The media (and more specifically, journalists) are often referred to as The Fourth Estate, a term introduced in 1787 by Edmund Burke. Burke used it during an opening session of the British Parliament, a session that saw the press first permitted to cover the parliament while in session. Burke’s term of the Fourth Estate recognized the traditional Three Estates of The Realm as defined in France, with the First Estate being the clergy, the Second Estate being the nobility, and the Third Estate being the commoners.
As the Fourth Estate gained power, it also started to be viewed as the one “honest” participant in the system. The Clergy, the Nobility, and later the politicians were always viewed with a degree of suspicion, and the average citizen occasionally wondered whether they were being told the truth, or a crafted story to serve the purposes of the estate in question. The Fourth Estate was viewed as independent groups that did not gain from the machinations of the first two estates, and could therefore freely tell the truth.
In time, the media became more than just the printed word as it appeared in newspapers and magazines, starting with the advent of radio early in the 20th century, and later television in the mid 20th century. For television, the golden age of television news was roughly from 1950 to 1975 – a 25-year period where the news was brought to the viewing public by seasoned journalists.
For the most part, these journalists had cut their teeth by providing coverage of the Second World War, and these men and women had a lot of experience determining what was true (and what was not). A few of the names you may remember: Huntley and Brinkley, Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Howard K. Smith, Harry Reasoner, John Chancellor, Lowell Thomas, John Cameron Swayze, John Charles Daly, Frank Reynolds, and Barbara Walters.
However, as these giants faded away, their replacements have, in some cases, been far more concerned about their face than concerned about facts. In addition, many of these anchors have apparently decided that they will use their particular media to serve as their own personal soapbox for reporting their opinions. The problem is that they do not identify these comments as opinions. This problem has become apparent with the coverage being provided over presidential candidate Donald Trump. It has gotten completely out of control. A local Edmonton newspaper is one example. It published a photo of a Baton Rouge police officer speaking at the funeral of one of the department’s officers recently murdered in the tragedy in that city. The paper added the comment to the photo that this event would provide a good opportunity for Trump to condemn the speaker by using one of his typical fascists comments. Now, had the paper known anything about fascism, they would have known that fascists were strong supporters of the police and the military. It’s highly unlikely a fascist would condemn an officer at a funeral for another officer. But, in the paper’s rush to tell us their opinion, they published an article that makes absolutely no sense. Unfortunately, there are many examples of this same media recklessness, each and every day.
It’s to the point where one should not believe what is written, what is spoken or what is viewed. The Fourth Estate, once considered a noble institution, has squandered the good faith we invested in them, and put us in a position where no news is better than the biased, manipulated, and manufactured news we now receive. I realize you have no reason to believe what I’ve just written, but at least I did the courtesy of telling you. This is just my opinion.
Brian McLeod is a St. Albert resident.
