Introduction-Newspaper as a necessity: the reading of newspapers is a part and parcel of the life of a modern man. It gives us information about everything important which happens in any part of our country and the world. Through newspapers, we become aware of the latest developments in the political, social, economic and other spheres. Without reading the daily newspapers, one would remain in the dark as to how the world is moving. A good newspaper satisfies the needs of all types of men-lovers of games, business people, educationists, politicians, children and students.
Kinds of Newspapers: Just as there are many kinds of news, so there are many kinds of newspapers. There are newspapers giving news about games and sports only like ‘Sports and Pastimes’. There are weeklies or monthlies covering news of the show-world only like “Film Fare”. On the other side, there are dailies like “The Pioneer” or “The Hindustan Times”.
The Reading of Newspapers in India: In our country, a very small percentage of the population reads newspapers. India lives in villages where the people are generally illiterate and uneducated. They are helpless. But even a large section of literate Indians do not read newspapers regularly. In advanced countries like England, first thing a person does in the morning is to read the newspaper. Hence, the number of newspaper readers runs into millions and billions.
The Greatest Rival of the Newspapers: The radio is the greatest rival of the newspaper. The radio broadcasts news more quickly and promptly than the newspaper can. A modern man listens to the newspaper stale and old after listening the radio. Hence, many persons often show indifference towards newspapers. This is not proper, because the radio supplies news briefly and incompletely. For detailed information about everything, we should read a standard newspaper, daily and weekly, regularly.
The Various Ways of Reading Newspapers: There are many ways of reading newspapers. Some people feel satisfied after having a glance at the headlines only, while others read it minutely as if they are reading a text book. Neither of these methods is proper. No sensible person would like to waste his time in reading every line of the newspaper. At the same time, one cannot be benefitted by having a glance at the headlines. What should be read and what should not be read depends largely upon one’s taste and occupation. But there are many things in every newspaper which must be read by every person carefully.
Conclusion:Students and Newspapers: The reading of newspapers is both necessary and useful for students particularly. To improve the knowledge of language and to remain in constant touch with the fast changing world, students must read standard newspapers and regularly. One thing should be remembered that newspapers cannot should not take the place of serious literature.