By Pamela Bond

This I Believe, National Public Radio

March 11, 2010

I believe in the power of the written word. I believe that it can take you places and tell you things that you could never know without it. I believe it has the power to influence, to entertain and to teach.

Some believe this power is slipping away. With T.V. and podcasts becoming more popular than newspapers and magazines, music and movies more popular than books, it’s hard to say what the future will hold for print media. People used to crave this medium, eagerly awaiting a next printing or edition. But I believe it will hardly lose its place in our society, and in our hearts.

I was the type of child who couldn’t get enough of books and news. I would read under the covers with a flashlight after I was supposed to be asleep. I craved news as I grew older. I was one of the few in my high school who knew as much about Matchbox Twenty as African politics. That’s why I decided to become a journalist. My first job working for a medium-sized town newspaper certainly did not have the same impact on international politics as working as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press (my dream job at the time), but it still taught me about the power of words.

Every so often, we catch a glimpse of what might be the future of writing. I admit, I have a Barnes and Noble Nook and I love it. Shortly after I got my Nook as a Christmas present, I read an article about how digital eReaders would become obsolete within the year. So what’s next? I don’t know, but I don’t believe it will be the end.

I love to see young people reading. They emergence of Twilight as the next teen trend had me so excited. I believe that reading is one of the best habits we can teach the next generation. And yes, I read all the Twilights and was happy to read that they passed literary muster.

So what’s the future of print media? I don’t know for sure, but the important thing is I believe it has a future.

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