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Author
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Isabelle Courtney
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Year
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2017
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Publisher
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MSc. Information and Library Management Dublin Business School
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Abstract
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With the overabundance of information available now, Information Literacy skills are
essential for today‘s learners. Rooted in the field of Librarianship, Information Literacy
encourages critical thinking – finding information, evaluating sources and forming opinions.
The ability to evaluate information is imperative for all citizens but is of particular
importance to students studying to be media professionals; these students will be the
journalists of the future and will fill the roles of gatekeepers and arbitrators of forthcoming
civic discourse. In the current era of fake news and misinformation, Information Literacy has
a role to play within Journalism Education in Ireland. This dissertation examined six higher
education institutions in Ireland who offer Honours BA in Journalism, Broadcasting and
Media Studies and explored to what extent Information Literacy is being taught. It looked at
the role of the academic librarian and the interaction between Journalism Faculties and their
respective library. It discusses the overlaps of journalism and librarianship and the current
discourses taking place in both subject fields regarding the proliferation of fake news within
media today. It further examined the various initiatives taking place nationally and
internationally in the area of media literacy and Metaliteracy. It found many similarities and
overlaps in the current discourses from librarians and journalists with regard to fake news and
general agreement that critical thinking and evaluation skills of students needed to improve to combat the rise of fake news. This research established that, there is poor communication and
a low level of awareness of Information Literacy and other services offered by academic
libraries within some Journalism and Media Faculties. It further found that journalism
faculties perceive Information Literacy to be part of their remit as educators but often use
different terms such as media literacy, fact-checking and verification skills. It identified an
openness to the notion of a collaboration of librarians and journalism educators in
formulating a bespoke Information Literacy module which can be embedded into journalism
programmes, in an effort to raise the standard of future journalism.
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Language
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ENGLISH