The Fourth Estate and Politics in Australia

Based off the Politics and the Media lectures given by Dr Ian Ward at the University of Queensland, St Lucia

“Freedom of speech is the life blood of democracy.”

   - Finklestein Report (2007)

The Fourth Estate is a phrase not commonly known to many, but is a crucial part of the history of journalism.

But what is the Fourth Estate? Simply put, it’s the media. It’s journalists.  It's us.

The concept of ‘Estates General’ originated in the 1300’s, but is most well known for the series of meetings held in France leading up to and sparking the French Revolution. The ‘Estates General’ originally consisted of three groups: the First Estate, the clergy; the Second Estate, the nobility; and the Third Estate, commoners, or the proletariat. The Fourth Estate wasn’t even mentioned. The coining of the phrase as a reference to the press is attributed to Edmund Burke in the 18^th Century. According to legend, Burke looked upon the three estates before him in parliament, but then saw the press gallery above them, and told his colleagues that before them stood the Fourth Estate, one more important   than all the others gathered before them.

The media is a crucial element in the running of society. The news helps form our opinions on our day-to-day world, affecting what brands we use, who we vote for, even what we think. The media shapes the messages the world puts before us. The media is also an integral part of the Australian political system also, as it is through the media that politicians broadcast their messages to us. But the media doesn’t just broadcast the messages given to them, like they might when told to advertise a brand of cereal. The media shapes these messages, and the people presenting them, in ways that impact how the viewer perceives them. In this way the media can be seen as an active political participant.

We realise that the media has such a dramatic affect on our lives and the political process, on democracy itself, when we try to imagine a world without it. How would you find out a politician’s policies? How would you know if a closed-door ballot was in session? Without the media’s intervention, we are blind, unless we follow around our local politician 24/7. Fortunately, we do have journalists to do that for us. Thus, we can see that the Fourth Estate is, as Burke put it, more important than the others. We know it is because it shapes and educates the opinions of the other Three Estates.

But the Fourth Estate does more than just join in the political jostling and jousting: it acts as a watch dog to events, and over the entire political process.  By political process I should make it clear I’m not just talking about politicians and their spin, I’m also talking about the government itself, from it’s legislative branch, the politicians; to the executive and judicial branches, the police and lawyers. The Fourth Estate acts as guardian, competition and watchdog to all of these, ensuring some measure of transparency and accountability. Most importantly, the Fourth Estate is a champion of the people it serves. It may be an idealistic notion, but it is important to remember that we as (future) journalists are the voice of the people and an integral part of the political process.

Saheb Haritha 2010, Why Media & Press Are Called the ‘Fourth Estate’, Accessed: 9/3/2012. Available at: http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100530070147AA2SloI  

Wikipedia, 2012, Estates of the Realm, Accessed: 9/3/2012. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estates_of_the_realm#Second_Estate  

Wikipeida 2012, Fourth Estate, Accessed: 9/3/2012. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Estate