The Might of the Pen

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Journalists in our country hold positions of extreme power.

A newspaper article, such as the one on former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s tryst, can ruin a career. A blog post, such as the one on Sen. Barack Obama’s “bitter” remarks, can influence a presidential campaign. A 10-minute news broadcast can get millions talking and thinking about the same topic.

Few things are mightier than the power of language in the hands of people who know how to use it.

Words sometimes, though, have a habit of crawling out of the hand and taking on a life of their own, as Nobel Prize winning poet Wislawa Szymborska notes in “The Three Oddest Words.”

The might of the pen implies not only strength, but possibility. This or This or even This might happen with the clicking of computer keys or the scrolling of a teleprompter… or the posting of a blog.

Because in today’s of-the-moment, technology-centric world, anyone can be a reporter.

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