The Fourth Estate: Licensed to do what exactly?

the fourth estate, also known as the free press, has long been the bane of all despots and dictators and many a democratic leader. it is a miracle that not many leaders have been caught saying "i would love to strangle one of those bastards".

that being said, let's examine the reasons for the media is loved, hated and spit upon... all at the same time; no small feat.


lets take the Indian media in their recently increased aggressive rhetoric against China. talking about the chinese media is worthless as it is decidedly not independent (interesting to note; it was a measured response by the chinese polity in response to the indians). the indians it seems are harping on about how much better india is etc etc and trying to whip up public fervor against the chinese. to what end all analysts are at a loss to explain. they are trade partners, the leaders have expressed nothing of the sort, in fact the leaders have responded to their own media basically telling them to shut up and sit down.


take the american recession. i gurantee you that if the media had been more reserved or circumspect in how they reported the news, the recession would not have been as bad. it might have even recovered sooner. not to mention financial reporter/jackasses like jim cramer who promoted bear stearns until the day before they went bust.


even now, in the US, the media (liberal and conservative) shamelessly sensationalize small items that arenot even worthy of respect and giving movements like the birthers and czarists legs.


while i do am not advocating censorship, i am exhorting responsibility in reporting news. use your mmind to report and if you are unsure, hold back to make sure. THAT's the job Channel 4.


If you are operating in a tough place like Zimbabwe or Iraq, guess what. the usual rules don't apply. they will catch you and toss you in what they call jail and you might call hellhole. that too is the job. my respect goes out to the likes of people like Daniel Perl and Lasantha Wickremetunge who died doing their job. no one can fault Lasantha of the monumental mistakes made by the likes of J. S. Tissainayagam or the so called Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka. that why he was killed; the truth was his weapon and there is never a defense against the truth. thats why J. S Tissainayagam is in jail - he was not reporting the truth. if he did, he would be dead.


i think i lost my train of thought somewhere along there. but the fact of the matter is, the media is shaping public policy and therefore foreign, defense and domestic policy of the government. they report what they do in such a way that an opinion is already presented to the reader with no attempt at impartiality. they play with lives and countries and they always hide behind the badge of 'Journalist'.


a british special forces soldier died in a mission to rescue a kidnapped new york times reporter and his interpreter in Afghanistan. the interpreter was killed during the mission as well. Journalists all over the world has called for an investigation into the conduct of the unit. i don't hear a call by the journalists for a discussion on the topic with the taleban. (dogs only bark and growl at those who pay attention)


the soldiers were doing their job and saved one journalists. now the journalists want blood for the one that could not be saved. you be the judge of that particular motion by 'journalists'.