Spring 2026 OLLI Digital Catalog – under construction 

QUICK LINKS — OLLI home page | OLLI Fall Schedule by Day | OLLI digital catalog home | Questions? Email olli-online@udel.edu

Mark your calendar for spring semester! — Registration begins Jan. 5; classes start Feb. 2

THE NEWS STORY: WHO TELLS IT, HOW IT’S TOLD, WHY IT MATTERS (D295)

D – General Studies

Wilmington (Arsht Hall) | March 31, 2026-April 28, 2026

Tuesday: 2:30 PM-3:45 PM

This is a hybrid course. One section meets on site at the location listed; and one section meets online only.

Today’s news isn’t just about reporting facts: it’s about creating compelling stories that engage/enrage and influence audiences. Every headline, photo, blog post, article and soundbite is crafted to capture attention and frame how we see events. This course explores how news stories are constructed, why different outlets discuss the same event in very different ways, and how storytelling techniques influence public opinion, trust, and democracy itself.

This offering meets for a total of 5 session(s).

INSTRUCTORS: Andrea Westerinen, Jeff Westerinen

WESTERINEN, ANDREA — B.S., physics and mathematics; M.S., computer science. Software engineer and systems architect, with 45+ years’ experience. CTO of OntoInsights, LLC. Member Wilmington OLLI Council. Specialization in natural language processing, narrative analysis and knowledge engineering. (CA346, D217, D295, L204, L257, L258)

WESTERINEN, JEFF — Spent 33 years in the consumer electronics and computer industries, holding leadership roles at IBM, Intel, and Microsoft. Currently, CEO of Ontoinsights, LLC, a small startup dedicated to advancing knowledge acquisition and understanding human narratives. (CA346, D295, L204, L257, L258)

Back to Full Course Listing