Gilroy Library to Discuss How to Spot Fake News

For Immediate Release
September 20, 2018

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Dr. John McManus Appears During Information Literacy Awareness Month

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. –September 20, 2018– Former journalist, professor, and media researcher Dr. John McManus will bring his candid perspective and practical method to separating real from fake or misleading news to Gilroy Library on Saturday, October 13 from 10:30 am to noon. McManus, author of Don't be Fooled: A Citizen's Guide to News and Information in the Digital Age, will provide “basic tools and habits of mind” for evaluating the reliability and trustworthiness of the information we receive from the news media and other sources online.

“Here in Silicon Valley we have access to an abundance of information,” said Nancy Howe, County Librarian. “Sometimes it’s hard for even the most technologically sophisticated person to discern which sources to believe. Dr. McManus sheds light on some of the best practices for ensuring that the news we consume is properly sourced and accurate.”

McManus founded and directed GradeTheNews.org, opens a new window while at Stanford University, a website that did for news in the San Francisco Bay Area what Consumer Reports does for toaster ovens — rate the most popular newscasts and newspapers head-to-head. The project ran for seven years with funding from the Knight, Ford and Gerbode foundations.

His work has appeared in Columbia Journalism Review, Nieman Reports and Quill, as well as multiple academic journals. McManus’ first book, Market-Driven Journalism: Let the Citizen Beware?, won the Society of Professional Journalists’ Research Award in 1994. His second book, Detecting Bull: How to Identify Bias and Junk Journalism in Print, Broadcast and on the Wild Web, won the same award in 2009 and has been adopted in courses at more than 20 American universities.

This event is co-sponsored by the Gilroy chapter of The American Association of University Women (AAUW) and is part of the Santa Clara County Library District’s efforts to support Information Literacy Awareness Month.

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About the Santa Clara County Library District

The Santa Clara County Library District (SCCLD) promotes knowledge, ideas, and cultural enrichment. Its collection includes more than 1.9 million books, videos, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks, eBooks and extensive online resources accessible from home or work. In 2014, SCCLD celebrated one hundred years of service to local residents. For the last several years, SCCLD has been consistently recognized as one of America’s Star Libraries by Library Journal. In 2016, SCCLD was ranked among the top ten large libraries in the United States in the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service. In 2014 and 2015, SCCLD won Innovator Awards from the Urban Libraries Council.

The Santa Clara County Library District includes two bookmobiles, an online library, seven community libraries and one branch library serving Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. In 2016, the Santa Clara County Library District had more than 270,000 library cardholders and welcomed 3.3 million visitors who borrowed 9.1 million items.

Contact:
Nancy Howe/Diane Roche/Erik Sanjurjo
Santa Clara County Library District
(408) 293-2326 ext. 3001/3080/3014