The Fourth Estate

The power of the media simply cannot be exaggerated in this new century, say the partners of Fourth Estate Communications. This new public relations firm was launched earlier this year by Gwen de Jong and Gigi Van der Riet, whose combined experience in advertising and communications spans more than 30 years.

"By the end of the 19th century, newspapers had attained such influence in public affairs that the press was labelled the 'Fourth Estate' on a par with the three estates that had controlled society since the dawn of civilization - the church, the rulers and the people," explains de Jong. "With the invention of wireless transmission, a proliferation of mass communication methods emerged in the 20th century, greatly increasing the command of the media and putting virtually every individual on earth within reach."

"Today, journalism is such a persuasive factor in opinion building, that no person, group or business can claim immunity or afford to under-estimate the ability of the fourth estate to affect their fortunes – either for better or for worse," says Van der Riet. "Those who exclude public relations from their marketing mix are failing to maximise their marketing Rands."