Fifth Estate is any class or group in society other than the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), the middle class (Third Estate), and the press (Fourth Estate)[1]. It has been used to describe trade unions, the poor, organized crime, German propaganda and spies during World War II (by the French). It can also be used to describe media that sees itself in opposition to mainstream (Fourth Estate) media.
Nimmo and Combs assert that political pundits constitute a Fifth Estate.[2] Media research Stephen D. Cooper argues that bloggers are the Fifth Estate.[3] The American periodical Broadcasting once proudly proclaimed itself to be "The Fifth Estate" on its cover.[4]
References
- ^ Random House Dictionary
- ^ Dan D. Nimmo and James E. Combs (1992). The Political Pundits. Praeger/Greenwood, 20. ISBN 0275935450.
- ^ Stephen D Cooper (2006). Watching the Watchdog: Bloggers as the Fifth Estate. Marquette Books. ISBN 0922993475.
- ^ Asa Briggs and Peter Burke (2005). A Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet. Polity, 154. ISBN 0745635113.
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