Last month, our English Department invited a local radio star to deliver a public lecture on the topic of media influence on society. He described the tug of war that has been going on in recent years between newspapers on real live paper (my words for the old-fashioned way) and newspapers available on the Internet.

Are old-fashioned newspapers only for us older folks? The majority of college students I know appear to consider reading anything, not only newspapers (online or "live") as a chore. Most seem to only read to pass exams.

For me, the pleasures of reading a newspaper, as with reading a novel or a well-crafted poem, essay, or drama, are intricately connected with the pleasures of the human imagination. People read newspapers for many reasons. Newspapers offer information, and they also cover a variety of topics. But newspapers and reading in general can only add to our lives if we have imaginations sufficiently fertile and copious to appreciate them.

Many tell me the Internet has already taken over the job of old time reading, but I should not worry young people will suffer from underdeveloped imaginations as a result. PowerPoint presentations, video games, text messaging, YouTube, and countless other high-tech advances keep young imaginations very much alive and growing. I hope so.