What is NIE?
The News in Education (NIE) program is a cooperative effort between NC schools, business partners and The News & Observer to promote the use of the newspaper as an educational tool - a "living textbook". Our goal is to increase literacy and citizenship and help students become successful members of our community.
The NIE program supports K—12 grade level education in North Carolina by providing digital subscriptions of our newspaper to educators and students, free of charge.
In addition to making the electronic edition of the N&O available to educators statewide, NIE also provides newspaper-based resource materials, such as educational supplements, serial stories and teacher guides that offer relevant, real-world learning opportunities.
Our teaching materials cover a variety of subjects and are consistent with NC learning standards. Administrators and teachers can contact NIE to arrange educator workshops or student guided tours of the News & Observer facility in Downtown Raleigh, NC.
Get started today! You will find that using the newspaper in your lesson plans is a helpful way to bridge the gap between the classroom and the "real" world.
To facilitate and promote lifelong literacy and civic responsibility by providing access to The News & Observer e-edition, at no charge, to every student in North Carolina.
Every student in North Carolina will be literate and participate in their community.
Where Did NIE Originate?
NIE as we know it today began at The New York Times in the 1930's when social studies teachers in the New York City School System asked the newspaper to arrange for bundles to be delivered to schools to be used for current events activities. (Historically, content in textbooks is out-of-date by 5 years on the day they are delivered to the schools.)
These insightful teachers received the support of Iphigene Ochs Sulzberger, grandparent of the current publisher, and the first student subscriptions began to appear in schools.