The fourth estate is defined as an institution of force which has influence, though not officially recognised. It is often used to describe journalism, and is normally applied to the press – printed media.

It was Edmund Burke who first coined the term in a parliamentary debate in 1787 in the House of Commons of Great Britain.

Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; “but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all”. Oscar Wilde also wrote: “In old days men had the rack. Now they have the Press. That is an improvement certainly. But still it is very bad, and wrong, and demoralizing. We are dominated by Journalism.”

Things have changed somewhat since then as television and the internet platforms have grown in importance and popularity. But still, there is something which cannot be erased, something which stays on record in black and white in the printed medium... the newspaper.

Two Sundays ago, this newspaper’s sister publication The Malta Independent on Sunday featured an investigation which established that illegal development had been taking place at the untouched San Blas bay in Gozo.

As soon as the story was published, officials from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority swooped down on the bay and slapped an enforcement notice against the illegal developer who had placed a metal gate and a canopy to provide shade. He was also fined €50 per day until the site was returned to its original state.

In the meantime, cabinet ministers said that Gozo should remain the ‘diamond’ that it is and that if any illegal development were to take place, it would be an “environmental tragedy”. It seems that, at least for the time being, San Blas has been given a reprieve.

Since the lid was blown, a lot of attention has been paid to the said case and others have also been coming to light. This media house has always prided itself on being on the right side when it comes to safeguarding the environment. And it is with pride that we say that illegal development has been prevented through an investigation that we carried out. Much has been said about the waning influence of newspapers around the world as citizen journalism and social media have grown exponentially. But media houses, this one included, will always continue to strive to unearth wrongs and seek to draw attention to them.