Lesson

Free Press Makes Democracy Work

Students explore the importance of a free press to democracy through recorded conversations with journalists from the United States and South Africa.

Published: May 31, 2017

Last Updated: May 31, 2017

Lesson

Language

English — US

Subject

Civics & Citizenship
History

Grade

8–12

Duration

One 50-min class period

Democracy & Civic Engagement

Overview

This lesson explores the importance of a free press to democracy, through conversation with journalists from the United States and South Africa. The United States is a centuries-old democracy and South Africa made the transition to democracy from apartheid in the early 1990s, but both countries enshrine the right to a free press in their constitutions. “Founding fathers” of both nations emphasized the necessity of a free press: Thomas Jefferson insisted that “our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”¹

Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first freely-elected President, explained that “A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy . . . . It must enjoy the protection of the constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens.”²

Freedom House, an independent organization devoted to human rights and civil liberties, defines a free press as “a media environment where coverage of political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic pressures.”³

In their 2022 assessment of international press freedom, Freedom House classified the press in the United States and South Africa as “free,”⁴ but while both countries are officially committed to press freedom, both have also experienced tensions around the role of the press in their democracies.

This lesson features a podcast interview with Sam Fleming, Director of News and Programming at WBUR, a Boston public radio station; and Judith February, a columnist, political commentator, and civil society advocate in Capetown, South Africa. By listening to the podcast and discussing reflection questions, students explore the essential and reciprocal relationship between a free press and responsible citizenship. Optional extensions offer resources for developing critical media literacy in students.

1Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Dr. James Currie (January 28, 1786) Lipscomb & Bergh 18:ii.
2Address by Nelson Mandela to the International Press Institute Congress, February 14, 1994.
3 “Press Freedom’s Dark Horizon,” Freedom House, accessed May 30, 2017
4“ Freedom of the Press 2016,” Freedom House, accessed May 30, 2017.

What role does free press play in democracy?
What is the relationship between the press and responsible citizenship?

This lesson is designed to fit into one 50-minute class period and includes:

2 activities
1 audio

Preparing to Teach

Mini-Lesson

Explore media bias using recent news coverage of controversial events and help students think about what healthy news habits they want to adopt.

Teaching Strategy

Help students identify and analyze the key characteristics of the three most common types of news articles.

Students in library working on computers

Lesson Plan

Activity 1

Display this quotation from Thomas Jefferson for students to read:

"When the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe. "(1799)

Ask students to paraphrase Jefferson’s words in writing and share it with a partner. Then they should discuss the similarities and differences in how they each understood and paraphrased Jefferson’s ideas.

Discuss the quotation as a class, with special attention to the meaning of each word:

What would Jefferson have meant by the “press”? What groups, organizations, and individuals do we include in the “‘press” today?
What might it mean for the press to be “free”? You may want to refer to the Freedom House definition in the overview to this lesson.
What might Jefferson mean by “all is safe”?
Does Jefferson believe that a free press is all that is needed to make things “safe”? Why might something more be required? What role do citizens play?
Jefferson says that every “man” (today we would say person), must be “able to read.” Is this enough? To find good information and analysis from the press, do citizens need to know anything beyond how to read?

Activity 2

Before playing the interview for students, explain that they’ll be hearing from two journalists, one from the United States and one from South Africa. You may find it helpful to share some context on the US and South Africa provided in the overview to this lesson. As they listen, students can consider how Fleming and February’s words connect to Jefferson’s ideas about the role of the press in democracy.

Discuss the interview and consider asking students any of the following questions:

How are Fleming’s and February’s ideas about the importance of a free press similar to Thomas Jefferson’s? What do they add to your thinking?
What does it mean to say that the media is the “oxygen of democracy”?
What do good journalists do? What are some of their primary responsibilities? How do they relate to those in power?
What do good citizens do when they interact with the media? What does it mean to be a responsible consumer of news? How can the media help people to be better citizens?

Materials and Downloads

Lesson

Defining Democracy

Students brainstorm different definitions of democracy and consider democracy's relationship to their own communities and cultures.

Lesson

Citizen Power Makes Democracy Work

Students explore citizenship, power, and responsibility using the work of civic entrepreneur Eric Liu.

Additional Resources

Lesson

Students create a plan for enacting change on an issue that they are most passionate about using the 10 Questions Framework.

Person holding a sign at a Global climate change strike

Lesson

Students identify strategies and tools that Parkland students have used to influence Americans to take action to reduce gun violence.

Millbrook High School students demonstrate against gun violence outside their school in Frederick County, Va., Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, following a school shooting in which over a dozen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., one week ago. (Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star via AP)

Lesson

Students explore the potential negative impact of images through the social media protest #IfTheyGunnedMeDown and develop a decision-making process for choosing imagery to represent controversial events.

National President of Black Lawyers for Justice, carries a picture of Michael Brown as he leads demonstrators on a march.

Lesson

Students explore how identity impacts our responses to other people and events by examining a cartoon and analyzing an opinion poll from a week after Ferguson.

Lesson

Students examine how identity and biases can impact how individuals interpret images and experience the challenge of selecting images to represent news events, particularly connected to sensitive issues.

People hold hands in prayer in the parking lot of convenience store that was looted and burned after Michael Brown was shot by police in Ferguson, Mo.

Lesson

Students establish a safe space for holding sensitive conversations, before introducing the events surrounding Ferguson, by acknowledging people's complicated feelings about race and creating a classroom contract.

Lesson

Students explore the role of social media in Ferguson, apply information verification strategies to social media posts, and develop strategies for becoming critical consumers and sharers of social media.

Peaceful demonstrators gather in Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death.

Lesson

Students evaluate the differences among news accounts about Ferguson, develop strategies for verifying news and information, and understand the challenges facing journalists as they cover complex, fast-moving events.

Unit

Help students become informed and effective civic participants in today's digital landscape. This unit is designed to develop students' critical thinking, news literacy, civic engagement, and social-emotional skills and competencies.

Peaceful protestor speaks to police officer in Ferguson.

Mini-Lesson

This mini-lesson is a guide for teachers to begin conversations with their students about George Floyd’s death and the events that surround it.

Image of people marching in a protest for George Floyd.

Mini-Lesson

The mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue capped off a week of hate crimes and political violence in the United States. This mini-lesson help teachers and students process the events and reflect on what they mean for them and their communities.

Mini-Lesson

This mini-lesson is designed to help guide an initial classroom reflection on the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol.

More Like This Teaching Resources Learning & Events

Facing History & Ourselves is designed for educators who want to help students explore identity, think critically, grow emotionally, act ethically, and participate in civic life. It’s hard work, so we’ve developed some go-to professional learning opportunities to help you along the way.

Professional Learning

On-Demand

Virtual

Listen to #DisruptTexts founder Julia Torres about taking a critical lens to text selection in ELA classrooms.

Three students at table, working on a project

Professional Learning

On-Demand

Virtual

Listen to writer and educator Dr. Clint Smith as he shares his poetry and reflections on working for justice, equity, and civic agency in our schools.

Professional Learning

On-Demand

Virtual

Explore approaches to centering student voice, building authentic relationships and cultivating community with Molly Josephs, the creator of This Teenage Life, a youth-driven, story-sharing podcast that started as a school club.

More Like This View Upcoming Events View On-Demand Events

Most teachers are willing to tackle the difficult topics, but we need the tools.

— Gabriela Calderon-Espinal, Bay Shore, NY

Search

Search

Free Press Makes Democracy Work