According to historian Thomas Carlyle, in “Heroes and Hero-Worship in History,” British politician, Edmund Burke is one of the people credited with the term “the 4th Estate” when he referred to the reporters who reported on the activities of Parliament in the 1700’s.
Burke said “. . . there were three Estates in Parliament, but in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a fourth Estate more important by far than them all.”
The press, or as it is now called, the media, thanks to President Richard Nixon, has never been fully loved by those in the US government. This is especially true for Presidents, beginning with George Washington and on to at least President Donald Trump, although it now it appears even our current President, who had been treated for the majority of his limited time in office, with kid gloves, is beginning to have the same animosity towards the press.
Today, this animosity of the press has spilled over into the general public. And, for good reason.
But there was a time when the public, not those in government, did trust the media more than it is trusted today. The media may have been more trusted when newspapers arrived on ones doorstep early in the morning and maybe a second edition or a different paper arrived in the afternoon – when people were not obsessed with the news as they are today with our 24 hour news cycle.
Stories were read, radio or television had news programs which could be heard at specific times, but were not constantly bombarding the people all day and all night long.
Somewhere along the way, though, news became entertainment. And, like great entertainers, the act cannot stay the same, the act cannot get stale. The act has to keep changing to retain the audience’s interest. And, as more time became available for the media on TV and later the internet, the media had a financial obligation to keep the audience engaged. Otherwise, the audience would tune them out and move on to another source.
So, what was once considered news has now become scripted entertainment.
Today it is hard to find real news reporting.
There is an old movie, I don’t recall its name, where a corrupt land owner, who appears to be an upstanding citizen and admired by the townspeople, is secretly implementing a plan which will hurt all the townspeople while making him even richer and more powerful. The sheriff and town judge, those in authority, are involved in the land baron’s plan.
But, the owner of the local newspaper becomes suspicious and starts investigating the land baron and those controlling the law even though he receives veiled threats against him and his family if he doesn’t stop his meddling.
In the end, the newspaper owner exposes the plan and saves the town.
I don’t know if those days ever existed, those days where the newspapers and reporters looked for the truth, regardless of who it would impact, or if they were just fictions; movies and novels to entertain.
I do know that if those reporters and media owners do exist today, they are in the minority and hard to find.
The result is, the press, the media, is no longer seen as the investigators for truth. They are seen as the suppliers of information which supports thoughts which others already believe. And this can be seen on both sides of the political spectrum. Each side has its “news” sources which support perceived notions.
Where are those true journalists who seek to find the truth and not seek to find information to support their own biases and thoughts, and the biases and thoughts of their audience?
Another question which needs to be asked is, and maybe the more important one, what happened to those outside the media who once sought truth and used commonsense to figure out when the information being received no longer made sense?
In other words, what happened to the US public that allows it to be so easily swayed to the point it does not question what information is being received as long as it agrees with preconceived ideas?
My simple answer to both the question about the press and about the public is, we got lazy.
For all the greatness of technology, it has caused many to forget how to objectively think; how to use rational thought, and how to vigorously dig for the truth.
If we have an idea and want to find information which will support that idea, all we have to do is to go on the internet and search for information which supports our ideas or thoughts or beliefs.
If we find information which is contrary to our ideas or beliefs, we don’t have to stop and think whether or not that information is reasonable. We can just ignore it and search again until we find supporting information. It’s easy. We have become lazy.
For the most part, these searches for the “truth” are done in a vacuum. They are not done through meeting with others who may have a differing view which may cause us to discuss the other view and get a different perspective. We are no longer meeting with those who think differently.
I remember my first trip to Germany several decades ago, when I went to a restaurant one evening. What I noticed was that the people at the tables around me were talking with each other. I did not see waiters and waitresses scurrying about trying to get meals out as fast as possible so the table could be quickly turned for the next seating. The people seemed to have their table as long as they wanted, and while they sat at the table, the conversation continued.
When I returned home I was asked what impressed me about my trip. My answer was, conversation, in Germany, was not dead. That has probably changed today, but at the time that is what impressed me.
I had, subconsciously, realized conversation in the US was already on the decline.
Unfortunately, technology has exacerbated the decline. We no longer know how to talk, how to converse, how to debate with those who may have a different opinion than our own.
This has also exacerbated the divisions within our society. We no longer converse to bridge the divide.
The loss of an investigative, an inquiring press only cements the divisions and suppresses conversation.
One of the things, in my mind, which can heal the divisions, can stop much of the anger we see on both sides of the political spectrum, is an honest press. One that seeks truth and not financial gain.
I am not sure, however, an honest press is something we can ever bring back.
But, I would hope it can be because we need that watchdog to return.
JustAMan 