by Ligimat Pérez, Media Literacy and User Education team, Coimisiún na Meán
Media Matters is a ten‑part media literacy series running from February to November 2026 in The Primary Planet magazine, one of Ireland’s leading educational magazines. The series is a collaboration between Coimisiún na Meán and News Mag, publisher of The Primary Planet and other children’s school magazines.
The series supports 4th–6th class pupils and their teachers as they explore key themes in media literacy and build essential skills for questioning, understanding and navigating an increasingly complex media world.
Each module contains a full lesson and a teacher resource pack designed to introduce essential media literacy concepts into classrooms in an engaging, practical way.
The opening module, What Is Media?, provides a practical foundation to media in all its forms, the influence it can have on people’s beliefs and opinions, media ownership and critical thinking skills necessary to approach media content in a safe manner.
It encourages critical awareness by introducing Stop, Think, Check as a key formula to fight disinformation and by exploring how media is made. It guides pupils to examine the choices behind headlines, images and videos and to ask questions such as: Why was this made? Who created it? What message are they trying to send? It also introduces the role of Coimisiún na Meán as Ireland’s media regulator.
The following modules will explore in more depth topics such as media ownership and representation, disinformation, AI, and rights and rules in the digital world, with the objective of facilitating a better understanding of how media works and equipping students with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate the online world in a safe and confident way.
The content is fully aligned with the new SPHE curriculum framework. The Primary Planet is widely used in classrooms nationwide, recognised for its engaging style and strong connection to the curriculum.
As part of this collaboration, digital versions of every module – including the first module, What Is Media?– are available free of charge on the publisher’s website, with full access to follow on Coimisiún na Meán’s website after the series concludes.
As Ireland’s media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán works to promote and support media‑literacy initiatives that help people navigate a complex media landscape and make informed choices. This partnership with News Mag is part of the work of the Media Literacy and User Education team, which helps children build the essential skills they need to explore the media world safely and confidently.
For more information on media literacy initiatives supported by Coimisiún na Meán, visit www.cnam.ie.
