Fourth Branch of Government - The Press

The Press

The concept of the media or press as a fourth branch stems from a belief that the news media's responsibility to inform the populace is essential to the healthy functioning of the democracy. The phrase "Fourth Estate" may be used to emphasize the independence of the press particularly when this is contrasted with the press as a "fourth branch".

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Famous quotes containing the word press:

    On leaf of palm, on sedge-wrought roll;
    On plastic clay and leathern scroll,
    Man wrote his thoughts; the ages passed,
    And lo! the Press was found at last!
    John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)

    It is in the nature of allegory, as opposed to symbolism, to beg the question of absolute reality. The allegorist avails himself of a formal correspondence between “ideas” and “things,” both of which he assumes as given; he need not inquire whether either sphere is “real” or whether, in the final analysis, reality consists in their interaction.
    Charles, Jr. Feidelson, U.S. educator, critic. Symbolism and American Literature, ch. 1, University of Chicago Press (1953)