Presented by Laurie Mercier and Sam Lohmann

Are the media watchdogs or lapdogs? WSU Vancouver professors Sam Lohmann and Laurie Mercier discuss how we can become more informed and critical media/information consumers, users, and creators. They look at how the media covered the Holocaust, the persecution of the Roma people, and Israel’s war on Gaza to understand the process of selection, emphasis, and bias that lead to misunderstanding of current and past events. They will lead an interactive discussion on shared practices of source evaluation, media literacy, and intentional media usage in the current climate.

At WSU since 1995, Dr. Laurie Mercier teaches courses about the history of the United States and the Pacific Northwest, and is the author of many books and articles about the intersections of class, race, gender, and region in the 20th century United States.

Sam Lohmann (MLS) is a library faculty member at WSU Vancouver and teaches courses on information literacy and research skills. His published work includes articles on accessibility and copyright in higher education and on information literacy assessment practices, as well as several books of poetry.