The "Fourth Branch"

The "Fourth Branch" The "Free Press" is a gift to any democracy. Our U.S. Constitution lists three branches of government but heavily relies on the "Free Press" to insure its success. The "Free Press" holds our elected leaders accountable. But this is only possible when the "truth" is upheld in our media. Accurate facts that are checked and verified before reporting are absolutely essential in determining the "truth." We are seeing so many examples of inaccurate and absolutely false information in our country today. This is when "The Free Press" slowly becomes just propaganda for the party and people in power. But the power is still with "We The People" and we can demand that all forms of media support their reporting with verifiable and supported facts in order for us to watch, listen to and support their media outlet. I applaud and support reporters and media sources who practice strong journalistic practices despite pressure and threats from high ranking government officials or extremely powerful corporate leaders. Ethical and moral standards should matter! Trying to make life better and fairer for all citizens and people should be a guiding principle for all leaders and our "Free Press" should be one of the major leaders in achieving that goal. We already have many people and media outlets that do just that. Let's support their efforts!!!