“The information that you get is all about the interest you put into it,” Parker parent and host of the CBS program “48 Hours” Maureen Maher said. “You are responsible for finding and refining the news that you ingest.”

Maher was invited by Head of Middle School John Novick to teach students about her career as an established news correspondent. “I invited Ms. Maher to come to speak to the students because this year’s school-wide theme is healthy citizenship,” Novick said.“I don’t think you can be an engaged, healthy, aware citizen without basing your decisions on facts, as Ms. Maher spoke about.”

Maher began her presentation by defining news and making the distinction between news and media. She compared media to an airplane and news to a car ride—media is a broader term than news. Maher also discussed the responsibilities that young people have when it comes to finding news.

“Maher’s presentation challenged the kids to own responsibility for finding the truth through news as individuals,” Novick said. “She shared the need to be a smart kid with a phone, not a kid with a smartphone.” Maher shared these messages with the Lower and Middle School students in her presentation about seeking the truth in news.

Currently, Maher is an investigative reporter, defined by Wikipedia as “a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing.” “My title is an investigative report, but my job is talking to people,” Maher said. “I am a storyteller journalist.”
Maher has appeared on a wide range of TV networks in a wide range of roles.  “I have done pretty much everything at CBS. I have done breaking news, daily news, I have been a war correspondent, I’ve done human interest stories,” said Maher.“I have stood in blizzards and tornadoes and hurricanes and I’ve covered serial killers.”

“I found Ms. Maher’s presentation very interesting and her background also very interesting,” seventh grade student and writer for the “Clark Street Journal” Harry Lowitz said. “The idea that you must synthesize and think for yourself is very important.”

Maher has had a wealth of experiences with many different aspects of journalism. One is the phenomenon known as “fake news,” defined by Cambridge Dictionary as “false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke.”
“I don’t know anyone who reports fake news who I consider a journalist,” Maher said. “I don’t know anyone who is a journalist who I think is biased.”

“Fake news is a very hot topic nowadays,” Lowitz said.“I agree that journalists do not intentionally spread fake news, but instead fake news sometimes occurs unintentionally.”

Maher also discussed the importance of filtering the information that you receive. “Don’t just expect the internet to know what’s good for you,” Maher said, who believes that students must, “know what they were looking for so that they know what they are looking at.”

Often times the media is accused of being biased and spreading fake news. “People don’t like to answer hard questions,” Maher said. “People are accused of being biased because they don’t want to answer a hard question.”

Maher ended her presentation with advice on how to ensure quality producing news stories. “Never use only one source of information,” Maher said, “never use only one source of media, do listen, read, watch and follow on social media a variety of news sources with different opinions, ask where other smart and interesting people get their news, and fact check the news outlets you rely on.”