What is the role of the media in a democracy?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain why the media is important in a democracy and how the media informs and educates us.
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.
Teacher tip
You could show pupils evidence of what the media's role is in non-democratic countries so that they can compare how democracy impacts the media.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.We expect the media to act with no __________ benefit.
Q2.What should journalists and the media help us to do?
Q3.Order the name of this document that outlines the rules that the media must follow.
Q4.What sort of information should the media NOT provide?
Q5.Match the start of the sentence with its ending.
Q6.What does OFCOM stand for?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Democracy in the UK means that we are able to have free and elections.
Q2.Which of these is not a main role of the media?
Q3.The right to vote is known as ...
Q4.Some news outlets openly support a political party, which influences what they publish. What are these links called?
Q5.Match the start of the sentence with its ending.
Q6.The media should give us information about important events, like the of King Charles III.
To help you plan your 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 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.