Long gone are the phone-booth journalists, hot on the aftermath of a major story, pushing and shoving their way to call their rough draft in before the competition can.

Instead, evolution has borne the corporate media group.

The media group is not entirely evil, at least not at heart, since the goal of any entity is survival. What the media group contributes to the image of journalism, however, is unjustifiable and irresponsible.

The First Amendment upheld freedom of the press for one reason: to provide the public with information needed to make good decisions.

Over the years, the press earned the title of “fourth estate,” the other three estates being Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court.

Most Americans understand the roles of the legislative, executive and judicial branches. However, the role of the press has traditionally been watchdog, lest the other three branches form a monopoly over Americans, resurrecting the tyrannical legacy of King George III.

Instead, the Constitution allows conversation. Republicans constantly oppose Democrats, and perpetual debate is important for Americans to determine where they stand on the issues.

Today’s America has no such balance. Our executive branch is run by a Republican. The Bush administration has faced numerous scandals, although presidential scandal is hardly a new phenomenon.

The legislative branch is maintained by Republican majority in both houses. This year’s Patriot Act and defense spending bill attracted a minimum of debate before passing, because opposing opinions were powerless.

The judicial branch? John Roberts’ and Samuel Alito’s appointments allowed Republican interests to retain their 34-year Supreme Court majority.

Make this a three-layer sandwich, and America is under the rule of a monopoly. A similar situation occurred during the Clinton era, when the Senate, House and president all represented the Democratic party.

Situations like this tend to make partisan voters happy, when they should be scared: America was never meant to be a monopoly.

Before the Constitution was drafted, the Federalist Papers described to American colonists the key to good government: a balance of powers. These writings advocated separation between legislative, executive and judicial branches, between church and state and between the people and the government. Even then, the press facilitated debate between good and bad government, as competing opinions became collectively known as the Anti-Federalist Papers.

In early American history, every view balanced against an opposing view; newspapers competed against other newspapers to offer “the real story.” As shown in the film “Citizen Kane,” media groups can be poison to democracy. Media groups want revenue; they want monopoly. Media groups believe that truth and objectivity do not compare to profits. They offer one side of the story, and this single point of view travels to every newspaper and television station along the chain, with no alternative news sources to provide balance.

Media groups do not belong in journalism. Unfortunately, the media group is now majority leader of the fourth estate.

“The misgovernment of the American people is misgovernment by the American people,” wrote Lincoln Steffens in “The Shame of the Cities,” his 1904 classic. “We are responsible, not our leaders, since we follow them.” This wisdom holds true even in the fourth estate.

The press is yours, America. Call them, write them, complain to them. Tell them what’s wrong with the business. Tell them what angles they missed. Tell them what information you need to know to make good decisions.

If they fail to respond, get another news source, but don’t allow yourself to be manipulated by a single source of “authority” on what’s going on in the world. America can only stand free if we preserve our right to question and challenge the authority we grant our leaders, including the media.