Short answer: The media theme rewards precise words such as sensationalism, disinformation, impartial and scrutiny. Each one replaces a vague phrase - 'shocking stories', 'fake news', 'fair', 'attention' - with an accurate, less common item, and that precision is exactly what lifts your Lexical Resource band and signals higher-band control.
The media appears constantly in IELTS - from press freedom and social networks to advertising, fake news and the influence of television.
Because Writing Task 2 and Speaking Part 3 return to it so often, its vocabulary can be prepared in advance, and a candidate who writes disinformation and impartial reporting instead of 'lies' and 'fair news' reads at once as a higher-band user of English.
This guide gives you 30 genuine Band 7+ media words, each with the collocation that makes it usable and a correct example sentence.
Why topic vocabulary lifts your Lexical Resource band
In both Writing and Speaking, Lexical Resource is one of four assessment criteria, each carrying equal weight, so it accounts for a full quarter of your mark on those papers.
The public band descriptors state that Band 7 uses 'less common lexical items with some awareness of style and collocation' - precisely the kind of accurate, topic-specific language that a predictable subject like the media lets you rehearse rather than improvise under pressure.
Accuracy matters more than decoration, though. A less common word dropped into the wrong collocation - writing 'make a propaganda' or 'a big censorship' - reads as reach without control and can pull your band down rather than up.
That is why every entry below is paired with the words it naturally travels with. For a structured month of building this vocabulary across topics, follow our 30-day vocabulary plan.
30 Band 7+ Media words
Read down the table for each word's meaning, then across to its natural collocation and an example that shows the word doing the job it would do in a real answer.
| Word | Meaning | Collocation / common usage | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| mass media | the channels that communicate to very large audiences | the mass media, dominate the mass media | The mass media shape public opinion on almost every major issue of the day. |
| broadcast | to transmit a programme by radio or television | broadcast live, broadcast a programme | The debate was broadcast live to millions of viewers across the country. |
| coverage | the reporting of an event or subject by the media | media coverage, extensive coverage | The election received extensive coverage across newspapers and television alike. |
| sensationalism | the presentation of stories in a shocking way to attract attention | resort to sensationalism, tabloid sensationalism | Serious reporting is often crowded out by sensationalism designed to sell copies. |
| tabloid | a popular newspaper with short, often sensational stories | the tabloid press, a tabloid headline | The tabloid press tends to prioritise celebrity gossip over serious analysis. |
| bias | a tendency to favour one side unfairly | political bias, media bias | Readers increasingly complain of political bias in the coverage they consume. |
| propaganda | biased or misleading information used to promote a cause | spread propaganda, state propaganda | Authoritarian governments use state propaganda to control public opinion. |
| censorship | the suppression of speech or information deemed unacceptable | impose censorship, government censorship | Strict censorship prevents journalists from reporting on official corruption. |
| correspondent | a journalist who reports from a place or on a subject | a foreign correspondent, a political correspondent | The channel's foreign correspondent filed a report from the conflict zone. |
| editorial | an article giving a publication's official opinion | an editorial, the paper's editorial line | The newspaper's editorial urged the government to reconsider the policy. |
| circulation | the number of copies of a publication that are sold | boost circulation, a falling circulation | Print newspapers have seen their circulation fall sharply in the digital age. |
| misinformation | false information spread regardless of intent to deceive | spread misinformation, tackle misinformation | Social media platforms struggle to curb the spread of misinformation online. |
| disinformation | false information spread deliberately to deceive | a disinformation campaign, deliberate disinformation | The report exposed a coordinated disinformation campaign ahead of the vote. |
| clickbait | sensational online content designed to attract clicks | clickbait headlines, rely on clickbait | Many websites rely on clickbait headlines that rarely match the actual story. |
| viral | circulated rapidly and widely online | go viral, a viral video | A single viral video can now reach more people than a national broadcast. |
| influencer | a person who shapes opinion through social media | a social media influencer, brand influencers | Companies pay influencers to promote their products to younger audiences. |
| algorithm | the set of rules a platform uses to decide what users see | a recommendation algorithm, the platform's algorithm | The platform's algorithm decides which posts each user is most likely to see. |
| echo chamber | an environment in which one meets only agreeing opinions | an echo chamber, trapped in an echo chamber | Personalised feeds can trap users in an echo chamber of like-minded opinion. |
| defamation | the act of damaging a reputation with false statements | sue for defamation, a defamation case | The politician threatened to sue the newspaper for defamation. |
| libel | a published false statement that harms a reputation | commit libel, a libel lawsuit | The magazine was found guilty of libel after printing the false allegation. |
| scrutiny | close and critical examination | public scrutiny, come under scrutiny | Public figures must accept that their conduct will come under intense scrutiny. |
| impartial | not favouring one side; unbiased | impartial reporting, remain impartial | A public broadcaster is expected to provide impartial reporting of the news. |
| pundit | an expert who gives opinions publicly in the media | a political pundit, television pundits | Television pundits offered competing interpretations of the result. |
| watchdog | a person or body that monitors and exposes wrongdoing | act as a watchdog, a press watchdog | A free press acts as a watchdog on those who hold power. |
| gatekeeper | someone who controls what information reaches the public | act as gatekeepers, editorial gatekeepers | Editors once acted as gatekeepers, deciding which stories the public would see. |
| paywall | a barrier requiring payment before content can be read | behind a paywall, introduce a paywall | Much quality journalism now sits behind a paywall that not everyone can afford. |
| syndicate | to sell material for publication by many different outlets | syndicate a column, a syndicated article | The columnist's work is syndicated to newspapers around the world. |
| sound bite | a short, striking extract from a longer statement | a memorable sound bite, reduce to a sound bite | Complex policies are too often reduced to a single memorable sound bite. |
| scoop | an exclusive news story reported before rivals | land a scoop, an exclusive scoop | The young reporter landed a scoop that every rival paper had missed. |
| conglomerate | a large corporation that owns many separate businesses | a media conglomerate, a global conglomerate | A handful of media conglomerates own most of the world's major outlets. |
How to turn these words into marks
Learn each word inside its collocation rather than on its own: memorising bias alone helps little, but 'media bias' and 'come under scrutiny' give you ready-made phrases you can use without a grammar risk.
Use one or two precise items per paragraph where they genuinely fit - accuracy earns more than a parade of impressive nouns you cannot control.
To make the words active, meet them again in the media reading practice and drill a word a day with the Word Coach.