How do you deal with hate speech on social media channels? And what news can one believe in the Ukraine war? Urgent questions that the school curriculum rarely touches on. Pupils throughout Bavaria get answers from experienced media professionals who take part in this comprehensive, digitally streamed information week from May 2nd to 5th at the school media days.
The date is no coincidence for this social commitment: For the fifth time, media days for students are taking place across Bavaria, because news competence is of elementary importance for a lively democracy, always around May 3rd, International Press Freedom Day. They are coordinated by the Bavarian State Center for Political Education and – with the support of the Mediaschool Bayern – are carried out as a joint action by Suddeutscher ZeitungBayerischer Rundfunk and many other media companies from Bavaria.
More than 500 school classes have already registered for the 14 moderated talks with media professionals, all broadcast from the Mediaschool’s new studio in Ismaning near Munich. The two heads of political departments, Katharina Riehl and Stefan Kornelius, explain for the SZ how the media manage to ensure that the truth does not fall by the wayside in war. Deniz Aykanat and Patrick Wehner analyze the Bavarian state election campaign, including “fact check at Söder and Schulze”, and Susann Wenk and Daniel Wüllner give an insight into how the SZ itself uses social media. SZ editor Sophie Aschenbrenner finally shows how extensively the job profile of journalism has expanded.
Classes can even register for the digital stream on the day of the event via the state headquarters (www.blz.bayern.de/SMT2023).