Dear Editor,

It has often been said that journalism or the press is the fourth estate. The first estate is the clergy; the second the nobles, and the third the commoners.
Journalists play a pivotal role in democratic nations. They are the ones who keep the government honest and accountable by asking the hard questions and by sounding the alarm when there is governmental misconduct. They form that important informative bridge between the commoner and the state. Had it not been for the fourth estate, Bahamians, by and large, would still be groping around in the intellectual dark age. I believe that past governments in The Bahamas have fallen at the polls during general elections due to the immense influence of the fourth estate. Whether we would want to admit it or not, the media has helped to mold and shape the political views of thousands of Bahamians during election time.
That is why authoritarian, autocratic, totalitarian, despotic and dictatorial regimes have an irrational hatred for the fourth estate. Indeed, rogue regimes view journalists as nagging thorns in the flesh. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an astounding 45 journalists were killed this year alone. Seventy-three were killed in 2012. Countries such as Syria, Iran, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, the Philippines, Mexico, Bahrain, Cote d'Ivoire and Egypt are extremely dangerous for journalists. In countries such as these, members of the fourth estate have been arrested, censored, threatened, physically assaulted and murdered. Bahamians must be wondering if the November 18 failed grenade attack on The Punch tabloid is an indication that some criminally minded elements in our society are now attempting to silence the fourth estate by acts of violence. Obviously, somebody's feathers were ruffled.
This could potentially be a dangerous trend in the making. I don't recall ever hearing of Bahamian journalists being attacked or targeted in this fashion. Usually, enemies of the fourth estate in The Bahamas would use economic warfare to get back at journalists for mashing their "corns". For what it's worth, the failed grenade attack was nothing short of terrorism. Bahamian journalists have for years endured maltreatment at the hands of government officials who viewed them as not being of the same political persuasion because they dared to ask simple and straightforward questions.
In the pre-1992 Bahamas, the politicians we hired to manage our affairs seemed to have been offended at the mere thought of being accountable to us. I know of two journalists who were persecuted by the government in the 1980s. One is now in the bosom of the current Christie administration. The political victimization of the fourth estate is an ancient practice that has spanned the duration of the independent Bahamas. And for all intents and purposes, it is here to stay.
The failed grenade attack on The Punch is a somber reminder of this sad fact.

- Kevin Evans

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