Show three writers writer credited burh authors author the press is called the fourth estate because of its influence upon public affairs formerly in in england and france the church the nobility and the commons were known as the three estates of the realm there has been much discussion as to who first called the press the fourth estate says a writer in the indianapolis news authorship of the phrase is various variously li attributed to burke carlyle and macaulay in wf thomas carlyle published his heroes and hero worship in lecture 5 of that work he says burke said there were three estates in parliament but in the reporters gallery yonder there sat a fourth estate more important far I 1 than they au all it is not a figure vt of speech or a witty saying it is a literal fact very momentous to us in these times carlyles style of writing Is such that it is not clear whether or not he intended to give burkes exact phraseology the phrase fourth estate does not appear in any of burkes published writings and it is not known where carlyle obtained his information some authorities have suggested that he may have coined the phrase himself three years earlier he published the french revolution one chapter in the work is entitled the fourth estate it contains the following sentence A fourth estate of able editors springs up but macaulay had used the phrase as early as 1828 that year macaulay wrote in the edinburgh review the gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm A correspondent to london notes and queries stated that he heard lord brougham use the phrase in the house of commons about 1823 or 1824 the fifth estate is defined as a class of estates next after the traditional four scientists have been termed the fifth estate |