Student News Readership Program: Free Access to the News

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Student News Readership Program offers Penn State students and faculty free access to major news outlets, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Aside from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, the program also partners with the Penn State libraries to offer students access to the Centre Daily Times, allowing students to stay current on local news.

Faculty can use the program in the classroom, but students are also encouraged to stay up-to-date with the news on their own through these publications. That is ultimately the goal of the program: to allow students to be informed.

“We’re trying to create a media-literate society in students and hope that students will begin to cultivate the habit of reading the news,” the interim senior director of special projects, Barry Bram said.

As the times have changed and the world has become more digitalized, the way that young adults get their news has drastically altered. Students now get much of their information from social media instead of traditional news outlets.

“For me, it’s strictly on TikTok or social media because it’s right there for me. If I really care about something, I’ll research it,” Nick Hendrick, a first-year majoring in environmental systems engineering, said.

In contrast to some forms of social media, the program chooses publications known to be credible to provide students with reputable sources to interact with.

The program hopes that students will foster this appreciation for the news during their time at Penn State but doesn’t hope it will end there.

“We hope that they will carry that into their lives beyond Penn State,” Bram said.

For more information about the Student News Readership Program, visit https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/involvement-student-life/student-services/student-news-readership-program

Hannah Fredrich is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email hrf5140@psu.edu.