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JUMP TO: Free student memberships / Free teacher memberships / Student stories / Educator resources
Lookout in the Classroom (LOIC) is a media literacy and civic engagement program for local high school and college students. In today’s fast-paced media landscape, critical thinking and media literacy are essential skills. LOIC provides students with access to reliable local journalism and the tools they need to navigate and analyze the modern media environment with confidence.
LOIC is proudly sponsored by Emerald Broadband.
Interested in supporting this program? Make a tax-deductible gift securely on Givebutter through Lookout’s fiscal sponsor here. Or email Lookout CEO Ken Doctor, ken@lookoutlocal.com.
LOOKOUT FOR TEACHERS
Activate your free teacher membership
Bring local news into your classroom, for free. Lookout for Teachers gives middle and high school teachers in Lane County full access to trusted, local journalism, plus classroom-ready newsletters and other resources that help connect students to their community.
Thanks to generous community support from Emerald Broadband and local philanthropic partners — including the Chambers Family Foundation, the Mehlum Family Foundation, the Baker Family, and Dan and Peggy Neal — Lookout Eugene-Springfield is offering 510 free high school teacher memberships in the first wave of the Lookout for Teachers program.
As part of Lookout for Teachers, you’ll receive:
- Unlimited access to all of Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s journalism on our website and app
- A weekly Educator Newsletter with classroom-ready articles, curriculum ideas, and local opportunities for students
- Classroom visits from the Lookout team, with opportunities to bring local journalists and civic engagement programming directly to your students. Request a classroom visit here.
You can also help us grow this program by sharing your feedback — what works, what could be better, and how you’re using Lookout in your classroom.
How to get started
- Click here to set up your free teacher account – be sure to use your .edu email address.
- Check your inbox for a welcome email that includes a brief survey to tell us more about you and your classes. The survey is a critical step in activating your access.
- Watch for the weekly Educator Newsletter, featuring local news stories, classroom resources, and opportunities for your students to get involved.
Join the first cohort today — space is limited to the first 510 teachers! Questions? Email olivia@lookoutlocal.com.
Sign up for our Educator Newsletter
A free weekly newsletter designed for local educators with handpicked stories for your classroom, featured resources, and discussion questions.
Lookout for Teachers: Engaging educators, empowering students, strengthening community.
Lookout in the Classroom works to connect students with current events, develop media literacy skills, and help them engage meaningfully with their community. Through this work, one thing has become clear: teacher engagement is the key to successfully using local news in the classroom. At the heart of Lookout for Teachers is a simple, powerful idea: support teachers first, and the impact ripples outward—to students, classrooms, and entire communities.
This teacher-forward initiative gives every middle and high school educator in Lane County full access to Lookout Local’s trusted local journalism, plus a weekly stream of curriculum-aligned, classroom-ready tools—discussion guides, a curated selection of recent news articles, and media literacy activities. Donors cover the cost—$160 per teacher per year—recognizing the vital role educators play in developing informed, civically engaged students.
More than 400 Lane County teachers are already participating. As Lookout for Teachers enters its second school year, we’re building on that momentum with a goal of doubling our reach—bringing more teachers into the program, increasing classroom visits, strengthening relationships between reporters and students, and creating more opportunities for young people to engage with local journalism.
Support teachers, and the impact ripples outward. More informed students. Stronger classrooms. More connected communities.
EDUCATOR RESOURCES
Welcome! Here you’ll find free classroom materials curated by Lookout staff to help teachers bring local news, media literacy, and civic engagement into their classrooms.
JUMP TO: Media Literacy Guide / Current Event Discussion Guide / News Quizzes / In-Class Opportunities / Additional Resources
Are you a local high school teacher? We’d love to hear how you’re using Lookout in your classroom — and provide you with free educator access. Contact us at eugene-springfield@lookoutlocal.com to get started.
Media Literacy Guide
In today’s media-driven world—whether through television, online platforms, or social media—the ability to access and analyze information is essential for a healthy democracy. Media literacy empowers students to create, reflect, and take action, using information and communication to make a difference. Lookout’s media literacy lesson plan offers a simple guide on key considerations when reading information, along with a vocabulary guide to help students interpret and analyze news stories.
Current Event Discussion Guide
Lookout’s Current Event Discussion Guides provide reading comprehension and allows high school students to have conversations around a variety of topics that directly affect them and the place they live. Another aspect of the guides is to provide a way for students to think critically about how and what information they absorb, learning media literacy in the process of these discussions. Read the lesson plan and print or share the questions and choose from the list of current events below.
LATEST NEWS we recommend for your classroom
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In-Class Opportunities
Bring local news to life in your classroom. Lookout in the Classroom offers engaging presentations and workshops that help students explore local journalism, build media literacy skills and connect what they’re learning to the issues shaping their community. Bring Lookout into your classroom with a visit designed for your students.
Complete the request form linked below, or contact us at eugene-springfield@lookoutlocal.com to learn more.
Additional Resources
Using local news to supplement your curriculum is a great way for lessons to connect directly to students’ lives. Here are other trusted website for additional resources surrounding media literacy.
Common Sense Education
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization providing research-backed entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools. They work with policymakers, industry leaders, and global media organizations to help create a digital world that benefits all kids, their families, and communities.
- Recommended resources:
PBS Storymaker
StoryMaker is a free learning platform from PBS News Student Reporting Labs designed to develop the next generation of media creators. Lesson plans and activities teach storytelling and journalism skills, helping students build confidence, find their voice, and discover their place in the world.
- Recommended resources:
News Literacy Project
The News Literacy Project offers a range of valuable resources for educators, including an online learning platform, a free weekly newsletter, professional development opportunities, classroom materials, and more.
- Recommended resources:
KQED Learn
KQED is a nonprofit, public media station and NPR/PBS member that provides award-winning educational resources and services free to educators nationwide. KQED Teach offers professional development courses to help educators teach media literacy and lead media-making projects with K-12 students.
- Recommended resources:
UO Libraries
University of Oregon Journalism and Communication Librarian, Talia Paz, offers a free guide titled “Misinformation, Bias and Fact Checking: Mastering Media Literacy.” The guide is not tailored to high school students but has helpful visuals, videos, and additional resources.
- Recommended resources:
FOR STUDENTS
JUMP TO: Student memberships / Student stories / Journalism scholarship / Internships
Activate your free student membership
Students get FREE unlimited access to Lookout Eugene-Springfield content on both our website and app. Click the links below to activate your account and set a password.
- Lane County high school students: Sign up here
- University of Oregon students: Sign up here
- Lane Community College students: Sign up here
Submit a Student Story
Student Stories is a space for students to share their voices with the community and all of Lane County. From personal perspectives to campus events, clubs, and creative projects — this platform highlights stories by students, for the community.
- Here’s what we are looking for:
- Types of stories: opinions, events, clubs, organizations, informational pieces
- Word count of 500 – 950 words (flexible)
- Share one quote from someone else
- 1-2 horizontal images, with credit of who took the photo
Submit your story by emailing us at eugene-springfield@lookoutlocal.com.
2026 Journalism Scholarship Challenge: Unsung Heroes
*Applications for the 2026–27 school year will open this fall. Read the 2026 winning stories here.*
Lookout Eugene-Springfield invites Lane County high school students to participate in their annual Journalism Scholarship Challenge, which asks students to identify and profile a local person who is making a positive difference as an unsung hero in our community.
Students are asked to conduct interviews and write a compelling story that brings their subject’s impact to life, alongside supporting images and quotes. Our editing team will read and review all entries, and the top 3 strongest submissions will earn a $500 scholarship to support their education!
Showcase your writing skills and uncover the unsung heroes in your community.
WANT TO SUPPORT? Help Us Reach More Classrooms
Community support helps make free teacher memberships possible and allows us to expand classroom visits, workshops, student journalism opportunities and other programs that connect young people with trusted local news.
One-for-One Memberships
For $1 a day, a One-for-One annual membership provides unlimited access to Lookout’s trusted local reporting while sponsoring a full year of membership for a Lane County teacher. You can even designate a specific teacher at checkout, or allow Lookout to match your gift with an educator.
Make a Donation
Tax-deductible gifts of any size help us bring trusted local journalism into more classrooms across Lane County while expanding opportunities for students to meet reporters, participate in journalism and engage with their community. Every dollar helps us reach more teachers, engage more students and strengthen civic learning for the next generation.
Email Lookout Local Founder Ken Doctor at ken@lookoutlocal.com for more details.
