Unit 9 – Teachers’ handout 1: media in democracies

Background material for teachers

In a democracy, the media are on the side of the people and the truth. Facts are presented objectively and comprehensively. Opinions and judgments are explicitly marked (through a clear distinction between message and comment, for example), as is information about which one has no known facts or about which one can only make assumptions.

Moreover, there is a diversity of media, and this leads to the provision of complementary informa­tion, as well as to the possible correction of one media source by another. Thus, the media user should be able to get balanced information on which to base his or her own opinions.

In a dictatorship, however, media are on the side of the rulers(s). The media support the power base and politics of the ruler(s) by using propaganda techniques (such as omitting information, forging information, or by emotionalising information, etc.).

However, the opposite can also be true. An analysis of the media in a country can also indicate whether one lives in a democracy or not. Freedom of opinion and the freedom of the press are of primary importance in a democracy: without these there is no democracy or full enjoyment of human rights. Moreover, in the past, the media has led to a number of “success stories” in the area of human rights. More than once media releases, television interviews or other visual messages have led to the freeing of people imprisoned for political reasons; and more than once people have sent SMS mes­sages using their mobile phones in order to warn others about an imminent catastrophe.

Everybody is alarmed, therefore, when a consolidation of the mass media takes place in a democracy. This generally means that all media report an event in the same way, even though there may well be different opinions and judgments about this event.

Thanks to the protests and publications of a few critical individuals, one is sometimes still able to obtain balanced information and there is a chance that such consolidation of the media can occasionally be unmasked. The majority of citizens can only use the consolidated mass media, however, and the effect of this should not be underestimated.

Media also bears responsibility for the information it disseminates: can a journalist be sure that what he or she is reporting is true? Is their critical attitude justif ed or do they just want to be the first to report a “scandal”?

Using media also means exercising power. Whoever records pictures or sounds and publishes them should do so with a great sense of responsibility, and needs to be aware of his or her signif cance in a democracy.