It would seem, at first blush, the fourth estate is being replaced by the people themselves, in the form of whistleblowers with access to social media as well as the population at large petitioning (organizing awareness) via social media, so the press are being subverted by the people.  They don&#x27;t call the shots. They don&#x27;t decide what&#x27;s right and wrong with government.  It&#x27;s the people and whistleblowers with social media tools at their disposal.<p>So now the press try to catch up to the social winds and try to latch on perhaps tacking on their philosophical take and their view of social contracts and responsibility (as their token value add), but they are no longer the driving force.  They simply are now trying to ride the wave.<p>A few are able to keep their course and continue to produce valuable content that people are willing to pay for, as people have noted, the economist, among a few others.