Thursday September 6 The Role of the Press in Society

Now what?  We begin the course. 

Coming up: your signed criteria sheet is due next Wednesday, September 12. This counts in the homework category. In order to receive full credit or 100 points, make sure to turn the sheet in on time. After Wednesday, you will receive only 50 points. 

In class today: read the following material on the six estates of society; then answer the five questions that follow. Make sure your responses are in complete sentences, that text is woven in as needed and that have checked for language convention errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation.) You should have no difficulty in finishing this in class. Anyone who receives extended time, please submit by midnight. (share with 2006630@rcsd121.org)r

So where does journalism fall within society? Take a look at the chart below. The top three should be familiar. In historic terms these were the aristocracy, the church and the military. In modern terms, they are the legislative, judiciary and executive branches of a government. 

Why is the Fourth Estate important? Please read the following article from Yale Law School's Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic. When you have finished, respond to the questions that follow (reading check) and send your text -based responses along on google to 2006630@rcsd121.org. Make sure to put your name on the document. Note you may copy and paste to weave in text. Make sure, however, that you use quotes around this material. 

This is your first grade of the marking quarter.

The Fourth Estate As The Final Check

But beyond the three traditional branches of government, there is another that has often been described as a fourth branch: the free press. Edmund Burke reportedly said that “there were three Estates … but in the Reporters Gallery yonder, there sat a fourth Estate more important far than they all.”

A free press has been a staple of our nation’s liberties and history. During the American Revolution, the press provided a key source of information. In fact, it was so important that Congress provided the Continental Army with a printer so that Americans could maintain access to a newspaper during the war. After independence, the press was pivotal in publishing the Federalist and Antifederalist Papers, which provided a staging ground for the ideas that would form this country’s Constitution.

Since then, the press has continued to play an active role in keeping the government accountable. In the 1950s, the press monitored Senator McCarthy’s Communist investigations, revealing all of McCarthy’s charges against the army to be false, and putting an end to McCarthy’s witch hunt. In 1971, the press investigated the Watergate break-in, exposing the Nixon scandal, leading to the indictments of forty administration officials and the eventual resignation of President Nixon.

More recently, in 2013, the press played a vital role in unveiling the NSA mass surveillance programs of American citizens, leading to significant reforms to ensure the protection of American citizens and their civil liberties. In other words, if you ask: “who watches the watchmen?” We answer: the press.

The press has always had its eyes on the government, and has always served as the voice of the people, speaking truth to power. And the Media Freedom and Information (MFIA) Clinic stands by their side, ready to protect their role in our democracy.

No matter the administration, the MFIA Clinic will continue the work it’s been doing: promoting transparency, challenging abuses of government power, and protecting the press and this country’s fundamental civil liberties. In prior and current cases, the Clinic has brought suits against the National Security Agency, the Department of Defense, and Attorney General, among others, to ensure the protection of First Amendment rights and the public’s access to essential information. The Clinic will continue its efforts to ensure that the press and the people can keep our government accountable. 

—Delbert Tran ’18

“The Fourth Estate As The Final Check.” Yale Law School, law.yale.edu/mfia/case-disclosed/fourth-estate-final-check. Accessed 29 Aug. 2017.

1. How did Congress demonstrate its support for a free press during the American Revolution?

2. What was the significance of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers?

3. How did the press impact Senator McCarthy's communist investigations?

4. What was the role of the press in the Watergate break in?

5. How did the presses coverage of the NSA mass surveillance programs affect society?

6. List the three goals of Yale Law School's Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic.