The Fourth Estate
Media spotlight has the ability to change people’s lives dramatically, in some cases it is accidental, every day people minding their own business and as a consequence of being involved in an incident which resulted in either an inspiring or devastating outcome which resulted the private lives being thrust into the media spotlight. Whilst other people who have obtained media attention due to their public appointment have had the same experience, their lives altered dramatically due to media’s invasion of their privacy in the name of public interest. The Fourth Estate, a name given to the media who traditionally have been charged as the custodian for public interest, the publics watch dog, their responsibility to the public sphere is to warn
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However, this was not sustained, Julianne Schultz warned in 1998 that a backlash was building, the publics opinion was changing, The Fourth Estate type of investigative stories that was so popular in the 1980’s were not appealing to the public as they once were, people were drawn to the appeal of big personalities, glamour, the good guys and bad guys, the types of stories that you would normally have seen only in soap operas. The fourth Estate Type of stories were easier to by pass, media managements grew tired of the costs involved in substantial investigative stories, the temptation was to go with the entertainment type stories, this made money, making money made it easier to forgo challenging and demanding Fourth Estate stories. (Schultz, J Reviving the Fourth Estate, 1998. …show more content…
This untrusting of this profession has been gaining momentum for some time, as far back as January 2004 Roy Morgan released the results of an annual survey to establish which profession is considered to be the most ethical and honest, the findings are based on the results of surveying over 600 people. The findings found Journalists are ranked the third lowest on the list. Morgan, G Roy Morgan Research, finding no 3701, 2004. www.roymorgan.com/news/pols/2004/3701). Ethics are important, they help raise standards and are used in different professions, ethics reinforces respect for
However, this was not sustained, Julianne Schultz warned in 1998 that a backlash was building, the publics opinion was changing, The Fourth Estate type of investigative stories that was so popular in the 1980’s were not appealing to the public as they once were, people were drawn to the appeal of big personalities, glamour, the good guys and bad guys, the types of stories that you would normally have seen only in soap operas. The fourth Estate Type of stories were easier to by pass, media managements grew tired of the costs involved in substantial investigative stories, the temptation was to go with the entertainment type stories, this made money, making money made it easier to forgo challenging and demanding Fourth Estate stories. (Schultz, J Reviving the Fourth Estate, 1998. …show more content…
This untrusting of this profession has been gaining momentum for some time, as far back as January 2004 Roy Morgan released the results of an annual survey to establish which profession is considered to be the most ethical and honest, the findings are based on the results of surveying over 600 people. The findings found Journalists are ranked the third lowest on the list. Morgan, G Roy Morgan Research, finding no 3701, 2004. www.roymorgan.com/news/pols/2004/3701). Ethics are important, they help raise standards and are used in different professions, ethics reinforces respect for