 In the 18th century, Edmund Burke was the first to refer to the media as a fourth estate. By now an interesting development had occurred. More and more scholars were using the singular use, referring to the media, instead of the media plural. Instead of several channels that had little to do with each other, they were now regarded as being part of one larger institute. Burke named the media a fourth estate. He described this fourth estate as instrumental for any nation, because it functions firstly as a channel between government and people, secondly as a barometer of public opinion, and thirdly as a check on the use of power by rulers. But to serve as a channel between rulers and citizens, as a barometer of public opinion, and as a counterweight to the powerful elite, the media needed complete freedom. And these thoughts were not expressed by Burke alone, but became more and more common amongst the influential thinkers of the time. We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavouring to stifle is a false opinion, and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still. We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue. At our peril, risk and hazard. This was a drastic change from the old models of media governance. This ideal of a completely free media landscape is nowadays sometimes referred to as the free media model. And the free media model is quite easy to explain today, but it's not hard to imagine the novelty of the thought in the 18th century. The press and the media in general needed to be completely free from the pressures and intimidations that were up to then quite common from governments and powerful corporations and individuals. The French Revolution had taught rulers the risks of ignoring the wants and needs of its citizens, of the powerful elite misusing their power without constraints. And governments all over the world learned this lesson and sometimes grudgingly started to incorporate new political ideals in their laws and legislation. These all over the world started to guarantee citizens freedom of the press and freedom from censorship and government interference. Media professionals like journalists at the same time gained a higher status, like obtaining special clearance to be at government meetings. Politicians started to make more and more use of the powers of the Fourth Estate instead of trying to suppress it. Political campaigns were becoming media scripted events. And important politicians also had close ties with newspapers, often as editor-in-chief or financial backer. We'll talk more about this in our next clip.