Berlin, 17 December 2020 – The “Year of the News” has received a remarkable response in Germany. Almost one million accounts were reached on Instagram and TikTok, over 4,000 teenagers and young adults took part in nationwide news camps, and there was a successful advertising campaign under the motto “News that is true instead of stirring up trouble”. Together, media companies and civil society have successfully worked to promote news literacy among young target groups. Today, in Berlin, the initiative took a look at what it has achieved so far and presented further plans. A white paper published in German at the same time, entitled “Fit für die Demokratie” [fit for democracy], documents the findings and the scientific support of the initiative.
Julia Becker, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board and publisher of FUNKE Mediengruppe, says: “The Year of the News was a success primarily because journalists and young people exchanged ideas on a large scale. In doing so, young people have certainly learned a lot about the importance of journalism for their own lives and for society. And we media professionals have learned a lot about the expectations and legitimate demands of young people with regard to journalistic products. We must and will continue this exchange.”
Peter Kropsch, chairman of the dpa management board, says: “News literacy is an essential prerequisite for the success of a liberal society. The media have a special responsibility, especially towards young people. The successful Newscamps resulted in thousands of direct exchanges. Teenagers and young adults from all over the country were able to experience journalism from up close.”
The activities during the ‘Year of the News’ consisted of four central building blocks. The focus was on the communication campaign under the slogan “News that is true instead of stirring up trouble”, which aimed to raise awareness among the general population of the importance of news literacy. Another important component was the Social News Desk, which prepared a news topic every day in such a way that young people could relate to their own reality. The video and audio formats were produced by a team of young journalists and primarily published via social media channels. The “Year of the News” was complemented by regional news camps that offered students the opportunity to experience digital journalism up close. The initiative also included cooperation projects between partner schools and local editorial offices.
Leonie Wunderlich and Dr. Sascha Hölig have researched the points of contact young people had with the campaign and these activities. To this end, six online surveys were conducted between April and September, as well as focus groups with young people between May and October. The findings can be downloaded here as working paper of the Hans-Bredow-Institut No. 74 (in German).
#UseTheNews, the community project behind the “Year of the News”, is supported by a broad network of partners from the media, education and science, including ARD, ZDF, RTL/ntv, publishing houses such as Der SPIEGEL and Funke Mediengruppe, as well as the publishers’ associations BDZV and MVFP. State media authorities, the Federal Agency for Civic Education, the Leibniz Institute for Media Research, and the ZEIT Foundation are also among the supporters. The “Year of the News” was also funded by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Homeland Affairs (BMI), the Madsack Foundation, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Brost Foundation and the Westermann publishing house.
Scientific Findings for Addressing Young Target Groups
Communication scientist Leonie Wunderlich from the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut emphasizes the importance of specific approaches to reach young people, especially target groups with low levels of information orientation:
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- Establishing a connection to their lives: topics should reflect the realities of young people’s lives.
- Offering contextualization: background information and temporal classifications help with orientation.
- Simple language and visual presentation: technical terms should be explained and content visually presented in a suitable way.
White Paper “Fit für die Demokratie”
Two editions of the white paper “Fit für die Demokratie” [fit for democracy] have been published to accompany the initiative, each addressing different target groups. One version is aimed at representatives of media houses and was created with the support of the MVFP (Media Association of the Free Press) and the Madsack Foundation. The second edition is aimed at professionals in educational institutions and came into being in collaboration with the textbook publisher Westermann. Both publications can be downloaded for free from the #UseTheNews website.
Future Plan: Expansion of Formats
For 2025, #UseTheNews plans to further expand the successful news camps and launch additional local model projects. With the partners TIDE and the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW), the Hamburg Competence Center Young Audiences (YYCA) is being developed, a center of competence where journalists and media educators can test collaboration with young people under laboratory conditions. At the same time, new editorial formats will be tested there.
In addition, the Leibniz Institute for Media Research will analyze the influence of TikTok as a news source for young users in a new UseTheNews study.
Meinolf Ellers, managing director of UseTheNews gGmbH, says: “We #UseTheNews partners agree that the task at hand is to permanently anchor the promotion of news literacy in schools. This can only succeed if those involved in education, media and science join forces and work closely together.”
Overview of the Successes of the ”Year of News”
43 Newscamps: Over 4,000 participants in all 16 federal states.
Social News Desk: More than 250 posts and almost a million accounts reached on TikTok and Instagram. More than 60 livestreams on TikTok and Twitch.
13 model projects between schools and regional media with more than 350 students
Wide-reaching campaign: presence in online, print, social, TV, radio and cinema media. With Pinar Atalay (journalist and TV presenter), Nadine Breaty (influencer and author), Damla Hekimoğlu (journalist and news anchor), Nadja Kriewald (journalist and foreign correspondent), Lina Larissa Strahl (singer and actress), Jeannie Wagner (footballer and content creator), Elke Wiswedel (radio presenter) and Ingo Zamperoni (TV presenter and journalist).
About #UseTheNews
The #UseTheNews initiative is getting to the bottom of how young people use and understand news and developing new information and educational services. In a News Literacy Lab, new news services are being designed based on the results of the study. The News Literacy Lab is supported by journalism experts from the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg). In addition, educational programs, teaching materials and further training for teachers are being developed under the title Open News Education (ONE) to deepen the teaching of news literacy in schools.
The Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut is conducting the accompanying scientific research for the project.
#UseTheNews was initiated by the German Press Agency (dpa) and the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media. The project is supported by a board of trustees with well-known personalities from the media and politics. In May 2022, the initiative was put on a legal basis and transferred to UseTheNews gGmbH. #UseTheNews has partners in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the USA, who are promoting the initiative in their own countries.