Media Literacy Education: Safeguarding Democracy in a Digital World

Media Literacy Education: Safeguarding Democracy in a Digital World is a full-day civic education program bringing together leaders from education, law, the judiciary, politics, and the media to explore the critical role of media literacy in protecting democratic values.

Through engaging panel discussions and relevant guest speakers, participants will examine how misinformation, disinformation, and digital manipulation shape public perception and influence civic participation. Speakers will share practical strategies for fostering critical thinking, informed decision-making, and responsible media consumption, empowering individuals of all ages to navigate the complex digital landscape with discernment and integrity.

Agenda:

8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast

8:45 a.m. Welcome Kathleen Sweet, President, New York State Bar Association

9:00 a.m. Hon. Rowan Wilson, Chief Judge, NYS Court of Appeals

9:30am Panel One: What do we mean by Media Literacy?

Moderator: Prof Howard Schneider, Executive Director SUNY Stony Brook Center for News Literacy

Panel: Chris Sperry, Director, Project Look Sharp, Ithaca College; Prof. Michael Rebell, Director, Education for Democracy Project, Harvard Law School; Kelsey Russell; Arielle Geismar; Mary Miller, Education Services Director, News Media Literacy Program, New York Newspapers Foundation

10:30 a.m. | Noel Francisco, Partner-in-Charge, Washington, Jones Day and former US Solicitor General in conversation with Christopher Riano, Scholar of Constitutional Law and Government, Of Counsel at Holland and Knight LLP

Noon | Lunch

1:00 p.m. Remarks by Hon. Joseph Bianco, US Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit (Virtual)

1:30 p.m. Panel Two: The New York State Landscape for Media Literacy Education

Moderator: Susan Arbetter, TV anchor, “Capital Tonight” Spectrum News

Panel: Dr. Betty Rosa, Commissioner, NYS Department of Education; Melinda Person, President, NYS United Teachers; NYS Senator Shelley Mayer, Chairperson, Education Committee

2:30-2:45 p.m. Break

2:45-3:00 p.m. Remarks by Peter Sagal, Host of NPR’s Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me (Prerecorded)

3:00 p.m. Panel Three: Where do we go from here?

Moderator: Jay Worona, former Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel for the New York State School Boards Association and partner in the law firm of Jaspan Schlesinger Narendran LLP

Panel: Dylan Lemberg & Oliver Kaiden, Scarsdale High School Students; Nicholas D’Amuro, Instructional Coordinator, Genesee Valley BOCES; Greg Fredricks, Regional Coordinator of Social Studies and Blended Learning, Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES; Nan Eileen Mead, Co-Executive Director, DemocracyReady NY

4:00 p.m. Closing Discussion 

4:30 p.m. Adjournment