the fourth estate
Journalists as collective
The fourth estate is the press—journalists and news media collectively, viewed as a political force alongside the traditional three estates of government or society.
The term suggests that journalism wields power comparable to official institutions: A free press is the fourth estate, essential to democracy.
The phrase often appears in discussions of media's role as watchdog over government and powerful interests.
- watchdogGuard or monitor
- public interestSocietal welfare and benefit
- democracyRule by the people
- reportingConveying documented information
- newspapersPrinted daily publications
front page · breaking news · news cycle · public opinion · bias · spin doctors · broadcasting · magazines · digital media · fact-checking · pamphleteering · checks and balances · press freedom · media ethics · whistleblowing · transparency · muckraking · misinformation
the fourth estateintelligence agencies
Government surveillance and espionage organizations