For almost all week last week the local broadcast media was filled with commentaries – straight commentaries, biased commentaries, loaded commentaries, and what have you – from the members of what is considered the fourth estate of society, the media or the press. Today we are joining these commentaries in print media. What caught the goat of the radio commentators and even opinionated news items was the tag describing some of the members of the local media as having have received or are receiving protection money from illegal drug traffickers and pushers. The news of some local media men receiving bribe money came in the heels of the reported alarming illegal drug situation in Bohol by both the police and the PDEA which is backed up by positive results of the many raids by the police of suspected drug dens and arrest of suspected drug traffickers and ushers lately.

The uproar was made official by the management of the local tri-media association of Bohol which challenged the accuser to name names to spare the innocent members from the shameful tag and to bring the real culprit before the courts of law. Whether the tagging is right or wrong has yet to be determined. But for as long as the report has factual basis from the supposed CCTV footages obtained by CIDG, such report of tagging was a timely one. Timeliness is one element of news writing that is needed in the exercise of the function and mandate of the media whether print or broadcast as a fourth estate. It was just unfortunate that the subject of the report was the member of the fourth estate itself – the very institution that is supposed to guard and protect the interest of the people. That is why the management of the Bohol Tri-Media Association had to react because it felt that the report was a direct attack on the integrity of the institution – something that it could not afford to lose or it loses its very essence of existence.

Let me explain why. The fourth estate is a term used to refer to the profession of journalism and it is traced from an old English idea that there are three estates. The three estates include the Lords Spiritual i.e. the clergy, the Lords Temporal i.e. members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons i.e. the lower house. The view that the Press is the fourth estate rests on the thought that the media's role is to act as the custodian of the public interest and as a watchdog on the actions of government. As the years went by, the media or the press was also known to keep in check the three arms of government, that is, the legislature, the judiciary and the executive. It is therefore obvious that the press plays a very important role in society by reporting on a wide variety of topics and creating powerful personalities who are relied upon for sources of information and commentary. Writing about the first estate in 1841, Thomas Carlyle pointed out that the press had a powerful role in parliamentary procedure, shaping the will of the people and influencing the outcome of votes among the government, as well. Carlyle also argued that the press was an important part of a democratic society, saying that writing gives people “a tongue which others will listen to.”

Because of the importance of journalism in society, most members of the media abide by certain professional and personal ethics. Many journalists attempt to cultivate an air of neutrality, focusing on reporting of the issues as they are so that people can judge the facts for themselves, while others focus on offering commentary and analysis from the perspective of a particular position. Mediamen are careful as a whole to protect the integrity of the press, protecting sources, verifying information before publication, and using a variety of other techniques to convey a trustworthy appearance to the public, encouraging people to put their faith in the media. It is therefore understandable for the Bohol Tri-Media Association officials to create an uproar over what they consider an unfair and unjust tagging by a fellow member because that would tarnish their reputation as guardians of public interest. To the Agora however the tagging serves as a fair warning to every member to be beyond reproach at all times, like the wife of Ceasar.