Essay on Newspaper
“In these times we fight for ideas, and Newspapers are our fortresses”
The word newspaper holds a different meaning for different people and ever since its inception in modern-day Europe in around 1780, it has evolved to be a very powerful means for not only mass communication but also has acted as the navigator for the social and cultural journeys of societies and nations in general. Newspapers are one of the oldest forms of mass communication which appears in printed form at low cost with varied frequency. Most modern-day newspapers appear daily with multiple editions throughout the day.
History of Newspaper:
A look at its history suggests that the first newspaper published in India was Bengal Gazette in 1780. After that many newspapers started being published, most of which continue till today. Apart from narrating various events across the world, it contains articles on a wide range of subjects including politics, sports, entertainment, business, education, culture and more. It also contains opinions, editorial columns, weather forecasts, political cartoons, crosswords, daily horoscopes, public notices and more.
The relevance of newspapers can be reaffirmed by the fact that it covers all our facets of life and still hold a great deal of credibility in modern-day society, as most people form their opinion based on the views presented in the newspaper of their choice. We have had credible examples of how newspapers have influenced the morale of a nation.
In its essence, a newspaper is a great source of information of Global, National, and regional news about Politics and socio-political dynamics that influence the world in general. Secondly, newspapers also hold a wealth of information related to business and market and provide both news and insights, many traders depend on a stock listing, as well as corporate houses, to keep track of industry through them.
Moving on, it is said: “Advertisements are the most honest part of the newspaper” and this can be seen clearly at all levels. The newspaper regularly publishes advertisements, both Government and private, along with public tenders and political advertisements.
Public Notices, government schemes and appeals to citizens are regularly published in leading newspapers to keep the public informed at large about the government activities. In this way, the media carries out its responsibility of being the fourth pillar of democracy. This is especially evident when news about GST, Budget, lockdown rules and public notifications about pandemics were regularly featured in newspapers.
Slightly different from these subjects, newspapers also contain sports news and analysis along with news from the entertainment industry and this news is a great point for the focus of enthusiasts of these fields. Movie buffs still plan their movie shows by referring to show timings in the newspaper in many tiers 2 and Tier 3 cities of India.
Benefits of Newspaper
Another popular section among youths is the notification regarding employment in various sectors. The government uses newspapers for publishing its recruitment schedule in different sectors. Private companies also largely use it to notify about vacancies and the nature of candidates desired. Another very important feature in newspapers particularly in the Indian subcontinent is the matrimony sections, the segregated caste sections are in fact used in many cases to find suitable matches by families and many marriages have come out of it.
One very important content about the newspapers anticipated by many people is the regular editorials and guest columns featured in the centerfold. In this section, some public intellectual or subject matter expert expresses their views and opinions on the matter of relevance and information. These columns are usually very informative and full of insight and they shape the opinion for a large audience. This also adds to the responsibility of newspapers that invite distinguished panels for their op-eds. In our country, the examinees of the prestigious UPSC consider newspapers like The Hindu and Indian Express as Bibles for preparation.
In spite of so many qualities, newspapers have also been under the spotlight in all ages, as it is responsible for presenting news to the public, it can also be used as tools of propaganda by people of vested interests and to keep honest knowledge from people. We have countless examples of this ranging from Hitler’s Nazi Party to the Vietnam war to the recent spread of fake news that has slowly started to infest newspapers. It has also been seen at the time that business parties owning press have a leaning towards a political party and they present misinformation or keep information from the public which can have a terrible long-term impact at all levels of society. Thus, the newspapers should be very clear in identifying and extinguishing their moral duties.
In conclusion, I would like to say that newspapers are a great medium of information as it gives the recipient the space to set his own tone of absorbing news and interpret the news based on his understanding, in contrast to the loud styles of electronic media. We should always keep in mind that “A great newspaper is a nation talking to itself”.
E-Newspapers :
E-newspaper have gained popularity with the increase in the use of electronic and technical devices. This type of newspaper format is more efficient and useful than the paper format. E-newspapers have various advantages.
Some merits of using E-newspaper are -
Cost-Efficient - These newspapers are available online on various news websites. Therefore, it reduces the distribution and transportation cost of the newspaper (which is comparatively more in physical newspapers). Along with this, one doesn't necessarily have to buy a newspaper to read it, it can be accessed free of cost. This saves the newspaper fee that we pay for paper format newspapers.
Eco-Friendly - Nowadays, deforestation is becoming a main concern. It affects the environment in a negative way and promotes an imbalance of the ecosystem. To avoid this, we can use e-newspapers. These newspapers do not require paper (which is produced by cutting trees). Therefore, e-newspaper saves paper and contributes to maintaining the ecosystem without compromising with the requirements.
Sharing of News - The physical format of newspapers is not useful for sharing the news and information with others. Whereas, E-newspapers can easily be forwarded to others by social networking sites.
Quickly Editable and Easy to Update - When something is printed on paper, it cannot be erased or edited. But, e-newspaper provides editing and updating of the newspaper. This is a good use of technology which makes e-newspaper better than the normal newspaper.
Easy to Carry - The e-newspapers do not have physical weight and dimension like paper newspapers. This makes it easy to carry and handle the e-newspaper. It also helps in collecting huge amounts of data or news at once without occupying physical space.
Can be Accessed Anytime - The paper newspaper sometimes gets misplaced, which leads to inconvenience. On the other hand, online sources keep records of the older newspaper as well. It helps in accessing old newspapers easily.
FAQs on Newspaper Essay for Students in English
1. Why Newspapers is so Important?
It gives detailed day-to-day knowledge, and it also tells about what happens in society in and around. It also helps in increasing our general knowledge and level of intelligence. Reading newspapers can also improve your vocabulary of the language. It also improves your creative thinking and makes your mind more innovative. It was found in a survey that newspaper reading also increases the brain's problem-solving ability and learning capacity. All over, newspapers are very beneficial and an essential part of our life.
2. Define the Newspaper and its Uses?
Newspaper is known as the powerhouse of information, it collects news from worldwide and sent across to the people, and uses of the newspaper enhances the vocabulary as well as general knowledge of the students. Newspapers are also useful for improving the reading and writing skills of the students. It also helps the student in researching the topic for projects and assignments. It also enhances speaking skills and reading newspapers can contribute to becoming a good speaker.
3. Difference Between E-Newspaper and Regular Newspaper?
While making the difference in both the newspapers you need to pay and read on a daily basis whereas E-Newspaper is a free online portal to acknowledge the news instantly. Also, regular newspapers are a threat to the exosystem as it includes cutting of trees to make paper whereas the e-newspaper does not need a physical medium like paper to be circulated. The cost of circulating and distributing regular newspapers is more than that of the e-newspaper. The regular newspaper can experience damage by water, heat etc whereas e-newspaper is intact due to their technical format.
4. What is the difference between a newspaper and a magazine?
Both newspapers and magazines are good sources of information and publicity. But following are the points of difference between a newspaper and a magazine :
The content in a newspaper consists of short articles and daily life news, updates related to different fields. Whereas, magazines carry content about a specific topic like sports, medical, fashion etc.
Newspapers contain general information about the topic without going in-depth about the topic's sub-category whereas magazines focus on classifying the subject in depth along with its sub-categories.
The length of each article in a magazine is larger than that of the newspaper.
Newspapers are cheaper than magazines and are easily available at newspaper shops. Whereas, some magazines are exported from outside the country which makes it hard to be accessed at the time of requirement.
Newspapers are printed on an everyday basis whereas magazines are printed once in a while. Although newspapers are printed in a limited quantity so that it can be distributed in a day, magazines are produced majorly and distributed for a long time.
The newspapers are printed to be used on a daily basis whereas magazines are printed with the thought to be kept longtime. Therefore, magazines have better paper quality than newspapers. Also, newspapers are generally not kept in libraries or bookshelves but magazines can be commonly seen in libraries.
Newspapers are not a good source of fun and entertainment. Magazines are more entertaining and enjoyable than newspapers.
Newspapers are printed on the basis of information provided by media and reporters whereas the magazines hold professional content provided by the experts in the field.
5. On which dates the newspapers are not distributed in India?
On 15th August (independence day), 26th January (Republic Day) and 2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti) newspapers are not distributed in the country. These days, newspapers are neither printed nor sold. But, people can access news these days with the help of e-newspapers. For more information about newspaper and writing skills, students can refer to Vedantu's free notes and PDF. Vedantu provides these courses free of cost with the best quality of education and information.