What is the Significance of the Fourth Estate?

When the press emerged as a power player during the medieval period it became known as the fourth estate. Once the United States came to be the press became known as the fourth branch. The importance of the fourth estate or branch is that the press checks on the other branches of government and ensures that no corruption is occurring. The job of the press is to keep the public informed on what goes on in society. Politics is apart of society and the press reports on politics to help keep the public informed and make informed decisions.

The fourth estate assists in keeping corruption away from the government. Although it seems that it is inevitable to keep corruption out of politics, the press helps lessening the effects by revealing the governments secrets. The founding fathers saw the role of the press to keep the people in power honest. The press acts on behalf of the people to keep them safe and aware of what is going on around them.