The essay defends the importance of the written text also for future years when it is deeply challenged. “A society abandoning reading will find itself on a downslope culturally.” Text and language have deep qualities compared to pictures. In a society with an overflow of messages and information channels, the intellectual sorting and deeper explanation which requires the abstractions offered by language becomes even more important. Newspapers with a strong foundation in values have filled an important role in Sweden as large organizations for processing knowledge. That role can not be cancelled without grave consequences for the quality of our democracy.