Bill Farrell, the town’s first attorney, always liked to call the media the “Fourth Estate.”

We would run into each other at Town Hall and he’d say, “What’s new today with the Fourth Estate?”

He asked me one day if I knew where or how the phrase had been coined, but I had to admit I did not (maybe it was required reading in some journalism 101 class, but that wasn’t on my college radar).

As the years went on it was just one of those things that never came up again…

But lo and behold, as part of getting last week’s paper ready, I was looking over several suggested editorials that we could use in connection with National Newspaper Week.

Last week marked the 75th anniversary of National Newspaper Week, and the theme was “The Power of the Press.”

Although I used a different editorial, one in particular caught my eye because it discussed Thomas Carlyle, who in 1841 wrote about the power of the press, apparently conjuring up the words of Edmond Burke.

Carlyle wrote, “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.”

So there you go…that Burke guy coined the Fourth Estate phrase.

The editorial in question was written by Jim Zachary, editor of the Valdosta (Ga.) Daily Times and director of The Transparency Project of Georgia.

Zachary was making a point that Burke may have been chiding the press for its sense of itself, but Carlyle used his words to write about the importance of newspapers to democracy.

Zachary continued in his editorial, “Democracy is best served when the newspaper provides checks and balances as the Fourth Estate of government. Newspapers are not the enemy of government – rather we are the champions of ordinary men and women.”

I’ve sat through many a boring meeting over the years; sometimes I was the only person there who wasn’t elected or on staff.

As I sat “yonder,” sometimes I would ponder, “Well, there are 20,000 people in this town who aren’t at this boring meeting, so I’m sitting here and will later write about it because I’m representing all those other folks.”

They could depend on me to report on whatever happened (assuming something happens at boring meetings).

I’d like to think this publication is committed to Fountain Hills and covering what’s going on here – with government, with the schools, the sports teams, the clubs and all the rest.

Zachary writes, “If newspapers do not stand up for the public, protect the rights of free speech and the rights of access to government, then no one will.”

He adds, “Newspapers, the good ones, use their power to make a difference in the communities they serve, by accurate reporting, comprehensive coverage and strong commentary.”

I like to think the Fountain Hills Fourth Estate has made a difference all these years.