Stony Brook’s News Literacy essay competition found its winner for the fall semester. Sergey Moyseyenko, a business student who supports himself as an oil painter, won a semester tuition.

The Roslyn Savings Foundation News Literacy Scholarship is opened to all News Literacy students.

Students who receive an ‘A’ in the essay portion of their final exam are entered into the competition.

Moyseyenko’s essay was judged the most persuasive and elegantly written summarization of the lessons learned in the news literacy course.

The essay, titled ‘A Letter to Uncle Vanya,’ used the metaphor of a journey in which Moyseyenko guided his uncle through the steps he needed to take when seeking trustworthy information.

Here is a piece of the essay:

‘When lost, ask for directions. Hey, it happens to the best of us. When evaluating a news report we can also get lost. Who should we trust? You know, Uncle, how some people when asked for directions would tell you ‘I think it is this way’, and others will actually show you on the map where you are and where you need to go? In a news report some people may also say, ‘I think that is why it happened’, and others will actually provide evidence for what they say. You should always differentiate between sources that assert and sources that are more authoritative and provide reliable and verified information.’

The Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University receives funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

To read the rest of Moyseyenko’s essay, visit here.

‘ Marly Falcon, Knight Foundation contributing blogger