“The ‘Fourth Estate’ describes the journalists’ role in representing the interests of ‘the people’ in relation to the business and political elites who claim to be doing things in our names,” wrote Martin Hirst, Associate Professor Journalism & Media at Deakin University. He goes on to say, “Today, governments that claim to act in the “public interest” must face daily scrutiny of their actions. They must be called to account when overstepping the bounds of what citizens will support, or when taking actions that are clearly not in our interests. We rely on journalists and the news media to do this job on our behalf.

“This separation between the people and the state becomes more important when the economic interests of the powerful so frequently dominate society. In our modern world, the interest of ‘the nation’ is no more than the collective interest of those who wield political and economic power. Today, the state is the executive branch of the ruling class. The news media – as the tribune of ‘the people’ – must be constantly on guard and alert to actions of the state, particularly when those actions may harm the interests of citizens.” (more…)