Engaging With the News: Applying the 5Cs Model of News Literacy to Young Audiences

Introduction

Understanding and applying media literacy skills are becoming increasingly vital in our information saturated societies. On par with reading and writing in traditional literacy, these new literacy skills are indispensable for people to function effectively in both their personal and professional lives in societies where information and communication technologies are widely available (Hobbs, 2013). Within the broad spectrum of literacies that exist today, news literacy (NL) commands a prominent role for several significant reasons. The first of these is that the definition of news itself is changing accompanied by an increase in what is deemed newsworthy content. Secondly, what was available to audiences from legacy media, with TV, radio and newspapers as the purveyors of news, was clearer and easier to identify. Now however, the choices available in fragmented news environments in many parts of the world have altered the relationship between producers and consumers as well as disrupting the flows of news and information. A third key reason is the increasing occurrence of fake news and misinformation (Ahmed, 2023). For audiences to manage in these changing environments, with increasingly diverse communication channels, sources and types of information, and a variety of platforms, an understanding and application of NL becomes essential. Tully (2021) argues that NL matters because it enables consumers to address such challenges in the contemporary news landscape and that researchers, educators, practitioners and professionals need to effectively teach and encourage application of NL. This understanding, knowledge and application of NL manifests itself in news literacy behaviours (NLB) whereby people engage with news content in critical and meaningful ways (Potter, 2004, in Vraga et al., 2021). Vraga et al. (2021) have proposed that NL may be conceptualised using 5 domains: context, creation, content, circulation and consumption – the 5Cs. “These domains holistically address the role of news in society and build on existing work that argues to develop NL requires an understanding of both content and contexts of news production and consumption” (Vraga et al., 2021, p. 5).

Young (18-25) peoples’ engagement with news has been an area of interest particularly in relation to their use of social media. Whilst many studies have shown that these audience groups are heavy consumers of social media for social and communication purposes, other studies have examined how this use has extended to news consumption (Schäfer, 2023; Vázquez-Herrero et al., 2022). Both academic research and industry data do not identify teenagers and young adults as traditional audiences for news consumption (Frei et al., 2022). However, with the advent of social media as well as recent global events (for example, COVID, geopolitical conflicts, climate crises), it is evident that the attention of young people has turned to news and current affairs. News itself cannot be defined in narrow terms but constitutes a broad spectrum of information, data and knowledge that consumers find ‘useful’ and therefore define as news (Swart, 2021). A study across Nigeria, India and the USA found that young people define their ‘ideal news experience’ as being from a trusted source; of personal significance, and; with desired storytelling formats (Itzkowitz et al., 2023). It was undoubtedly the recent pandemic more than any other event that has propelled news to a singularly critical status, with many deeming the situation as an infodemic (WHO, 2023). The necessity of following news and updates for health, policy and even legal reasons has forced an otherwise reluctant readership to interact with news content. This has merged seamlessly with their prior use of social media platforms for non-news related consumption. Popular platforms and applications such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook have become access points for news content and updates from government, official and health organisations. The patterns of usage reflect as effortless transfer to pre-existing channels of information that were already functioning for communication and entertainment.