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Media Literacy: Evaluating News Sources
The internet has provided a deluge of news websites, and new ones pop up all the time. As we seek to understand whatâs happening in our world and how we can make it a more ethical place, itâs important to know how to distinguish which news sites are reputable and which viewpoints they represent. Here are five questions we should ask in the process: What kind of media site is this? Is this content produced by independent journalists, a think tank, a political organization, or even a business? Articles produced to promote a business or think tank may not undergo the same journalistic standards as those produced by an independent…
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Constitutional Literacy: Supreme Court Cases on Presidential Immunity
On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, the Supreme Court heard arguments for three related cases regarding the release of President Trumpâs financial records, including tax returns. In the short-term, these cases will decide whether third parties who hold Trumpâs financial records are required to release them to investigators in response to congressional and grand jury subpoenas. In the longer-term, these cases will define the contours of presidential immunity from congressional and criminal investigation. In reading about these cases and considering the rulings when they come out, it is important to remember that when deciding constitutional cases, the Supreme Court must consider not only the specific facts of the case presented â…
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Electoral Count Reform Act Advocacy â a Timeline
MWEG began working on advocating for an update to the Electoral Count Act in the summer of 2021 and continued working on this until the Electoral Count Reform Act was passed as part of the omnibus spending bill in December 2022. Following our pattern of member engagement, we worked to inform through library pieces and other content, invite to act through direct calls to action to write letters or make phone calls, and involve through constituent meetings with legislators as well as op-eds and letters to the editor. 2021 July Began laying the groundwork by researching the issue and reaching out to key legislators and coalition organizations October Began initial…
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Your Step-by-Step Guide to Hosting a Virtual Neighborhood Information Meeting (NIM)
After hosting a member-wide virtual NIM (Neighborhood Information Meeting) earlier this month (and an entire conference the month before), we’ve learned a thing or two about hosting virtual gatherings. In this guide, we’ll share our tips for hosting your own online NIM with family and friends, including selecting a topic, sending out the invites, and using our ready-made resources. 1. Select a topic. Every month this year, MWEG is releasing a new discussion topic that is relevant to our members and country at large. You can find these topics in the MWEG Portal (create a free account here!) under two different resources: Year of Ethical Government and Protecting Democracy, with a new Protect the Vote NIM coming next…
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Op-Eds: A Crash Course
Op-eds can be some of the most thought-provoking â and controversial â sections of news publications, both in print and online. Last month, MWEGâs media literacy team set out to clarify what op-eds are (you might be surprised what the âopâ stands for), how they can be useful (and not so useful), and why and how you can find your voice and write your own. What are op-eds? Many newspapers have an opinion section, which operates completely separately from the rest of the paper and which publishes âseveral different types of content in the spirit of presenting a wide range of viewpoints and to encourage thoughtful debateâ Des Moines Register).…
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MWEG 2019 Highlights
As we bid farewell to 2019, we took a moment to celebrate some of our most exciting moments from the year. In 2019, we: held our most successful fundraiser to date on Giving Tuesday, receiving more than $15K in donations from 200+ individual donors released the MWEG Principles of Ethical Government as a foundational document, along with new educational materials on topics ranging from media literacy to the 2020 census created the MWEG portal online, where members can log in for writing resources, discussion questions, and a place to connect with MWEG apart from social media platforms sold out tickets to our second annual spring conference with more than 200…
