Dave Eggers: "Print Lives!"

Anybody who has taken Media & Society knows what a huge fan I've become of Dave Eggers - educator, entrepreneur, writer, buccaneer... Besides his writing, I most admire his enthusiasm for the written word and his gung-ho quest to engage young people with reading, writing and publishing.

Along those lines, here's an e-mail Eggers sent out via gawker.com and his faith in the future of print! In part, he writes:

Reports that no one reads anymore, especially young people, are greatly overstated and almost always factually lacking. I've written about youth readership elsewhere, but to reiterate: sales of young adult books are actually up. Total volume of all book sales is actually up. Kids get the same things out of books that they have before.

And about journalism, he had this to say:

We're convinced that the best way to ensure the future of journalism is to create a workable model where journalists are paid well for reporting here and abroad. And that starts with paying for the physical paper. And paying for the physical paper begins with creating a physical object that doesn't retreat, but instead luxuriates in the beauties of print. ... As long as newspapers offer less each day— less news, less great writing, less graphic innovation, fewer photos— then they're giving readers few reasons to pay for the paper itself.

Onward, Mr. Eggers!

(If you haven't seen the TED.com video above, you must! Called "Once Upon a School," it chronicles Eggers' quest to encourage communities to involve children in reading and writing -- and even buccaneering!)

-rp-