Reed Eckhardt, a former executive editor at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, visited Student Media this week to impart more than 40 years of wisdom to the student-employees at the Branding Iron.
With certainty and poise, he asked thought-evoking questions on how the Branding Iron is viewed in the eyes of its employees, the students and the administration. By this, he showed us the path to excellence through the hard road of self-reflection. Reed talked about “speaking truth to power” as journalists, and that if we do not stand on the front lines and speak out to inform the community, then who will?
The power of his rhetoric forced me to look into myself over this past year as a news editor, and reflect on why I do this job. Reed used the example of Thomas Paine, who used his writings to speak truth to power in order to influence the American Revolution. I also thought about Frederick Douglass, who spoke truth to power, when he not only escaped from slavery but also went on to write adamantly against slavery, even starting his own abolitionist newspaper – the North Star.
Writing is an art.
There is nothing more powerful in this world than carefully chosen words that make up a sentence. To me, it’s no different than the skillful stroke of a brush from an artist. Both of these arts have the ability to invoke the soul and stir it to deep contemplation, or much-needed action.
Reed also stressed the fact that we are journalists and human beings, which means that we are fallible. However, our job is to push through our insecurities, and when speaking truth to power, we must be fair and honest in our endeavors. Reed finished his time with us by recommending some books that have changed his life, and the way that he writes.
He wound up giving one of those books to me that I have read non-stop this week. It has already transformed the way I write and edit. I am incredibly grateful for Reed taking his time to guide us, and I look forward, with hope, to many more gatherings in the future. Because of Reed, we now have a new motto at the Branding Iron when we are starting to slack or are simply in need of motivation: Reed it up!
