.” While social media is an excellent tool for connecting and sharing our daily lives, it is not always the most reliable source of news.
A Reliable Alternative
Here at Citizen One, we are excited to be providing reliably sourced information and stories that you can access directly from your phone (or another preferred device). We want to help you access your news with the same ease with which you access social media. We believe it is important for you to be able to hold the option of credible local news within the palm of your hand.
That is why I am thoroughly excited to be a part of Citizen One. As an editor, I will witness the many learning opportunities Citizen One will provide not only its student contributors, but the community of readers it is here to serve.
Thank you, again, for being “here.” Feel free to explore the site and meet the student authors who will be bringing locally relevant stories to you. You can find their names here.
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Sources:
News Use Across Social Media Platforms in 2020. (2021, January 12). Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project; Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project. https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2021/01/12/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-in-2020/