In many circles, the term ‘Fourth Estate’ is used to describe the media – the watchdogs of a representative democracy. Originally, it referred directly to print media, although it has now come to represent all forms of news media.
Historical Context
In historical England, people were traditionally divided into three estates for the purpose of politics and government. The first estate consisted of the Lords Spiritual: members of the House of Lords with an ecclesiastical position. The second was the Lords Temporal: members without ecclesiastical office, whilst the third was made up by the commoners.
However, British politician Edmund Burke is attributed with coining a Fourth Estate – the media. It was judged that the media play a constitutional role in helping the public functions of a representative democracy – being a primary channel of communication regarding political matters.
The Ideal Fourth Estate
Ideally, the Fourth Estate has three primary roles – to remain independent of government control, scrutinize government activities, and provide an arena for people to enter into public debate.
By remaining independent of government control, the media ensures political news is not censored or limited by personal bias. Since politicians rely on the media as a channel of communication with individual citizens, a media slant would easily influence the perception of a party, and could subsequently sway the outcome of an election.
At the same time, the media must work to scrutinize government activities, informing the public about political actions, and holding decision makers to account. The media's role in analysing reports tabled in parliament, covering and background candidates, and reporting on the doings of government departments, are all central to public understanding of policy issues and the political process. A lack of information results in a lack of accountability – giving the government absolute power.
The Fourth Estate should also provide an arena for people to enter into public debate. If the general public are well-informed, they are then able to respond to political actions. Such responses could include voting, boycotting, lawful demonstrations, talk-back radio, letters to the editor, public submissions, opinion polls and reader panels.
However, public debate and opinion is dependent on the media fulfilling its other two roles, since people must be fully informed in order for public debate to work at its full capacity.
The Fourth Branch
To contrast this, America has coined the term 'Fourth Branch' to describe the media and other specialised interest groups.
It acts as a contrast to the independence of the Fourth Estate, where the Fourth Branch is a means of influencing political proceedings. Essentially, it illustrated how 'government by the people' and the independence of the press have become less legitimate over recent years, and that the media now acts as another branch of government.
Clearly, the Fourth Estate should maintain an ideal balance between reporting Parliamentary activities and public opinion, while remaining independent of government control - building the foundations of representative politics. However, whether this is truly the case in contemporary democracy is another story.
Gaylene Hill - Gaylene works in the communications industry and is a regular writer, who enjoys the thrill of crafting the 'perfect sentence'. When not ...
Join the Conversation