Media covering the Media: What is the Fifth Estate?

Blogs can be the check on the news around us

The media’s purpose is supposed to be a “watchdog” to the public and to be the one that exposes the problems that need to be exposed.

But who provides a check on the media itself?

Here’s where something called the Fifth Estate comes in.

The concept of the Fifth Estate comes from an old hierarchical system that was used in Central Europe during the Middle Ages. The “Estates of the Realm” were originally used to describe the three-tiered system which consisted of the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second State) and the commoners (Third Estate). Today, the concept has been reimagined into the Three Estates being the current power structure.

The Fourth Estate is what’s used to describe the media today. They were given this title due to the media’s job to provide a check on the powers and people of today’s world. This includes major media outlets like large print and digital publications, as well as TV news outlets and radio stations.

The Fifth Estate, however, is one that is still being defined and explained. This estate is known as a check on the media itself, providing deeper context and calling out those who stray from their profession’s pathway. An example of this type of work can be exemplified by the work of Julian Assange and his website, WikiLeaks. Blogs are one of the main mediums that this estate uses to display its information. While some traditional outlets have remained skeptical on the importance or contributions of this estate, there have been some instances where the work can speak for itself.

The first example that I always think of when it comes to the concept of the Fifth Estate involves a college football star and his dead “girlfriend.”

In 2013, Manti Te’o was a star linebacker for Notre Dame and made headlines when he continued to play after the death of his grandmother and girlfriend in the same season. At the time, it was one of the most endearing sports stories of the year and gave Te’o national recognition. Fourth Estate outlets like ESPN praised the Hawaii native and the entire nation mourned for him and his family while he continued to play, and play well. The story was like a fairy tale, until the blog Deadspin provided more context to those who had missed a key component in the story.

Deadspin found that Lennay Kekua, his dead girlfriend, did not exist at all.

Upon further investigations and fact checks, the blog found that there was no confirmed deaths of anyone matching that name on that day. When they dug deeper, they found that the woman had never existed and Te’o had not been talking to the person he thought.

The story caused embarrassment for both Te’o and every major news outlet that neglected to run a simple fact check to verify her death.

This story is just one example of the many instances of members of the Fifth Estate providing a check on the media and those who contribute to it. It is important for those who have power to have use a balance to even itself out. Without the Fifth Estate, there would be no way to check and verify the media we consume every day.