The Fourth Estate?
When I first thought of becoming a journalist, I had huge ambitions to right wrongs, uncover shady dealings, bring politicians to order, show up the plight of the needy, be the champion of the underdog etc.
Unfortunately it didn’t quite work out exactly as I expected. While there are moments of exhilaration and a true feeling of satisfaction, these are few are far between. The real role of a journalist as I have found it is to inform people of exactly what is going on in the world around them.
This may not be earth-shattering political corruption or a shocking murder – thought it on occasion is – but mostly is related to the poor state of a local road or a lack of resources for the children of a local school.
The press are sometimes referenced as the fourth estate (historically behind the clergy, royalty and the common man). We are seen as an independent watchdog of sorts who are there to catch people who are trying to get one over on the system.
As part of our job reporting on what goes on in society, the criminal justice system is obviously an important part of that. What greater mirror to view the current state of our world than a district court room on any given day?
The assortment of people who traipse through the doors of a district court and the offences they commit give those in attendance a very clear idea of how our society works and interacts.
From the supposedly-wealthy businessman who is before the courts for failing to pay his rates, to the career criminal/drug addict who knows the Judge by their first name – the whole spectrum of society can be seen.
It is therefore imperative that justice be seen to be done in public. And here is where the press come in. We are there to report what goes on in the court. From speeding fines to 15-year sentences for rape – we have a duty to report it accurately and fairly.
This however didn’t seem to cross the minds of the Courts Service of Ireland when constructing the superb new facility in the Civic Square on The Avenue in Gorey. The new Gorey District Court is a state of the art facility with plush chambers for the Judge, solicitors, and the gardaí.
The courtroom itself is modern and large enough to accommodate the size of crowds coming through its door every Thursday.
However there is no Press Bench. We don’t want anything fancy – just a chair and a desk on which to write and in a position where we can hear exactly what is going on so we can report it properly.
What we got was an afterthought. A piece of wood hammered onto the back of one of the benches in the body of the court where two of us have to jostle with everyone else for some space and strain our necks to make out what is being said.
The results of this will mean we won’t be able to hear what is going on and therefore not report it. Or even worse, we will miss hear some evidence and report it inaccurately.
This is not fair on the press and it is certainly not fair on the person whose testimony is misquoted in the papers.
The need for transparency in this country has never been greater and anything that block a viable press is worrying. I am sure there were no nefarious motives behind the lack of a proper press bench but a lack of foresight and consultation has led to this situation.
The public deserve to know what is going on in their society and their local press is where they go to find this out – therefore we need to be a priority and not just an afterthought.
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