Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

News in our "information age" is often overwhelming in volume and flawed in delivery. Teaching your kids to recognize the problems in the news media is vital. Mike Smith tells you why on today's Home School Heartbeat.

Mike Smith:
The issue of objectivity, or the lack of it, in the news media is secondary to how news can affect our thinking. It is often easy to discern when the news is trying to tell us what to think. It is much harder to see when the news is affecting how we think.


The Internet never sleeps, and CNN never goes off the air. Many news producers must now fill a 24-hour news day, seven days a week. In the past, news was exchanged when something truly important happened. Nowadays, much of the real-time hours are filled up with useless trivia. This perpetual news cycle can hinder our ability to determine what news is really important. And it can certainly confuse children who don't get a break from it. By discussing what is presented as news with their children, parents can help their children discern the important from the inconsequential.


Of course, parents need to also filter news to some extent for young children. WORLD magazine editor Marvin Olasky says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the streets declare the sinfulness of man." Children's papers, like those produced by God's World Publications, are a good way to expose young children to current events without exposing them to adult sized issues. Many major news outlets, like Newsweek and the New York Times, also publish children's versions of the news on their websites. And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.