A Reasearch of the Media as Fourth Estate of the Realm in Society
Contents
• An Analysis of the Media as Fourth Estate of the Realm in Society
• Introduction
• What is Democracy?
• The History of “Estate of the Realm”
• Agenda Setting Theory
• PRIMING
• Framing Theory
• Conclusion
• References
1.1 Introduction
The political structure of many societies is now, more than ever, moving towards democracy- a system of Government that supports governance of the people, by the people and for the people. Democracy would, however, only remain a mirage until the freedom of the press is guaranteed since the media or press, usually referred to as the fourth estate of the realm, remain one of the most vital channels through which the provisions made for the freedom of expression and access to information, which are seen as fundamental human rights, are guaranteed. The mass media are often seen as fulfilling the vitally important role of fourth estate, the guardians of democracy and defenders of the public interest.
Liberal theorists argue that the existence of a free and independent press within each nation or political system is essential to the process of democratization as they contribute to the right of freedom of expression, thought and conscience and the strengthening of the responsiveness and accountability of Governments to all citizens bringing about good governance and human development.
The power of the press comes from its ability to withhold or give out information (McQuail, 2010: 168). In other words, the role of giving accurate information to the Nigerian citizenry is one of the major roles of the Nigerian Mass Media. The role of the mass media as the “fourth estate” of the realm implies that the media is also a lawmaker in itself. How? The agenda setting theory of the media will be discussed with reference to this. However, for the Media to become a true fourth estate of the realm, a society where democracy strives will provide enabling environment for this to be achieved. The media and democracy thus go hand in hand to making the role of the media as the fourth estate of the realm to be effective.
1.2 What is Democracy?
Democracy is a political system in which the people of a country rule through any form of Government they choose to establish. In modern democracies, supreme authority is exercised by representatives elected by popular suffrage where the people vote for persons to represent their interests in Government. In this case, there are elections whereby persons or members of the public cast their votes for a candidate to represent their interests in Government, with the candidate with majority of votes cast being the winner of the election and the representative of the people. These representatives are principally responsible to the citizens or people who are referred to as the electorate, putting power in the hands of the electorate who could impeach any representative found lacking in his or her assignment.
Democracy engenders practices such as the rule of law, checks and balances and the freedom of expression and association ensuring that there is accountability and transparency at all the three levels or arms of Government which are the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. These three arms of Government are all a part of the Government still creating a gap between them and their followers and so to ensure adequate accountability, there is need for an external independent body serving as a form of check and balance for the three arms of government. The media therefore serves as the fourth arm of Government performing the duty of society’s watchdog and ensuring the government’s accountability to the people and also at the same time ensuring the participation of the governed in the process of governance. However, for democracy to be fully actualized, the role of the media cannot be made light of as the mass media serves as the link between the government and the governed taking over the public sphere or public space and creating a platform for communication and development.
1.3 The History of “Estate of the Realm”
Thomas Caryle, a 19th century historian attributed the use of the “estate of the realm” to Edmund Burke. Edmund Burke was an Anglo-Irish political theorist and statesman and was famous for the quote “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. He saw the importance of the Press in the medieval era. (Gentzkow, 2006:187)
Burke said there were three estates in parliament: The Lords Spiritual, the Lords Temporal and the Commons. However, Burke emphasized that the “reporters’ gallery” was far more important than the earlier listed, and thus, referred to the “reporters” as the Fourth Estate of the realm.
For Carlyle (1899:139), Fourth Estate is not a figure of speech or a literal fact. During the medieval era, the fourth estate was also referred to as the press because the press was the only prevalent form of media prior to the coming of television and radio. For Carlyle, Printing is equivalent to democracy. In other words, printing is democracy. The rights of people in choosing their leaders is greatly affected by what is said in the press or carried by newspapers. Carlyle’s point of view is still prevalent today. Some media theories will be explained below to justify the role of the media as the fourth estate in society.
1.4 Theories of the Media
A theory is an abstract system of concepts and their relationships that help us to understand a phenomenon (Turner &West, 2010: 46). In other words, a theory helps us to understand what is going on and why such an issue is going on. There are many theories that exist in the world today, especially with regards to communication.
