Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Blachford, and I'm a citizenship teacher.

And today I'm going to be your citizenship teacher.

So in our lesson today, you're going to need some equipment.

So you're going to need a pen or pencil and some paper.

I really suggest as well that you find yourself a really quiet environment to work in, somewhere you feel comfortable and know you're not going to be disturbed.

So if you need to pause the video now to do that, please go ahead.

And then just once you feel comfortable and ready to start, press play again.

So in our lesson today, we are going to be looking at the role of the media within a democracy.

And we've got three key questions that we are going to be focusing on.

So we're going to look at what is meant by the media.

What do you mean by democracy? And then finally, we're going to look at the three key roles that the media plays within a democracy.

The first thing we're going to do is look at what it means by the term, the media.

It'd be a good idea to make a note of this key word definition as we go through this.

I'll be checking how well you remember this definition later.

So good idea to make a note of it.

So media is the plural form of a word borrowed directly from Latin.

The singular word is medium, and it developed the meaning of a method or means of expressing something.

It was actually first applied to newspapers about two centuries ago.

This definition here comes from the Cambridge Dictionary.

So you might want to pause and just make a note of that definition now.

In citizenship, we use the term media to refer to the means of communication, such as radio and television, newspapers, magazines, and the internet, that reach or influence people widely.

An example of us using this in a sentence could be a senior civil servant has been disciplined for revealing secret government plans to the media.

Again, because it's important that we've got that shared definition, it would be a good idea to make a note of that key word definition now.

So you might want to pause just for a second.

So you're probably already familiar with the term media, and the different types of media available, but it's also worth considering how we can break this down further into three different types, which we might refer to in citizenship.

So we've got print media, we've got broadcast media, we've got new media.

So print media would include things like books, newspapers, magazines, journals, newsletters.

Broadcast media would include television and radio.

And new media would include websites, blogs, streamed content, social media, podcasts, and mobile apps.

Print media and broadcast media together are sometimes referred to as traditional media, simply because they've been around for quite a long time.

And that helps us distinguish them from the new media that we've listed here.

In today's world, the power and influence of social media are ever increasing.

And many news outlets are relying upon the concept of citizen journalists to gather news and distribute via social media to a worldwide audience.

So, often, if a citizen is at the place where a new story breaks, perhaps a particular event in time, they could be recording that on their mobile phones, for example, and then uploading that content, and news broadcasters and print media might use that content within their reporting.

That's what we mean by a citizen journalist.

Now, as a citizenship student, it's really important that we're aware of where we're getting our information from, and it will be really good practise to look at information from a range of sources, even if it's about the same story, because that would help us to gain a range of perspectives on a particular issue or story.

So what you're going to do now is you're going to complete a task to identify your media consumption.

In other words, where have you got your information from in the last 24 hours? And then we're going to have a think about what that tells us about your media consumption.

So you can see that I've already had a go at mine.

So on the right-hand side of the screen, you can see my media consumption over the last 24 hours.

You can see where I've got my information from.

And again, I try to use a broad range of media outlets to get that information so I can compare the same story across a number of different types of media there.

And again, you can see, I have a balance, I guess, of new media and traditional media, and some of those are traditional media outlets, but using their online apps to get that information, like The Guardian and The Independent, for example.

So I wonder how yours will compare to mine.

I wonder if you use mainly new media or is it mainly traditional media or is it a good balance of both of those? And does it matter? Does it matter where you're getting that information from? I just want you to have a think about those.

You're going to pause the video now.

I'll just remind you, what I'm asking you to do is to group your personal examples of the media that you've consumed in the last 24 hours by the type of media.

And then think about what does that tell you about your media consumption? So pause the video here, and when you've completed your task, you can press play again.

So the second key part of our lesson today is think about what we mean by a democracy.

And I'm sure you've come across this term in other lessons, but it's really important that, as I say, we have good definitions and a shared understanding of what we're talking about as we go through our lesson.

So the word democracy comes from the Greek words, demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning power.

So democracy can be thought of as power of the people, a way of governing which depends on the will of the people.

And this definition comes from the Council of Europe.

We're specifically looking at the role of media in a democracy, so as I say, it's important that we have a shared understanding of what we mean by democracy.

So democracy is a country where the people choose their government.

And actually, we would call this the electorate, the people who choose the government, all those registered to vote, if we're thinking about the UK, we would call it the electorate.

In the UK we have a representative democracy.

So this means that we have elected representatives who would be there representing our views and opinions.

So representatives might include members of parliament members of the Scottish Parliament, members of the Senate, or local counsellors as well.

So let's just pause here and think about some key features of those democracy that we've just gone through.

So you've got three options here, which of these is a key feature of a democracy? Is it option one, the right to vote? Is it option two, removal of human rights? Is it option three, ruled by one person? Or is it option four, inequality? If you chose option one, very well done, it is indeed the right to vote.

All of those others would not be part of a democracy.

Second definition, I guess, here that we started with and see if we can remember, so print media and broadcast media together are sometimes referred to as what? So option one, social media.

Option two, new media.

Option three, free press.

Option four, traditional media.

And well done if you said traditional media at this point.

We would definitely refer to print media and broadcast media together as traditional media, just because they've been around for longer period of time.

Well done.

So we're going to now think about the media in a democracy.

So we've got our two key terms. We can now look at some characteristics and some of the role of the media in a democracy.

So let's start off by thinking about the characteristics of the media in a democracy.

So here are key characteristics.

The first of those is that the media is free.

And when we talk about free, we're not talking about free as in you don't have to pay to buy it.

So if you're buying a print copy of a newspaper that will cost money, so it's not free.

So we're talking about free from interference.

You might sometimes hear this called the free press or the freedom of the press.

And it's a concept that really states that for a free, open and democratic society to exist, the press should be free from political and judicial interference and be able to print the stories that they wish.

Now, clearly, within any society, there needs to be laws to protect individuals from newsprint, newspapers, sorry, printing false stories, but restrictions upon the press should be limited in a democracy.

We want them to be able to talk freely.

The second key characteristic is that they need to be transparent.

So this refers to kind of how the media operates in a democracy.

So it should be clear who owns the individual media, for example, and how that individual media operates.

And then the final key characteristic here is about accountability.

So they need to be accountable.

They should be taking responsibility for their actions.

That means if they make a mistake in a report, then they should apologise and rectify that information.

They should put it right.

The importance of a free press in a democracy.

So the media is sometimes seen as the fourth branch of government.

And that stems really from the belief that the media's responsibility to inform the public is essential to the healthy function of a democracy.

And then this is why we'd say it's so important that they are free from interference from politicians in order that they can print important free information that's free from any interference.

So some of the reasons why they're so important here, so they're able to openly share ideas, they help us to have collective knowledge and understanding.

They allow for communication with government representation, they allow for peaceful social change, and they protect that right to freedom of speech, for example.

So let's just pause here and see if we can complete the sentence, choosing the correct words from those that are at the bottom of the screen there.

So you've got eight words to add to this paragraph to see that it makes sense.

So you're going to pause the video at this point to complete the sentence, choosing the correct words from the bottom of the slide.

And then you can play the video again, once you are finished.

So this is how your sentences should read.

So the media is sometimes referred to as the fourth branch of government.

This is because it's seen as essential to the function of a democracy.

There are three key characteristics of the media in a democracy.

The media should be independent and free from political interference.

The media should be transparent.

For example, the ownership should be clear.

Finally, the media should be accountable for their actions.

I've got a quote here for us now, and this quote was from a Scottish trade unionist, he's an activist politician, and he's also journalist born and governed in Glasgow.

I'd just like you to pause at this point and just have a think about what does he mean? What can we infer from this quote? So the quote says, "The task of the media in a democracy is not to ease the path of those who govern, but to make life difficult for them by constant vigilance as to how they exercise the power they hold in trust from the people." So, for me, this quote just reminds us about how important the role of the media is and how it has to hold those in power to account.

Really scrutinising, really exploring their actions and ensuring that they're acting in the best interests of those who they represent.

So we come round to look at the key roles of the media in a democracy.

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

Informing and influencing the public.

This means that they provide the information which citizens require to make responsible, informed decisions.

Exchanging of ideas and opinions.

So it can encourage discussion and debate.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, holding those in power to account.

So they perform a checking function, ensuring that elected officials carry out the wishes of the electorate.

Remember, electorate are those people who are registered to vote in the UK, for example.

And we're going to look at each of these in turn now.

So let's start with informing and influencing the public.

So the media plays an important role in all our lives.

It impacts on our thoughts and our opinions.

So the fundamental concept here is that for an order, for a democracy to be effective, the electorate, and remember those that are citizens registered to vote in elections, and they also engage in public processes with the government.

They must be informed, so that they can participate freely in public debate, they can make informed decisions, and they're kept aware of the actions of their elected representatives.

The media has a role in informing the public about what's going on and to provide information on complex issues in such a way that they're accessible to us all.

The media also reports on public opinion.

So that gives the government clear messages about what's important to the public and also gives the public an opportunity to raise awareness of issues which are important to them.

So a way of them bringing about change, social change in society.

The second key role is this exchanging of ideas and opinions.

So again, for a democracy to be effective, we need to ensure that debate and discussion is encouraged on the major issues of public concern, and also giving them access to a wide range of opinions and ideas.

It might be that we change our views and opinions by something we read in the media or see on a news broadcast.

We also need to be able to make informed choices and decisions, so taking part in those discussions and debates allows us to do that.

And of course, one of our basic human rights is that everyone has the freedom of expression and the freedom to express their opinions.

So the media helps us to uphold that right in a democracy.

And then we come onto holding those in power to account.

So as we said earlier, the media performs a checking function.

And this is perhaps one of the media's main responsibilities in a democracy.

They scrutinise, they really examine those in positions of power, ensuring that elected officials hold up their oaths of office and campaign promises, and that they carry out the wishes of the electorate.

They also ensure that any mistakes or wrongdoings are exposed, and that those involved are held to account for those actions.

The media is also able to raise awareness of the actions of those in power and ensure that those actions are actually appropriate.

And that's something we'll explore in detail in another lesson.

So we've got a task now on the role of the media.

What I'd like you to do now is to write a paragraph, to explain why it's important for the media to inform and educate the electorate.

Your added challenge is to see if you can include all of the key words at the bottom of this page.

So really good luck with that.

You've got eight key words to try and include.

You've got democracy, scrutinise, electorate, informed, account, government, decisions, and opinion.

So pause the video now, and you can write your paragraph to explain why it's important for the media to inform and educate the electorate.

And then you can press play again once you're finished.

So here's the paragraph that I wrote using those keywords.

Let's see if it's something similar to yours.

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

This means that they can make informed decisions.

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

The media helps to do this as they scrutinise the government and others in positions of power.

The media also ensures that those in power are kept informed of public opinion on the important issues of the day.

So, well done if you managed to use all of those key words in your paragraph.

So I hope you've enjoyed the lesson and found the tasks interesting and insightful.

You've now completed all the tasks.

So these are the three things I'd like you to just check to make sure that you can do these.

So can you define what is meant by the media? Can you define what we mean by democracy? And can you explain the three key roles that the media holds within a democracy? Thank you very much for taking part in the lesson today.

It's been really wonderful being able to work with you.

Now, if you're able to, could you please take a picture of your work and ask your parent or carer to share it with your teacher so they can see all the fantastic things that you've been learning about today.

And if you'd like to, ask your parent or carer to send a picture of your work to @OakNational on Twitter, and then I'd be able to see all of your work from today too.

That'd be really fantastic.

A massive well done.

Don't forget now to go off and complete the exit quiz, and really good luck with that.

So all that's left for me to say is thank you for joining me today.

Take care and enjoy the rest of your learning for today.