“The Press" as it is called used to be newspapers and
magazines/journals exclusively in print. When the concept of the "4th
Estate" was established it was hundreds of years ago when 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. Burke said, "...there were Three Estates in
Parliament; but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate
more important far than they all." Meaning that the people should know
about the goings on of government and to use the press to hold them
accountable.
This concept was the foundation of our Bill of Rights, in
that the 1st Amendment guarantees freedom of the press; the Founding Fathers
knowing that in a new democracy the right of the people to know about their
government and to hold them accountable was paramount.
Today there is a very different "Press", mainly
because of technological developments far beyond Gutenberg. One thing to keep
in mind is that a legitimate "press" should always question
government about its actions, report those actions to the people, uncover
misdoings of government and hold those and them accountable for their actions.
There are plenty of reasons to hold "opinions"
about politicians and government and to publish those opinions identified as
such. However, the people often see these opinions as news when they are not,
see them as fact when they are not and also see them as bias when they are not.
The internet is full of things that are also associated with
"the press" when they are not. Today any individual or group or
organization can offer up their opinion and make it look like fact. They can
sway their "facts" to represent any type of leaning, accuracy be
damned as long as it gets their view point across and panders to their
audience. It is difficult to weed out the good from the bad, the truth from
fiction. A responsible citizenry should be able to honestly know the
differences, measure the information, seek the truth and act accordingly.
Democracy isn't a one-way street; it takes active participation on everyone's
part.
Always ask questions, hold a contrarian's judgement on the
things that seem not to be right and hold accountable those who would usurp the
right of the people to an open and honest government; this facilitated by an
informed populace aided by a free press.
So, Mr. President, if you don’t want media scrutiny of your
claims and outlandish assertions, like the Inaugural was the biggest ever or
the popular vote was corrupted by fraudulent voting, don’t make those
statements.
Best Regards, ... SF
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