What is the role of the media in a democracy?
I can explain why the media is important in a democracy and how the media informs and educates us.
What is the role of the media in a democracy?
I can explain why the media is important in a democracy and how the media informs and educates us.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Democracy allows the people to rule and vote in free and fair elections.
- The media has three main roles: setting the agenda, informing and educating, and holding people accountable.
- The media encourages public debate, gives everyone a voice and reveals the truth, especially during elections.
- By sharing key events and running campaigns, the media raises awareness of important issues.
- The media encourages active participation in democracy and keeps us informed about what is happening around the world.
Keywords
Media - forms of communication like radio, television, newspapers, magazines and the internet, that reach or influence people
Democracy - a system of government in which citizens vote in regular, fair elections for representatives who then make laws and decisions on their behalf
Common misconception
The media doesn’t play a role in democracy and simply reports what the Government tells it.
The media has an important role in democracy. It sets the agenda by choosing which issues to focus on, helping inform and educate the public. This means the media, not the Government, decides which stories are highlighted and discussed.
To help you plan your year 8 citizenship lesson on: What is the role of the media in a democracy?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 8 citizenship lesson on: What is the role of the media in a democracy?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 citizenship lessons from the How does the media affect us? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
privacy
discrimination
neutral
Exit quiz
6 Questions
the public can understand.
they can make informed choices.
discuss and debate issues.