Local media pros Lisa Osborn, from left, Starshine Roshell and Amy Marie Orozco are offering free media-literacy training, “Moment of Truth: Sorting Fact from Fiction in the Misinformation Age,” thanks to a grant from the Association for Women in Communications (AWC) Advancement Fund. Photo courtesy of Monie Photography
Local powerhouse media trio offers free media literacy training
SANTA BARBARA — With half of US adults getting their news from social media and YouTube, it’s tough to know what to believe anymore — but it doesn’t have to be!
Three local journalists are now offering free workshops to help Central Coasters become savvy, responsible media consumers. Their training – Moment of Truth: Sorting Fact from Fiction in the Misinformation Age – is full of practical tips and customized for each audience.
Presenters Starshine Roshell, Lisa Osborn and Amy Marie Orozco won project funding from the national Association for Women in Communication (AWC) Advancement Fund. All three media pros are active members of the Santa Barbara organization AWC-SB.
Moment of Truth will empower curious citizens of all ages to use critical thinking and journalistic fact-checking tools at a time when elections, AI and social media make it especially tricky to know what’s real. Learn how to spot doctored images, check sources, resist falling for “ragebait” — and avoid being called out by your friends online for posting fake news. (Don’t be that guy!)
Teachers, group facilitators and nonprofit leaders can submit requests now for presentations beginning in August, via learn@momentoftruthtraining.org.
“Facts matter,” said Starshine Roshell, a longtime Independent columnist and volunteer with the News Literacy Project. “And we’ve all seen – from politics to global health to breaking news – how misinformation impacts and even threatens real lives. We’re all responsible for stopping BS in its tracks.”
In fact, nothing less than our democracy depends on it.
“Voters deserve access to truthful information in order to make informed decisions,” said Lisa Osborn, who advises and mentors college students and broadcast news reporters at UCSB’s radio station. “With technology rapidly evolving, it’s getting increasingly harder to identify what’s real and what’s not.”
The onslaught can be overwhelming – even frightening.
“We’re all vulnerable to the consequences of the rapid and constant changes in how news is delivered,” added Amy Marie Orozco, a print media veteran who’s led multiple Central Coast publications. “Having the skills to sort through the onslaught of information is crucial.”
The Moment of Truth project will also feature a series of brief audio segments offered free to radio stations, and articles/op-eds for print and digital news outlets.
Moment of Truth is fiscally sponsored by the Santa Barbara Foundation with funding provided by the AWC Advancement Fund. The ultimate success of the program is to empower citizens to become more educated news consumers.
Trainer Backgrounds
Starshine Roshell is an award-winning journalist, producer and educator who’s received both the national AWC Headliner Award and her local chapter’s Women of Achievement Award. She was a news and features reporter for over a decade at the Santa Barbara News-Press and helped lead the reporters’ walkout there over the publisher’s failed journalistic ethics. She taught journalism at UCSB and SBCC, and now produces educational videos for LinkedIn. In her free time, Starshine volunteers with the News Literacy Project, teaching both students and adults how to spot—and stop—misinformation.
Lisa Osborn is an award-winning newscaster, producer, and voice-over talent. She spent much of her 20+ year broadcasting career anchoring news at top radio stations in Los Angeles and hosting a music show on a national music network. As news and public affairs director at KCSB-FM, the radio station at UC Santa Barbara, Lisa coaches, mentors and presents workshops to students and community members on various aspects of journalism and news writing. Lisa is a current member of the AWC-SB board of directors. She and her producing partner have a YouTube travel video channel (@SBScenic) and have received two AWC Clarion Awards.
Amy Marie Orozco was recognized as AWC chapter Member of the Year in 2021.
A writer and editor by trade, her work appears in national magazines and online formats. She offers editorial, digital, marketing, and creative services to a variety of clients including print and online publications, social media influencers, government agencies, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and public relations firms. Amy also volunteers her publicity/media relations expertise to Catalyst for Cats, a Santa Barbara County-based nonprofit, and sits on the board of trustees of the Carpinteria Valley Historical Society.