Lydia Dobyns

I am a news and political junkie. Passionate about the political process, I read and watch a broad cross-section of media to get more than one side to critical issues. I have a bone to pick when it comes to arguing with “facts” that are anything but factual. This was apparent when I turned on the Republican National Convention and was dismayed to see that some media folks — while doing their news analysis — seem to have given up on thinking of their viewers and readers as intelligent people. Now lest you think this is about making the RNC out to be “bad” while lauding the behavior of the Democratic campaign, that’s not what I’m saying. I expect that the upcoming DNC convention will employ much of the same strategies. Leads me to ask: Where are the fact checkers?

We wonder why interest in politics or issues of our times don’t seem to register with young people. For high school students, just stop and put yourself in their shoes and now consider how to make sense of the prime-time speeches. So it was music to my ears when I got to hear Joe Urschl’s Ignite talk and his call to action. Joe is a teacher at Eagle Tech Academy in Columbia City, Indiana, who is doing his best to get students engaged in the election process and have access to a “balanced diet of media.” Joe wants his students to care about politics and the role of the media as much as I do. His vision is to “produce the most sophisticated media consumers in America.”

Read the blog on Huffington Post