[IPS] Canberra, Australia -- Edmund Burke called the press the fourth estate, the fourth pillar of democracy, with an oversight role on the remaining three pillars - the legislature, executive and the judiciary. In an ideal world, this fourth estate would have unimpeded access to the other three pillars so that the citizenry could be kept informed at all times. This freedom was conceived to be so sacrosanct that many countries have included it as a fundamental right, e.g., the US Constitution enshrined it as the very first amendment.