Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mrs. Alton and I'm going to be taking you through this citizenship lesson.

I'm going to be providing you with all of the information that you need, and I'll be telling you when you need to pause and complete a task.

I hope you enjoy the lesson.

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the role that media has within a democracy.

This lesson is called, "What Is the Role of the Media in Our Democracy," and it comes from the unit of work, "How Does the Media Hold Those in Power to Account." So first of all, let's have a look at our keywords.

So we've got media, which means mediums of information, which can reach a large number of people, such as television, newspapers, and social media.

We've got democracy, which is a system of government where citizens are able to have their say.

Representative democracy, which is a type of democracy, which is a system of government in which citizens vote in regular, fair elections for representatives who then make laws and decisions on their behalf.

And we've got free press, which is the right of media to report news and express opinions without government censorship or interference.

So this is our lesson outline for today, in the lesson, "What Is the Role of the Media in Our Democracy." We're going to look at what is the media.

We're then going to look at what do we mean by democracy, and then we're gonna put the two together by thinking about what key roles does media play in a democracy.

So let's begin by looking at what is the media.

So media is the plural for the word medium, and it refers to all of the different mediums in which citizens can receive information, such as through newspapers, radio, and social media.

So Izzy's asking, "How important is the media?" And if you like, you can pause and have a think about that to yourself.

So Laura is saying it's very important.

It plays a crucial role in ensuring that citizens are aware about the world around them, and it provides us with information at a local, national, and international level.

And Ofcom is the regulator for the communication services that we use and rely on each day.

So they've got a really special role because as a regulator, Ofcom keep a check on what is being broadcast and also ensure that citizens get the most out of their communication-based products.

And they also report on how citizens receive the news in the UK each year, so that trends and changes can be noted because it's really important and valuable to think about how citizens are accessing the news.

Their 2024 annual report stated that 96% of UK adults access and receive the news in some shape or form, but the way in which adults are choosing to receive this information is changing.

So let's have a quick check.

Who is the regulator for the communication services we use? Is it A, Ofcop, B Ofcod, C Ofcon, or D Ofcom? And it's D, Ofcom is the regulator for the communication services that we use.

So there are also different types of media.

So there are three main different types of media that we have in this country.

We have print media, we have broadcast media, and we have new media.

So print media is media that is printed.

It literally means media that is printed and read as a tangible object.

So it includes things like books, newspapers, magazines, journals, and newsletters.

So Izzy is saying, "When I visited London, you could pick up a free daily newspaper on the tube, and this is an example of print media." So it's a media source, it's been printed for people to pick up, open, and read to access information.

So in terms of what's changing, there has been a significant drop in the number of people reading printed newspapers as a way of accessing information.

Years ago this was a really, really, really popular method, and what we're seeing over the years is the number of people accessing information this way is reducing, that is coming down.

So Izzy's asking, "Why do you think the number of people accessing printed newspapers is going down?" So if you want to, pause and have a think about this yourself.

And it's because more people are accessing news online.

So rather than getting a newspaper, either buying one, or getting a free newspaper and opening that and reading it, more people are accessing news online, and this includes the over 55 age category, which is a group that traditionally used to access information via printed newspapers.

So it's a little bit of a myth that it's just those people that are 20, 30, and below that are using online news.

Actually more and more people from all age groups are accessing this type of news online.

So let's have a quick check, which is not an example of print media? Is it A newsletters, B radio, C magazines, or D journals? And it's B radio.

All the others are examples of print media, but radio is not an example of print media.

So broadcast media includes television, TV, and radio.

Both of these forms of media still remain popular.

Radio use has remained pretty constant and although television as a source of information has reduced slightly, according to Ofcom, it is still frequently used by over half of the population to receive news.

So we know that lots of people are still accessing the media in this way.

And also what's interesting is that television as a source of information, also rates highly in terms of trust.

Citizens tend to trust the news that is broadcast on the TV.

It's interesting as well, in terms of people's perception of the media.

So what's new media then? We haven't looked at that one yet.

New media is made up of that modern, often technology based ways of accessing information.

So examples of new media include things like websites, blogs that people might write, streamed content, so streamed videos, social media, that's a massive one.

Podcasts, and of course, mobile apps.

So all of these are examples of new media.

And Laura is saying that social media continues to increase in popularity with many people also using it to access news.

So yes, people are using social media to communicate with each other and keep in touch with friends.

People are also using it to access the news, and it is the most popular with the younger generation, but it is used by all.

It is a type of media that is used by all age groups.

So let's have a quick check.

So for this activity, I want you to match the media examples to the media types.

So you've got new media and broadcast media, and then you've got some different media types there.

So which are you going to match to new media and which you're going to match to broadcast media? You might find it easier to use the letters and the numbers to save lots of writing.

So pause while you have a go at this check.

So new media, we've got social media is a type of new media as are podcasts and as our blogs, which means that for broadcast media, we've got television and we've got radio, and you might have put the letters and the numbers, and if so, they are just there in front of you.

So for your first task, for task A, you've been asked to create a social media text post aimed at young people.

So your post needs to explain what the media is using no more than 30 words.

So try not to go over that 30 word limit.

I want you to try and create a social media text post that's aimed at young people, explaining what the media is.

And Laura is reminding you to try to use the terms broadcast media, print media, and new media in your answer.

So pause while you have a go at this task.

So for this task, you might have included something that looks a little bit like this.

You might have said, "The media includes communication channels, like broadcast media, TV and radio, print media, like newspapers and magazines, and new media, digital platforms, social media, blogs, providing information, entertainment, and influencing public opinion globally." We're now going to move on to looking at what do we mean by democracy.

So democracy is actually a really, really, really ancient old term that is made up of two separate Greek words, demos, which means people, and kratos, which means power.

So put together, that can be loosely translated as power to the people.

So that's like the root meaning of this word, democracy.

And the term democracy relates to citizens being able to play a part in the government of their country and being able to learn about, debate, and contribute to decisions being made that affect them.

So Andeep is saying, "Well I thought democracy meant voting." And Laura is saying, "It does, but being able to vote in free and fair elections is a key feature of a democracy, but it's not the only feature." So yes, absolutely, being able to vote in free and fair elections, crucial in a democracy, but it isn't the only feature, and we're gonna look at that this lesson.

So let's have a quick check.

So democracy can be roughly defined as A power to the prosperity, B power to the people, C praise to the people, or D passion to the prosperity.

Pause while you have a go at tis check.

And it's B, can be roughly defined as power to the people.

So in a democracy, citizens are able to choose who will represent them at both a local and a national level, and this is called representative democracy.

So although we cannot make laws and policy ourselves, what we can do is vote for the people who will represent us and make law and policy on our behalf, and that's why it's called representative democracy because we're using our democracy to be able to choose those people who are going to make those laws and policies on our behalf.

So Andeep is giving an example here, and he is saying, "Last week, our local MP visited our school.

She got the most votes in the last election, which means she now represents our local area, which is called a constituency in parliament.

We got to ask her lots of questions and also share our views about what's happening nationally." So this is a specific example there of that representative democracy and the role of an MP within that.

For democracy to be effective, it must also allow for checking function, ways that the public can check out what politicians are doing because they are representing us in our democracy.

So therefore, it's only fair and just in a democracy that we should be able to check and see what they're doing.

And the media plays a really, really crucial role within this checking function.

So already in this lesson, we're starting to link the two together.

So Laura is saying, "On the news today, the new Prime Minister was being interviewed and it was really interesting to hear about their plans for the country.

The interviewer asked some difficult questions about their manifesto, which the Prime Minister then had to answer.

I would've hated that." And you might have seen this yourself, you might have seen politicians or the Prime Minister on television, or on the radio, or being interviewed and asked challenging questions, and that's a really, really important function for us to be able to know what they're doing and check what they are doing because they are representing us.

So let's have a quick check.

What are the missing words? Representative democracy means we can something for the people who will something us and make law and policy on our behalf.

So have a pause while you think about what those missing words might be.

So we can vote for the people who will represent us and make law and policy on our behalf.

For democracy to be effective, the electorate, so that those people that are voting, must be informed about what is going on in the world and what their elected representatives are doing so that they can make informed decisions.

So when we're making decisions about who to vote for and what matters to us and what's important, we need that information, we need to know what's going on in the world, what's going on nationally, and what different people think about that so we can make informed decisions.

Once citizens have information, they can form an opinion, and opinions are really important in a democracy because they provide the government with a clear message about what the public think about key issues.

And without that information, we wouldn't be able to form an opinion.

So it's really, really important.

And for democracy to be effective, basic human rights need to be upheld, in particular, freedom of opinion and expression.

So a little earlier, we talked about how being able to vote in free and fair elections is really vital in democracy, but there are other things that are also very important.

This is what we're talking about now.

So Laura is saying, "I have lots of ways that I can share my opinion.

I'm on my school student leadership team, and during my citizenship lesson, I was taught how to contact my MP.

I feel able to talk to my friends and family about things I like and don't like, and when I'm older, I'll be able to vote." So these are examples of being able to have that freedom of opinion to form opinions about things, talk about things, and discuss things that matter to you, really crucial in a democracy.

So let's have a quick check, true or false, freedom of opinion and expression are vital in a democracy.

So think about is that true? Is that false? And then try and tell me why.

So pause while you have a go at this check.

So that's true, and why? Citizens need to be able to access information and have an opinion on this so they can make informed decisions.

And for democracy to be effective, there needs to be opportunities for deliberate discussion and debate.

People have different opinions and ideas, and it's important that these are all heard and taken into account by elected decision makers.

Remember, it's a representative democracy, they're representing us.

So it's important that we're able to discuss and debate and think about things that are important to us.

So Andeep is saying, "In my local area, there was a community meeting to discuss the potential closure of our leisure centre.

There were lots of different opinions to be heard and our local MP and local counsellors attended too." So this is a really good example of having a democracy, and within that democracy, allowing for discussion, allowing for debate, allowing for people to share their opinions about what they think about important issues.

So let's have another check.

What is the next part of this statement? What would the answer be to this short question? So it's important that people's opinions and ideas are heard and taken into account by who? And Izzy is reminding you to think about representative democracy.

So pause while you have a go at this check.

And it's elected decision makers.

So for task B, I'd like you to summarise the key features of a democracy, outlining why each is important, and if you want, you can use following sentence starters to help.

It'll ensure that you cover all the things that you need to.

So representative democracy is important because? Information about the government is important because? Freedom of opinion and expression are important because? And deliberate discussion and debate are important because? So really thinking about why, within a democracy, it's important to have this information.

So pause while you have a go at this task.

So for that task you may have written that representative democracy is important because it allows us to choose representatives to make laws and policies on our behalf.

The information about the government is important because it provides a checking function for the actions of those we have chosen to represent us.

Freedom of opinion and expression are important because they allow us to form our own ideas about things and share our thoughts.

And deliberate discussion and debate are important because people have different ideas and it's important that these are all heard.

We are now going to move onto the final part of the lesson where we're going to start looking at the key role that media plays in a democracy.

We've already started touching upon this and started to put those building blocks together.

So now we're going to go into a bit more detail.

So how a country manages its media is often a really clear indicator of how democratic that country is as there is an established relationship between the two.

So media and democracy, there's a really clear relationship there.

In a democratic country, we expect media to be free from interference, transparent and clear about operations and ownership, and to be accountable and willing to take responsibility for its actions, really, really important in a democracy.

So let's look at these in a bit more detail.

So Laura is saying, "What does free from interference mean?" And the word interference, what it means to interfere with something that will hopefully help you a little bit.

So in a democracy, the media should be free to print information that citizens need, and citizens should be able to access this information.

So Andeep is saying, "Could the Prime Minister tell the media what to print?" And Izzy is saying, "No, not in a democracy.

The Prime Minister cannot interfere with what the media are reporting.

In a democracy, the government, the leader of that country would not own the media because the media print what citizens need to know, or might be interested in, and we call this free press." So when the media is free to print things without interference and pressure from the government, this is a free press, really important in a democracy.

So let's look at accountability.

"What does accountability mean," Laura is asking.

So in a democracy, the media should also be accountable, and this means that they are responsible for telling the truth and correcting mistakes.

So anyone can be accountable.

If you've got a position of trust or responsibility.

if you are accountable, it means that you could be checked, you need to be honest, you need to correct things if you go wrong, you need to live up to that trust really.

So this ensures that citizens can trust the information being provided and use it to make decisions.

And Andeep is saying, "Did you know that newspaper journalists have to follow a code of conduct? And this clearly states that they are not allowed to print things that are untrue." So again, that's really, really important for accountability, that we should be able to trust what the media is printing is true because it's really important in a democracy that we can have access to true information.

So let's have a quick check.

Can the Prime Minister tell the media what to print? So is it A, no not in a democracy.

Yes, of course, they're the Prime Minister, or C, sometimes in the run up to an election.

Pause while you have a go at this check.

And it's, no, not in a democracy.

So Laura's asking, "What does transparency mean?" And if you think about the word transparent, and it being clear, that might help you with understanding this.

So in a democracy, the media should be clear, so transparency, clear about who owns media corporations and how they are run.

The media is a type of business.

So it's not owned by the government, it's its own business.

And so citizens should be able to access their terms and conditions, like with any other business.

So if you are accessing the media, you should be clear about who owns that media, who's written that particular piece.

It's really, really important.

So Izzy is saying, "Did you know that Parliament created media ownership rules, limiting how many TV, radio, and newspaper outlets one corporation can own to ensure balanced information for citizens.

So again, really important in making sure that citizens have got a range of different media to access.

It isn't all owned by the same people.

So let's have another check.

Which is the correct explanation for transparency in the media? Is it A, being clear about who owns corporations and how they are run? Is it B, being responsible for telling the truth and correcting mistakes? Or is it C, being free to print information that citizens need and want? And it's A, being clear about who owns corporations and how they are run.

So a free press means that news outlets can report and share information without being controlled or punished by the governments.

We've looked at this term already of free press.

It's really important and it helps people to stay informed and it supports democracy.

So a free press allows for the open sharing of ideas, that collective knowledge and understanding, so making sure that lots of people can get information at once.

Communication with government representatives that are linked to government, but not owned by the government.

That peaceful social change or understanding about things that are going on and working towards changing that.

And also the protection of individual rights by making us aware of potential rights abuses.

So there are three key roles that the media can be seen to have in a democracy.

So firstly, informs and influences the public by providing information that citizens require to make responsible and informed decisions.

We can't be expected to make informed decisions without information, and that's what the media provides in a democracy.

So Izzy is saying, "My older sister, who is a doctor, read an article about health and safety conditions in hospitals.

She then raised the issue from the article with her boss." So this is an example here of somebody that's actually got some information from the media that's given her information she needs about rights in the workplace and how the workplace can be improved.

And then she's used that to be informed and have a conversation with her boss, really important.

Secondly, free press allows for the exchange of ideas and opinions, and it encourages discussion and debate, which is really important in a democracy.

So Andeep is saying, "My family and I were watching a news report about famine in Sudan.

The report was discussing what the UK could do to support.

We all had different ideas and suggestions about what our country should do to help." So in this case here, the media has stimulated that discussion, that deliberate discussion and debate about different things that the UK could do to help.

And that sort of conversation is really important in a democracy.

And thirdly, free press holds those in power to account by performing a checking function, ensuring that elected officials carry out the wishes of the electorate.

Because remember, in a representative democracy, they are representing us, so therefore, it's really important that a free press is there so that the government doesn't interfere with the media.

So it can also be used as that checking function to hold people to account.

So Laura is saying, "I watched a live political debate last night.

The leaders of the different political parties were asked really difficult questions by the live audience and the debate host." So this is an example of the media being used to ask those tricky questions and hold people in power to account, and ask those questions that people want answering.

So let's have a check.

What are the three key roles that the media can be seen to have in a democracy? So there's three missing words.

You've got them below to help you.

So pause, have a read, and try and work out what the missing words are.

So it informs and influences the public, it allows exchange of ideas and opinions, and it holds those in power to account.

Task C, I'd like you to write one paragraph to explain why it is important for the media to inform and educate the electorate within a democracy.

So why is that really important? If possible, try to include the words below, and by including these words, it'll probably help you think to the lesson, what we've looked at and how you can structure and think about your paragraph.

So pause while you have a go at this task.

So your answer might have looked something like this.

"In a democracy, one of the key roles of the media is to ensure that the public are kept up to date with what's going on in society.

This means that they can make informed decisions.

The electorate need to be able to hold their elective representatives to account for the decisions they make and their actions.

The media helps to do this as they check the work of the government.

The media also ensures that those in power are kept informed of public opinion on the important issues of the day, which can then potentially influence policy." So let's look at the summary for this lesson, "What Is the Role of the Media in Our Democracy." So media refers to the different ways that citizens can receive information, and includes print media, broadcast media, and new media.

Democracy refers to when citizens are able to play a part in the government of their country and have a say in decisions that are made.

This includes representative democracy where citizens can vote for people to represent them.

There is a strong relationship between media and democracy.

For example, free press supports democracy by allowing citizens access to information so that they can make their own opinions about topics and find out about the work of the government.

Well done for your hard work on this lesson.

I hope you enjoyed it and I hope that you'll be coming back for more citizenship lessons in the future.