The Story of the Press in England by Hugh Massingham
' Burke ', declared Carlyle, ' said there were three estates in Parliament. But in the Reporters' Gallery yonder there sits a Fourth Estate, more important far than they all.' Tonight's feature programme will tell the story of the rise of this great ' Fourth Estate ' of the Press and its fight for freedom.
It is a long and thrilling history, from the days when Greek couriers ran with bleeding feet from town to town, to today when the News Editor of a modern newspaper sits at his desk linked by telephone to his correspondents in every quarter of the globe. Rome made reporters of her generals, the great merchants of the Middle Ages established their news agents in every big city. Later, opportunists hawked newsy ballads about the London streets, and weekly ' Relations ', told of exciting events about the country.
So soon as the English newspaper proper-the first of which was founded in 1702-began to be a part of the national life, the long battle for the freedom of the Press was launched.