Thank goodness for the Fourth Estate! I don't know the history of that term when being used to identify the disciplines of print and broadcast journalism, but I'm glad it stands as a watchdog for the other three - the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government. Sure, some journalists act in concert with "evil doers" in government, but enough of them see things for what they are and are not afraid to make the rest of us aware of the problems.
One of my favorite forums to hear journalists take on a variety of matters is the "Imus in the Morning" show that airs on MSNBC from 5:00 to 8:00 each weekday morning. Imus, an irascible curmudgeon, recognizes good stories and knows where to get answers. A major source for him is a widely diverse pack of wolves known as journalists who regularly visit his studio or call in to hash out topics. This week, Dana Priest, an investigative journalist for the Washington Post, wrote an article exposing the bad living conditions at Walter Reed Hospital's outpatient housing. The outrage here is how these veterans wounded in Iraq are being treated. She called Imus and they discussed it at length. The same show featured Tom Friedman of the New York Times and Jonathan Alter of Newsweek as guests, too. Without these people and their wide-eyed and open-eared postures, there are many things we common, tax paying citizens would never learn.
If we had only the President's view on the Iraq situation, we would be subject to whatever he told us. With journalists on the spot reporting, a different picture is painted. With the Fourth Estate's snooping and editorializing on matters such as the situation at the veteran's facility at Walter Reed, they have really reaffirmed two guaranteed freedoms - speech and press.
