Which Newspaper Shall I Read Today?

The Birmingham News or The New York Times .... hmm ... lemme see

Have been thinking about the impact of the written word. Back in 1989 the newly elected President of Poland, Lech Walesa, was addressing a group of journalists in the Washington and he asked them whether or not they thought the world could ever have another Stalin or Hitler. It was a rhetorical question to them but he did answer it himself by saying that he didn’t think this possible anymore what with the advent of mass communication. Journalism’s responsibility is seminal to the developing of emerging democracies. We take the task so lightly. I doubt any of us give much thought to the incredible freedom we have to choose from a menagerie of newspapers or radio broadcasts here in America. I watched a film last night about the life of Fidel Castro and while it was regrettable to see a group of revolutionaries that began with what appeared to be a sincere desire to free the people of Cuba -now a perfect Orwellian incarnation- I was nonetheless reminded of the power of a free press and of free speech to turn a motley crew into a full blown dictatorship. Today we have information technology that allows millions of people access to our ideas with the click of a mouse. There is power there for sure-for good and for evil.