December 8, 2025
By Aleta Margolis, Founder and President
Listen to this week’s Hooray For Monday podcast for Aleta’s conversation with Dr. George Miller, journalist, professor, and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Dr. Miller (center) in his early days as a photojournalist with the Philadelphia Daily News.
At a time when only 25% of Americans trust the media, how do we—those who read, listen, and watch the news—navigate the landscape with critical thought and curiosity? What can we—as teachers—do to ensure that we are accurately and adequately informed so that, in turn, we can support our students in doing the same?
I spoke with Dr. George Miller, a journalist, professor, and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, about just that.
“The great difficulty with journalism is that it begins with us [the journalists] and we’re rooted in our own experiences: What we see, what we witness, and what we experience. That’s usually a starting point. And what I tell everyone is…that’s where your inquiry begins.”
He also believes it is incumbent upon the rest of us to be explorers, as well.
Dr. Miller teaching a photojournalism course to students at Temple University Japan in Tokyo.
“I think getting beyond [your usual news sources] will open up so much fun, interesting, unusual things. It exposes you to the magic of the world, and maybe those people who you thought you disagree with, well, maybe they’re not so far off. Maybe they’ve got a nugget of something that interests you and maybe there are ways to make connections to people. It’s all about exploration.”
I encourage you to listen to my conversation with Dr. Miller on the Hooray For Monday podcast. We covered a lot of ground—from how his curiosity inspired his professional journey and how it continues to fuel his understanding of the news, and the wider world.
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Hooray For Monday is an award-winning weekly publication of Center for Inspired Teaching, a social change nonprofit organization that champions the power of curiosity and is dedicated to transforming the school experience from compliance-based to engagement-based. Inspired Teaching provides transformative, improvisation-based professional learning for teachers that is 100% engaging – intellectually, emotionally, and physically.
