Evil eye of the press by Claudia Sonea

When Edmund Burke said 'Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than them all', he was not far from the truth. In fact at that time the media seemed to have the same power in a democratic state like the other three estates: legislative, executive and judicial. Nowadays, it has spread its tentacles like an octopus and just like Wilde noticed, the media has “eaten up the other three”. Under the force of media governments can crumble, people can become outcasts as in the case of Wilde, wars can be nurtured or mentalities formed. In time media did not develop only more means of distribution, but also more ways of invad! ing and exploiting people’s lives. You cannot even imagine your life without a TV anymore, nor could you stop yourself from reading gossip on the Internet. But what happens then with one’s privacy? The answer is simple, there is no such thing as privacy; at least not when it comes to the media. Public figures should not be envied, but rather felt sorry for because they cannot even drink a beer without becoming a headline. What’s worst is that children are collateral victims who sometimes pay a heavy price. Who can condemn Brangelina couple for raising their kids in France when French laws ban the publication of under age children? It is a problem that came under the spot light just last week when photos of Obama’s family and the family of the Spanish Prime Minister were taken by the press. The two daughters of Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister, are under age they are kept away from the media, thus the photos ! stirred an entire commotion and efforts were done in order to ! prevent their publication. Zapatero has the power to ban publication of his daughters through the Spanish law. The Spanish government's policy toward Zapatero's children contrasts with that of the U.S. media and first daughters. Yet, Obama has built his reputation and his presidency on the media, thus he cannot complain that it is invading his privacy. Obviously though, most of the photos with the presidential family are staged and professionally done. So, where would the word "privacy" fit in? Stay connected and you will find out.

related story (sgx15489): http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93054?fp=1...

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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