The broadcaster Sky has been at the forefront of helping to improve media literacy in Italy by working with teenagers, developing their understanding of how news is made. The project was developed in response to European Union research that highlighted that all member countries could benefit from a schools education programme to develop media literacy.
A separate study singled out Italy as a country that would particularly benefit from being able critically to analyse the use of media in society. Given that Sky operates Italy’s TG24, a 24-hour news channel, it decided that it would use this resource to create a dedicated schools’ media-literacy programme.
In collaboration with the Italian ministry of education, the company has launched “Sky TG24 for schools”. Initially, the educational project was developed as a pilot project with 20 classes of secondary school children in Rome.
Over an academic year they created a video news story, mentored by a team of Sky journalists. This not only helped the students develop a critical approach to news, but gave them the experience of working collaboratively while developing individual viewpoints.
Additionally, the programme helped the youngsters understand the roles involved in putting television news together. For journalists it offered an opportunity to gain a better understanding of young audiences and how to better meet their information needs.
Due to the success of the pilot, the programme has been extended to over 1,000 classes across Italy.
