Best Frenemies: AI’s Ambivalent Impact on News and Democracy

This is a special crossover episode between News Over Noise and the Democracy Works podcast featuring guest co-host Jenna Spinelle. Jenna is the Communications Specialist for the McCourtney Institute for Democracy. She is responsible for shaping all of the institute’s external communication, including website content, social media, multimedia, and media outreach. She also hosts and produces the Institute’s Democracy Works podcast. She holds a B.A. in journalism from Penn State and is an adjunct instructor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. Prior to joining the McCourtney Institute, Spinelle worked in Penn State’s Undergraduate Admissions Office and College of Information Sciences and Technology.

Special thanks to our guests:

Pamela Brunskill is a senior director of education design at theNews Literacy Project. Pamela joined NLP in August 2021 after 20 years of experience in education and education publishing. She was a teacher in Clarence and Williamsville, New York; a literacy coach at Enterprise Charter School; and an adjunct instructor at Bloomsburg University, Bucknell University and the University at Buffalo. She has written five books for the education market and co-authored Information Literacy: Separating Fact from Fiction. Pamela holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from SUNY College at Buffalo and a master’s degree in education from the University at Buffalo.

Sean Marcus is the Interactive Learning Designer for MediaWise here he designs and develops learning material for a wide range of audiences and purposes, ranging from senior citizens to high school students, and traditional classroom lessons to asynchronous, online learning experiences. Sean spent over 20 years teaching high school in Tampa Bay, twelve in public schools and eight in local independent schools. He has taught journalism, television production, creative writing and graphic design, and advised nationally recognized publications. Marcus holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a master’s degree in English education, both from the University of South Florida. As a lifelong learner, he has pursued learning opportunities ranging from bookbinding and letterpress printing to digital citizenship and internet safety. He has presented at the Florida Council of Independent Schools’ annual conference, as well as at journalism education conferences at the local, state and regional level.

Jenna Meleedy is the Communication Coordinator at the National Association of Media Literacy Educators (NAMLE), where she manages the organization’s digital communications strategy. Her work includes running NAMLE’s social media channels, newsletters, website, and serving as a liaison to partner organizations. Jenna first joined NAMLE as a Social Media Intern in 2023 and later contributed as a member of the Youth Advisory Council for two years before stepping into her current role. A recent graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Jenna holds a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies with minors in Civic and Community Engagement and Communication Arts and Sciences. Her passion for media literacy is reflected in her previous roles as a News Literacy Ambassador with the News Literacy Initiative and as an Education Advocacy Intern with the Media Education Lab. In 2024, she traveled to the Czech Republic as a Digital Citizenship Curriculum Development Intern, where she created and taught media literacy curriculum to secondary school students. Coming of age in the COVID-19 pandemic drove her to media literacy as a tool for empowerment, a combatant to political radicalization, and a framework for mental health and well-being. She is deeply committed to empowering digital natives to use media literacy as a means to foster critical thinking and engage in the democratic process.

News Over Noise is a co-production of WPSU and Penn State’s Bellisario College of Communications. 

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