Chapter 9 Activities

Activity 1: Create a poster assessing the UK media landscape

Learning objective: To evaluate the UK media landscape and assess the extent to which the media promote particular agendas

Suitable for: Individual work

You will need:

To have read Blick, A. (2021), UK Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 9
A piece of A3 paper or access to a presentation programme such as Microsoft PowerPoint

Outline of activity:

On an A3 piece of paper or using a presentation programme such as Microsoft PowerPoint, create a poster assessing the UK media landscape.

Your poster should have sections dedicated to the following types of media:

Tabloid newspapers (e.g. The Sun, Daily Mirror)
Middle market newspapers (e.g. Daily Mail, Daily Express)
Broadsheet newspapers (e.g. Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, Financial Times)
News magazines (e.g. The Economist, New Statesman, The Spectator)
TV news / public radio (e.g. BBC TV, BBC Radio, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News)
Commercial radio (e.g. LBC, TalkRadio, Times Radio)
Social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
Communications from political parties

In each section, add information regarding:

How many people – and, if you can find data, which type of people – consume information from these sources
How communication from this type of source is regulated
How trustworthy you think the source is
How biased or impartial you think the type of source is (e.g. do they over-represent or promote particular points of view)
How accurate you think information from each source is

Need some help? Why not refer to sections 9.2 and 9.3 of the book?

Answer guidance:

Consider these questions:

From which types of source do you think people get information and news about politics?
Are traditional forms of communication more trustworthy than new forms of communication?
Which do you think are the most important sources of news and political information?
How does the nature of regulation differ between types of communication?

Activity 2: Critically assess opinion polls and petitions as a means of understanding public opinion

Learning objective: To evaluate the value of opinion polls and petitions as a means of understanding public opinion

Suitable for: Individual work

You will need:

To have read Blick, A. (2021), UK Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 9
Access to the internet
An A4 piece of paper or access to word-processing software such as Microsoft Word

Outline of activity:

Using the internet, find a recently published opinion poll on a political subject and an e-petition.

On an A4 piece of paper or, if using your computer, in a word-processing document, critically analyse both and make a judgment about how valuable a means of communicating public opinion they are.

Need some help? Why not refer to sections 9.2.4 and 9.3.3 of the book? Websites of opinion polling companies such as Ipsos MORI, Opinium, Populus, Survation, and YouGov are useful sources of opinion polls. To find a petition, use Parliament’s petitions website.

Answer guidance:

When analysing the opinion poll, consider the following questions:

How was the poll carried out (e.g. online, telephone, or face-to-face)?
Who was interviewed? How many people were interviewed?
When did the opinion poll take place?
Who commissioned the poll?
What questions were asked? Were there any questions which were not asked, but seem important?
How were the questions framed? Could they considered to be biased or leading?
How was the poll reported? In which media outlets was it reported?
What value does the opinion poll have?

When analysing the e-petition, consider the following questions:

How many people have signed the petition?
When was the petition created?
Where are the people who have signed the petition from?
How is the petition worded? Could it be considered biased or leading?
Has the petition been reported on in the media? Has it been debated in Parliament? Has it received a response from the Government?
What value does the petition have?

Activity 3: Analyse data on voting behaviour from recent general elections

Learning objective: To understand factors that help determine public opinion

Suitable for: Individual work

You will need:

To have read Blick, A. (2021), UK Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 9
Access to the internet
Access to spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel

Outline of activity:

Using the internet, find demographic voting estimates for the 2019, 2017, 2015, 2010, and 2005 general elections. These will be published by opinion polling companies such as Ipsos MORI and YouGov.

Using spreadsheet software, create tables and charts looking at how different sections of society have voted in recent elections.

Within your analysis, make sure to look at differences according to: gender, age, social class, education level, ethnicity, and housing tenure.

Need some help? Why not refer to section 9.2.4 of the book? Refer to the website of companies such as Ipsos MORI and YouGov too.

Answer guidance:

Consider the following questions:

How has the voting behaviour of different groups within society changed over time?
Which demographic factors appear to be most influential in determining voting behaviour? Have these changed over time?
Why might the voting behaviour of particular groups in society remain constant or change? How can this be linked to communication?

Activity 4: Create an essay plan for the question: “How influential is the print media in shaping the political agenda today?”

Learning objective: To evaluate the agenda setting role of the print media in contemporary politics

Suitable for: Individual work

You will need:

To have read Blick, A. (2021), UK Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 9

Outline of activity:

Create an essay plan for the question: “How influential is the print media in shaping the political agenda today?”

Make notes on what you would include in each paragraph of your essay, making sure to include all sides of the argument.

Need some help? Why not refer to section 8.3.3 of the book?

Answer guidance:

Consider the following questions:

How influential in shaping the political agenda have the print media traditionally been?
What factors might affect how influential the print media are today?
Who else might be responsible for shaping the political agenda?
To what extent does the regulation of the media in the UK impact on the print media’s ability to shape the political agenda?
Are there any particular forms of print media that you think are more influential than others? If so, which ones? And why do you think they are more influential?

Activity 5: Debate the statement: “The internet and modern communication methods have undermined democracy in the UK. Discuss.”

Learning objective: To create an argument about the consequences of the internet and modern communication methods for the democratic system of the UK

Suitable for: Pair or group work

You will need:

To have read Blick, A. (2021), UK Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Chapter 9

Outline of activity:

With a partner or in a group, hold a debate regarding the statement: “The internet and modern communication methods have undermined democracy in the UK. Discuss.”

One side should argue the case that modern communication methods have undermined democracy in the UK. The other side should argue the case that they have not undermined democracy in the UK.

Take 10-15 minutes to make notes in support of your case. Each side then has up to five minutes to outline their case before the other responds.

Need some help? Why not refer to section 9.3.4 of the book?

Answer guidance:

Consider the following questions:

In what ways have the internet and modern communication methods improved democracy in the UK?
In what ways have the internet and modern communication methods undermined democracy in the UK?
What impact have the internet and modern communication methods had on elections in the UK?
How have the internet and modern communication methods impacted the ways in which politicians and political parties communicate to the public? Have they served to improve or worsen this?
How have the internet and modern communication methods impacted the ways in which the public can communicate about politics? Have they served to improve or worsen this?
How have the internet and modern communication methods impacted the ways in which the public are informed about politics?