A short video can move faster than a phone call to the council. Today you examine one invented case from a small Irish town, called The river video, and work out what different media actually did, what they got wrong, and who was affected either way.

You will read one full account and track three things only:

1. Who used which media, and what they were trying to do.
2. What media made possible that had not happened another way.
3. What media got wrong, and who paid a cost for that.

Open the interactive activity. Read the full account of The river video, then answer the questions in order. Use only what the account says. If you finish the extended answer early, complete the extension task on the same page.

Talk these through as a class. Work in pairs first: each pair prepares one line for the prompt you are given, then share when cold-called. Do not type answers; say them.

• What did media do here that the phone call to the council had not done?
• What did media get wrong, and who paid a cost for that?
• If you had to brief somebody who had not read the account, which three facts would you insist they hear first?

You can now:

• read a media case and track who used which media and why
• separate what media made possible from what media got wrong
• name who was affected, for better and for worse, using evidence from the account

You will meet The river video again when you weigh the evidence and commit to a judgement about the part media played.