The press is often referred to as the Fourth Estate, and rightly so. Alongside the legislature, executive, and judiciary, the press plays a critical role in shaping a democratic society. It informs the public, checks those in power, and ensures that citizens are not left in the dark. Without a free and responsible press, democracy weakens, and people lose the ability to make informed decisions.
The importance of the press lies in its ability to act as a watchdog, a truth-seeker, and a voice for the voiceless. It exposes injustice, highlights the concerns of ordinary citizens, and challenges the powerful to do better. Journalists, as members of the Fourth Estate, carry the weight of this responsibility – to seek the truth, to report without fear or favour, and to question what others might accept blindly. Their job is not simply to disseminate information or report events but to investigate them, to ask hard questions, to interpret, to present facts with honesty and clarity, and contextualize it in a way that empowers citizens.
Local journalism plays a particularly vital role. Local journalists live among the people they report on. They understand the community’s struggles and successes in ways outsiders cannot. From covering local issues and exposing corruption in local governance to grassroots innovations and cultural shifts, their work often makes a direct impact. In places where national media rarely looks, it is local journalism that keeps the flame of accountability burning.
A journalist is more than someone who reports the news. A good journalist is a critical thinker, a rigorous observer, a committed truth-teller, a principled skeptic, and a defender of public interest. They verify, cross-check, and challenge the dominant narrative. They are expected to go beyond press statements and uncover the full story. When journalism becomes a tool for propaganda or simply repeats what those in power say, it fails the public.
Society must expect and demand more from journalism. Passive acceptance of poorly reported or biased news (or entirely AI generated content, as is increasingly common) leads to a misinformed and uninformed public. Like a doctor who misdiagnoses or an engineer who constructs roads that don’t last a monsoon season, a journalist who fails to uphold professional ethics can distort reality, mislead the public, and weaken democratic institutions. In some cases, it may be better to have no journalism at all than to have bad journalism.
Ultimately, good journalism serves the people. Society must therefore demand good journalism. But good journalism will not survive where it is not expected or supported. It requires support from readers who value truth, fairness, and courage. If readers are content with mediocrity, that is what they will continue to get.
The survival of good journalism depends not only on good journalists but also on discerning readers. If we want a better democracy, we must start by insisting on better journalism.
