NBC’s Brian Williams begs kids to watch the news

Williams, tops in the evening news broadcasts, surprised organizers of an effort to engage students with news by providing a two-minute public service announcement in which he frets that “news isn’t even in the lives of almost a third of young adults, that they are essentially growing up news-free.”

His support, revealed to the Washington Examiner, could buoy the upcoming National News Engagement Day on Oct. 7 when colleges and high schools around the country plan to urge students to pay attention to world events.

“When the NBC network news anchor, a trusted and respected source, says National News Engagement Day is important, the public, the news media, opinion leaders, educators, students, families, and even the White House will take notice,” said organizer Paula M. Poindexter, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin and president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

“Perhaps Brian Williams’ video message will inspire President Obama to endorse National News Engagement Day with a video message or at least a tweet,” she added.

Her group provided a new poll that shows just how disengaged the public is. Among the findings, just 36 percent of respondents said keeping up with the news is important, 35 percent said they were raised to believe news is important and a tiny 16 percent said news helps with daily life.

And asked about how much they trust the news, the poll revealed one of the reasons Williams is concerned. Just 30 percent trust TV network news “a lot.” And worse for those who produce the news: Just 17 percent trust “journalists.”

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].