Summary
Contents
The SAGE Key Concepts series provides students with accessible and authoritative knowledge of the essential topics in a variety of disciplines. Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages critical evaluation through understanding. Written by experienced and respected academics, the books are indispensable study aids and guides to comprehension.
Key Concepts in Public Relations:
- Provides a comprehensive, easy-to-use overview to the field
- Covers over 150 central concepts in PR
- Paves the way for students to tackle primary texts
- Grounds students in both practice and theory
- Takes it further with recommended reading
Fourth Estate
Fourth Estate
The liberal notion that journalists and the press constitute a critical ‘fourth estate’ of the realm, protecting the public interest by serving as a ‘watchdog’ on governments, reporting their policies and activities and thereby making them publicly accountable, has a considerable pedigree dating back to at least the 18th century. Those who argue for the press as a fourth estate suggest that in addition to acting as a check on executive power, the press has a duty to inform and articulate public opinion. This ‘fourth estate of the realm’ complemented the three original ‘estates’ constituted by the clergy (Lords Spiritual) who sat in the House of Lords, the Lords Temporal and the ‘Commoners’ in the lower chamber. Indeed, some observers attributed a leading ...