Rambler Media Group will be celebrating News Engagement Day on Tuesday, Oct. 5 in the Martin Center from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  

Students will have the opportunity to get some free candy, take a picture with the staff and be the first to hear breaking news. 

News Engagement Day was established by Dr. Paula M. Poindexter, professor of journalism and media at The University of Texas at Austin, while serving as president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) in 2013-2014. She wanted to inspire younger generations to understand the importance of staying updated with the news. 

“The idea of News Engagement Day grew out of the first edition of my book, Millennials, News, and Social Media: Is News Engagement a Thing of the Past?,” said Poindexter. 

During her research, she discovered that the millennial generation is not as engaged with the news as previous generations.  “I felt a responsibility to propose solutions in my book that could lead to more interest in and engagement with news,” said Poindexter. 

Junior Mass Communication student Archie Williams was not familiar with the annual event but feels that it is an important issue. He said, “As I am getting older and becoming an actual self-sufficient adult, I think I do need to be a little more involved with the news.” 

Now in its eighth year, News Engagement Day experiences challenges. According to Pointdexter, the news industry competes with social media, which has the possibility to promote inaccurate information to viewers. 

She said, “We now have to emphasize what credible news is and the principles and process that journalists use to report news so the public, regardless of generation, knows the difference between credible news and disinformation that may masquerade as news.” 

News Engagement Day is on the first Tuesday of October every year.