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It might be news to you that the term fourth estate has been around for centuries. In Europe, going back to medieval times, the people who participated in the political life of a country were generally divided into three classes or estates. In England they were the three groups with representation in Parliament, namely, the nobility, the clergy, and the common people. Some other group, like the mob or the public press, that had an unofficial but often great influence on public affairs, was called the fourth estate. In the 19th century, fourth estate came to refer exclusively to the press, and now it's applied to all branches of the news media.
Examples of fourth estate in a Sentence
Nolan Finley, Twin Cities, 31 Jan. 2025
From layoffs and continued consolidations to heavy criticism levied at the coverage of the presidential election, these past 12 months amounted to a year of reckoning for the fourth estate.
—Justin Klawans, The Week Us, theweek, 20 Dec. 2024
To do less daily science news and more fourth estate reporting?
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 26 Aug. 2010
Defense lawyer Audrey Eu argued Monday that the charges were unconstitutional and that the media has a duty as the fourth estate to report.
—Selina Cheng, WSJ, 1 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for fourth estate
Cite this Entry
“Fourth estate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fourth%20estate. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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