News of the day: Coronavirus
We’re all waiting for a coronavirus vaccine, but Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says even if a vaccine were released now, it would take six to nine months for enough people to receive it to create immunity. In the meantime, Redfield says masks may work even better than a vaccine. For when a vaccine does arrive, rich nations including the United States, Britain and Japan have already bought up more than half the expected supply. That’s about 51% of available vaccines for about 13% of the world’s population. Meanwhile, some local leaders are enacting unusual punishments for people who don’t abide by health policies. In parts of rural Indonesia, those caught without masks must dig graves for Covid-19 victims. The governor of one Philippine province is asking people to report loud karaoke singers who disrupt people’s sleep during curfew hours.
Something lighter and more entertaining
Black Irish Dancer Side Step Irish Dancers
Why is the Fourth Estate important? Please read the following article from Yale Law School's Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic. When you have finished, respond to the questions that follow (reading check) and share your text-based responses. Make sure to put your name on the document. Note you may copy and paste to weave in text. Make sure, however, that you use quotes around this material.
This is due by midnight tonight, with the exception of those who are designated to receive extended time.
The Fourth Estate As The Final Check
But beyond the three traditional branches of government, there is another that has often been described as a fourth branch: the free press. Edmund Burke reportedly said that “there were three Estates … but in the Reporters Gallery yonder, there sat a fourth Estate more important far than they all.”
A free press has been a staple of our nation’s liberties and history. During the American Revolution, the press provided a key source of information. In fact, it was so important that Congress provided the Continental Army with a printer so that Americans could maintain access to a newspaper during the war. After independence, the press was pivotal in publishing the Federalist and Antifederalist Papers, which provided a staging ground for the ideas that would form this country’s Constitution.
Since then, the press has continued to play an active role in keeping the government accountable. In the 1950s, the press monitored Senator McCarthy’s Communist investigations, revealing all of McCarthy’s charges against the army to be false, and putting an end to McCarthy’s witch hunt. In 1971, the press investigated the Watergate break-in, exposing the Nixon scandal, leading to the indictments of forty administration officials and the eventual resignation of President Nixon.
More recently, in 2013, the press played a vital role in unveiling the NSA mass surveillance programs of American citizens, leading to significant reforms to ensure the protection of American citizens and their civil liberties. In other words, if you ask: “who watches the watchmen?” We answer: the press.
The press has always had its eyes on the government, and has always served as the voice of the people, speaking truth to power. And the Media Freedom and Information (MFIA) Clinic stands by their side, ready to protect their role in our democracy.
No matter the administration, the MFIA Clinic will continue the work it’s been doing: promoting transparency, challenging abuses of government power, and protecting the press and this country’s fundamental civil liberties. In prior and current cases, the Clinic has brought suits against the National Security Agency, the Department of Defense, and Attorney General, among others, to ensure the protection of First Amendment rights and the public’s access to essential information. The Clinic will continue its efforts to ensure that the press and the people can keep our government accountable.
—Delbert Tran ’18
“The Fourth Estate As The Final Check.” Yale Law School, law.yale.edu/mfia/case-disclosed/fourth-estate-final-check. Accessed 29 Aug. 2017.
1. How did Congress demonstrate its support for a free press during the American Revolution?
2. What was the significance of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers?
3. How did the press impact Senator McCarthy's communist investigations?
4. What was the role of the press in the Watergate break in?
5. How did the presses coverage of the NSA mass surveillance programs affect society?
6. List the three goals of Yale Law School's Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic.
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