Might of the pen, hero journalists

The might of the pen has long being understood, from the first love letters that toppled the ancient Greek city of Troy unraveling the age defiant tale of the Trojan War to the spy notes that brought the Soviet Union and the United States to the brink of a nuclear war.

Today, the might of the pen is alive in every journalist and the pen represents all of the journalists’ various means of capturing and conveying news; be it by camera, phone or any other mobile device every time a journalist picks up their pen, they wield the power to bring down a city or stop a nuclear war.

Man is a social being, any surprise as to how fast social media has proliferated even the remotest of communities is to forget this fact.

People need information, to receive and share, it is the basis of life it is how we engage with the community around us and it is the key to the amazing human technological advances. All of these are evidence of the might of the pen and the epitome of which is journalism.

When a journalist goes to the frontline of a war zone, or traverses the dark and vile smuggling routes or faces off disease outbreaks to keep the rest of the world informed, they are heroes in the making, putting the self aside for the greater good but it goes without saying, safety first.

News is not all doom and gloom and so journalists are also the bearers of good news when they are in the throngs of soccer frenzy or in the heat of music concert, the world lives on information and the journalist is there to feed it and a daily dose of minute to minute updates of occurring events.

So this week as the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) announces the shortlisted journalists in the annual Excellence in Journalism Awards Tanzania (EJAT) it is with great pride that we honour the journalists so accorded the prestigious recognition.

It is these journalists who have kept us informed, entertained, educated and warned throughout the year and for that we are ever grateful. Let it not be taken for granted the task that this media fraternity shoulders on a daily basis.

For certain the work is not short cuts and bruises and in some tragic instances permanent body and mental damage has been incurred and even lives have been sadly lost, all in the line of duty to bring you your daily dose of information.

The might of the pen is well known by politicians and corporate boards, and these are ever attempting to sway the media to their favour. Unbiased reporting is the name of the game and the oath every journalist takes.

Lopsided reporting makes the difference between making presidents and creating a favourable public opinion of a company or product, that is the might of the pen.