Working on some ideas for a project, in light of recent posts and comments by journalists about the lack of integrity in the media e.g. using fake photos, slanted quotes, misdirected and influenced reporting. In the horrible years of apartheid in South Africa, the media was often abused by intelligence agencies of the regime to cast negative aspersions on liberation movements and figures. To quote one such former intelligence operative, he tried to justify the activities before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission - Putting a unique spin to the old liberation motto no normal sport in an abnormal society, he said he had believed there could be no normal journalism in an abnormal society. Is this practice gone and dead in our new democracy? The Fourth Estate is a societal or political force or institution whose influence is not consistently or officially recognized. Fourth Estate most commonly refers to the news media; especially print journalism or the press. Thomas Carlyle attributed the origin of the term to Edmund Burke, who used it in a parliamentary debate in 1787 on the opening up of press reporting of the House of Commons of Great Britain. Access to information is essential to the health of democracy for at least two reasons. First, it ensures that citizens make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation. Second, information serves a checking function by ensuring that elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and carry out the wishes of those who elected them. The Fourth Estate plays such an important role in the fortunes of political candidates and issues. This is where the role of the media can become controversial. News reporting is supposed to be objective, but journalists are people, with feelings, opinions and preconceived ideas. A clever choice of words can make things seem different than they are. For instance, during the Vietnam War, the Defense Department of the United States used many misleading phrases in news reports. Instead of forced transfer of civilians they said relocation, and instead of lies they said elements in the credibility gap. By using carefully chosen phrases, the Defense Department made their war efforts seem less harmful to the people in the United States. They arent vouchers, they are opportunity scholarships; its not tax cuts, its tax relief. The influence of the mass media affects politics greatly. The publics point of view is changed by the way the news is reported. Is our Fourth Estate still okay?
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 07:40:42 +0000
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