Media

It’s been said that information is a fundamental component of power. If so, residents of Metro Washington could be considered some of the most powerful people in the world. Indeed, many are just that, with number one on the list living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

This chapter isn’t about the political players, however, but rather the awesome presence of the information players. There are few places beyond Washington where the incoming and outgoing stream of information—specifically the written and spoken products of the print and electronic media—is as intense. There are also few places beyond Washington where citizens have as much interaction with and exposure to the conveyors of that information: literally thousands of reporters, editors, correspondents, broadcasters, freelance writers, and others of the same ilk from around the globe who practice their trade here. It’s no wonder that some of the Internet’s most prolific bloggers make their homes inside the Beltway.

Washington has the highest concentration of journalists anywhere in the world, a staggering testament to the sphere of influence of the so-called fourth estate, the term used to denote the public press (traditionally, the first three estates, each with its own influence in government, are nobility, clergy, and townspeople). It’s also a downright scary thought to many people (at least until they count the lawyers!) that there are all those nosy journalists running around—not to mention the amateurs blogging from their home computers. It’s to be expected, however, since Washington plays the dual role of capital of the nation and capital of the free world.