By Cally Ikpe, Ph.D
The Burden of the Fourth Estate
Journalism has long occupied a sacred place in society. Holding governments accountable and serving as the watchdog of the people remain among its most important responsibilities. Despite mounting political, economic, and technological pressures, the profession has endured across generations because of its relevance to public life.
Ideally, journalism commands respect and inspires trust. It is this enduring significance that earned the press the title of the “Fourth Estate of the Realm,” alongside the traditional estates of power — whether historically defined as the Clergy, Nobility, and Commoners, or later as the Crown, Lords, and Commons. The inclusion of journalism within that hierarchy underscores its indispensable role in shaping society and safeguarding democracy.
Yet today, the profession appears increasingly strained, and almost overwhelmed by the speed and volume of modern events. News now breaks and disappears within hours. Public outrage is fleeting. Attention shifts rapidly from one crisis to another. While no media institution can realistically sustain equal focus on every development, the editorial priorities of many news organisations are beginning to raise troubling questions.
The Commercialisation of Attention
Increasingly, forces outside the newsroom appear to influence what gets reported, amplified, or quietly ignored. These forces are often wealthy individuals, politically connected actors, or institutions with enormous financial leverage. Journalism may possess ethical codes and professional standards, but commercial realities frequently overshadow editorial independence. In many instances, visibility simply follows the ability to pay.
Nigeria offers numerous examples of this growing trend. It has become commonplace for politically exposed persons and influential officeholders to sponsor live broadcasts of events across multiple television stations simultaneously. The outcome is not merely coverage, but saturation. Such events dominate headlines, prime-time bulletins, newspaper pages, and online discourse, creating an inflated sense of importance around issues that may not necessarily deserve such disproportionate attention.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for instance, routinely holds media chats broadcast live on several major television channels at once. Similar arrangements often accompany project flag-offs, commissioning ceremonies, and political gatherings. Beyond the events themselves, these paid broadcasts generate secondary narratives and political messaging that can dominate public conversation for days.
Print media has not been spared either. Newspaper front pages are increasingly occupied by advertorials and sponsored content, with several major dailies sometimes carrying nearly identical paid material on the same day. While the commercial realities of media operations are understandable, the real danger lies in what gets displaced in the process.
When Critical Issues Fade Away
As political spectacle expands, critical national issues are increasingly relegated to the margins. In some cases, devastating attacks on communities receive only fleeting mention before the news cycle moves on. The justification often offered is that such tragedies occur too frequently to sustain prolonged coverage. Yet the normalization of violence is itself deeply alarming.
On 4 May 2021, the Federal Government announced plans to prosecute over 400 high-profile Nigerians and Bureau De Change operators for alleged terrorism financing. By 2024, however, only a handful of individuals and BDCs had reportedly been formally listed, while the broader status of the case faded into uncertainty. Today, the matter has virtually disappeared from public discourse. The media moved on, newer controversies emerged, and what could have become one of the country’s most consequential national security cases quietly slipped into obscurity.
Nigeria has witnessed several high-profile assassinations that remain unresolved for many years — including those of Bola Ige (2001), Harry Marshal (2003), Funsho Williams (2006), Dele Giwa (1986), Ahmed Gulak (2021), Ayodeji Daramola (2006), and Aminasoari Dikibo (2004). Although justice was never fully achieved in many of these cases, sustained media attention at least ensured that public pressure remained alive and that the nation did not entirely forget.
The Weakening of Sustained Scrutiny
In more recent times, that persistence appears to have weakened significantly.
The terrorist attack on Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State on 17 November 2025 is one such example. Twenty-six students and the school’s vice principal were reportedly killed just 45 minutes after soldiers guarding the school were withdrawn. Public outrage briefly followed, and the newly appointed Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, reportedly promised during his Senate confirmation process to investigate and expose those responsible.
Months later, however, little has been heard about the matter. The officer who allegedly ordered the troop withdrawal has not been publicly identified, and the issue has largely vanished from mainstream discourse. In an earlier era, sustained media scrutiny would likely have kept such a matter alive and maintained continuous pressure on the authorities.
A Profession Under Pressure
To be fair, another interpretation of this decline in sustained focus is the sheer number of crises competing for public attention. Journalists and newsrooms operate under intense pressure: limited resources, poor and irregular remuneration for reporters, commercial demands, ownership interests, political affiliations, and institutional constraints. Concentrating on one issue until justice is achieved may appear unrealistic when newer emergencies emerge almost daily.
The media, after all, can only do so much. Its greatest weapon is sustained pressure — and even that can be ignored by powerful actors. The brutal killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi remains a striking global example. Despite widespread international outrage and relentless media coverage, geopolitical interests ultimately prevailed, and major world powers, including the United States, continued normal relations with the Saudi leadership.
Conclusion: The Cost of Silence
The limitations of journalism do not diminish its responsibility. If anything, they make the role of the media even more vital.
In societies battling insecurity, corruption, political manipulation, and institutional distrust, journalism must resist becoming merely a platform for sponsored narratives and political spectacle. The survival of credible journalism depends not only on commercial viability, but also on the willingness to consistently amplify issues affecting ordinary citizens — even when those issues are inconvenient to the powerful.
For when the media stops asking difficult questions, society gradually loses its most reliable mirror and one of its strongest mechanisms for accountability.
