How would you describe the role of journalism in a democracy?

As the primary role of journalism is to act as a watchdog for the government I think journalism plays a very important role in democracy. Not only does it monitor the happenings in the courtroom it draws on the public for support and determines stories by their opinion.

Especially when an election takes place journalists can translate the jargon for the public and ask candidates questions that concern the public the most. Journalism acts as a voice for the people and by doing this mimics the form of democracy itself.