Alexis Molina 

11-16-19  

News Writing  

On Thursday, November 15 the, 2018 

Adelphi subject librarian Professor Sally 

Stieglitz hosted a conference for the 

students of Professor Mark B. 

Grabowski’s Tuesday-Thursday 12:15 pm 

class on how to spot fake news. The 

conference took place in the Swirbul 

Library in the Hay lab between 12:15 pm 

and 1:00 pm. 

Conferences can be sort of boring and 

mundane, especially on a Thursday 

afternoon, which everyone knows is a 

college student’s Friday. However, 

Stieglitz’s approach kept got students intrigued and kept them engaged. She used the fail-proof 

tactic, games. Who doesn't love a fun game? This combined with Stieglitz’s witty attitude made 

the conference interesting. 

The class started out rather quiet. With students who seemed shy initially and rather hesitant to 

volunteer to answer Stieglitz’s first question? “How do you get your news?”  
 The class's energy almost immediately shifted when Stieglitz said: “Let’s play a game!” Each 

game was relative to the topic of fake news. The first of two tested the student's abilities to 

distinguish a real article from a fake one. The second allowed you to live out your wildest 

fantasies as a fake news reporter.  

Of course, the conference was not all fun and games. The class did talk credible sources and 

tips on how to identify fake news. Stieglitz also offered suggestions on how to become savvier, 

and better aware of personal bias. “ It is important to become aware of our own personal bias, 

everyone has one. You should try and get your news from several different sources so that you 

can get the whole picture.”  

Stieglitz also seems to have a knack at connecting with the student. As even while presenting 

to the class a very obviously fake news website, she managed to crack a joke or two. “Look here 

it says the author has an award. Yeah right, from his second-grade teacher!”  

By the end of class students were laughing and engaging with Stieglitz, it was a complete 

one-eighty from the beginning of class to the end. Stieglitz ended the conference on the best 

possible note for a busy college student. Early. “Raise your hand if you don’t want me to end 

early.” Stieglitz joked. With that, the students were dismissed, along with some really useful tips 

and tricks on spotting fake news and smiles on their faces.