Role of the Media & the Free Press (AQA GCSE Citizenship Studies): Exam Questions

Censorship in China

The Chinese government has long kept a very tight rein on both traditional and new media to avoid potential subversion of its authority. China is run as a one party state. There are no other political parties in China other than the Communist party. What rights that do exist within the Constitution are subject to interpretation by the government and the courts the government appoints.

The government’s tactics often involve strict media controls using monitoring systems and firewalls, closing publications or websites, holding trials and jailing dissident journalists, bloggers, and activists.

Even foreign companies, such as Google, have battled with the Chinese government over the access Chinese citizens have to the Internet and the data companies hold about their customers’ Internet use. The Chinese government also tries to restrict material that is put on the Internet and the ability of their citizens to search for some information

The role of the media in the UK

In autumn 2022, the Daily Star newspaper described the Prime Minister, Liz Truss, as ‘blundering’. Her economic policies had made her very unpopular.

The newspaper’s coverage of Liz Truss compared her to a lettuce. The newspaper created a live feed of this lettuce and said that Liz Truss would resign as Prime Minister before the lettuce wilted. There had been 1.7 million views of the live feed by the time Liz Truss resigned. She was Prime Minister for 49 days.

The Daily Star said the lettuce had outlasted Liz Truss because she had been responsible for ‘the worst spell in charge on record’.

Media responsibilities and the public interest

In January 2022, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, won a court case against a newspaper. The newspaper had published a letter she had sent to her father.

The judge said that her privacy had not been respected because the letter was not of ‘legitimate public interest’.

Meghan Markle said that she had won a victory against newspapers which ‘profit from the lies…they create’.

The newspaper was ordered to publish an apology.

Censorship in the UK

Even though the UK is a democracy, censorship is still used. Where censorship is used in the UK, it is decided by:

• organisations such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), Clearcast and Ofcom

• the UK government

• the UK courts

• the media.

The roles of the media

The media in the UK has several roles. One is to provide entertainment including TV guides, sports news, celebrity gossip and crosswords.

Another role is to run campaigns. Such campaigns will often aim to raise awareness of an issue.

Media campaigns try to create public support for certain issues. The media will then use this public support to justify a demand for change.

An example of such a campaign was the role played by a newspaper in helping to get the organ donor law changed in England.