Fulbright Scholar to navigate today’s online media environment at workshop

Sorting through wide-ranging types of online news content – deciding what information to share online and engage in civil online expression – is the focus of a media literacy workshop, “Tools for Participating in Today’s Digital Culture.”

Dr. Miroslawa Wielopolska-Szymura, who is a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at SUNY Fredonia, will lead the workshop that’s geared toward anyone who would like to advance their media literacy skills by becoming better able to decode, evaluate and analyze information shared online.

The workshop will be held Williams Center Room S204 on Wednesday, March 20, from 1 to 2 p.m., and is free and open to the public.

Dr. Wielopolska-Szymura is an associate professor at the Institute of Journalism and Media Communication, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. She has been the deputy director of its Journalism and Social Communication degree program since 2020. Much of her scholarship and teaching is dedicated to combating disinformation and fake news. She has worked with the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. State Department and is a European Academy of Robert Schuman Foundation member.

A prolific author, Wielopolska-Szymura has published widely on topics of communication, media and politics, including the politicization of press culture; the role of radio as a medium; and media in service of the armed forces, among other matters. “This is why,” according to Department of Communication Associate Professor Angela McGowan-Kirsch, “Dr. Wielopolska-Szymura is well-positioned to facilitate this year’s media literacy workshop.”

“Although college students are familiar with digital tools and platforms, they are not necessarily trained or educated to excel in today’s media ecosystem. Therefore, we think it's important for Fredonia students to learn how to debunk misinformation,” Dr. McGowan-Kirsch said.

The goal of the workshop, sponsored by the American Democracy Project and Department of Communication, is to instill media literacy skills as a competency among college students. The hope is that by attending the workshop, participants will be able to identify and avoid the spread of mis/disinformation, explained McGowan-Kirsch, who chairs the American Democracy Project committee.

Educating students to become engaged in civic issues through participatory democracy as well as to encourage them to become well-informed voters and to appreciate the impact that voter participation can have is the goal of the American Democracy Project.