lien •\ˈlen, ˈle-ən\• noun : the right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged The word lien has appeared in 406 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Sept. 11 in "More Than One Kind of Truth in Journalism" by Alan Cowell: Beginning with the street protests in Iran after the disputed 2009 presidential elections and reaching its most recent form in Syria, the news has been shaped not only by the close observation of outsiders, seeking objectivity under an array of restrictions and sometimes mortal perils, but also by activists on the ground with a far more direct political agenda: regime change. That phenomenon, in turn, redefines the role of outsiders casting themselves as interpreters of far-flung lands whose people now have the means on their mobile phones and laptops to bypass intermediaries from elsewhere. Foreign correspondents no longer have an exclusive lien on the narrative. Yet, the outsiders in what is sometimes dismissively called the mainstream media still have a critical role to play in shaping history's first draft. Confronted by the welter of unverifiable sound bites and video clips, claims and counterclaims pouring forth on the Web, foreign reporters wield a power of authentication, granted to them in the trust of readers and viewers, able to grant or withhold their imprimatur on the protagonists' claims of advance and retreat, victory and defeat. Learn more about the word "lien" and see usage examples across a range of subjects on the Vocabulary dictionary.