News Literacy in Argentina; Commitment to Democracy

The main challenge for a News Literacy program in Latin America is to reinforce democracy. After many years of strong military dictatorships, media literacy in this region should develop and strengthen students´ democratic culture and citizenship education. The other essential goal for News Literacy in Latin America is to break the social and cultural gaps –including critical reading skills- that exist between young people from privileged families and the ones who come from the poorest economic groups. The first step is to enact News Literacy as a public policy. There have always been teachers who taught students how to critically read media messages. When News Literacy becomes a public policy, however, the goal is to move beyond individual initiatives and turn these isolated efforts into state policy. The News Literacy Program in Argentina is a public policy run by the National State. Special initiatives and teacher training are essential for the development of the program. This paper will describe these initiatives and the ways they improve news literacy among students, by reinforcing democratic values and narrowing culture gaps