Activity 13: The importance of free press

Hitler’s government controlled all the press in Nazi Germany.  Newspapers and radio broadcasts were a major tool of Nazi propaganda. 

In the UK today we have what is described as a 'free press’. 

National newspapers are owned and controlled by different companies not by the government.  They express different opinions on news stories and have varying political allegiances.

• Choose a major news event and cut out articles on it that appear in a selection of national newspapers on one day.  Make sure to include one broadsheet and one tabloid paper. 
• What differences do you see in the way that the event is reported?
• How do the headlines compare?
• Can you sense a different political angle on the story?
• Why do you think it is important to have a free press that is not controlled by the government?
• What restrictions are placed in the UK on the ways in which newspapers report events?  For example, find out about the role of the D notice committee in matters of National Security.