Satirical Shows and Internet Bloggers are the Fifth Estate Thesis

Satirical Shows and Internet Bloggers are the Fifth Estate - Thesis Example In the end, there were no death panels, but people still believe that there are. Witness also the issue of the Obama citizenship. Internet bloggers will not leave the issue alone, which has made problems for the President, even though there is no basis for claiming that Obama is not a citizen. Inaccurate information can spread very quickly, even more quickly than in the mainstream press, so one viral rumor can cause a lot of damage very quickly. That said, there is value to this type of information spread, and the pros and cons are what this paper will be concentrated upon. Discussion According to Arthur Hayes (2008), citizen press critics, which are the citizens who blog, are to be defended as an effective democratic rabble that keeps the mainstream press in check. ... Dismissing the blogosphere as â€Å"some guy in his pajamas,† Jonathan Klein, the vice-president of the CBS News, stated â€Å"you couldn’t have a starker contrast between checks and balances and some guy in his pajamas in his living room stating what he thinks† (Dasselaar, 2006, p. 11). The press before these checks and balances was arrogant and dismissive of those with whom they disagreed. The press felt that their only checks and balances were the free market, and individuals were free to watch them or not, buy their newspapers and magazines or not. Monitors on what they reported were considered a violation of free speech (Hayes, 2008, p. 2). Even now, according to Hayes, these professional press critics, who are those that work for the mainstream press, are arrogant and dismissive of the citizen critics, who are the bloggers, stating that these bloggers are driven by ideology and threaten press freedom and democracy (Hayes, 2008, p. 2). Hayes essentially accu ses the professional press critics of democratic elitism. Democratic elitism means that the people are not to have a voice, even if they do play a role in the democracy. This is because the people – unsophisticated, irrational, and shortsighted – cannot be trusted to support democratic rights (Hayes, 2008, p. 2). Extrapolating this, the democratic elites believe that ordinary citizens do not have the right to press criticism, due to their lack of sophistication, education or training. Therefore, they are a threat to a stable democracy and the free press (Hayes, 2008, p. 2). Hayes believes just the opposite – these individuals are the backbone of democracy, and they are strengthening democracy by criticizing the institutions that affect us all and the officials who govern us. Moreover, they