The commonsense view is that one reads newspapers for information. Now, this piece distinguishes between information and news in newspapers.
Newspapers entered my life when I was in high school in Dhenkanal. I was staying with my eldest uncle. He didn’t subscribe to a newspaper; for him, reading newspapers did no good to readers, especially school students. Nothing that directly contributed to scoring good marks in the examinations was good, in his view. No teacher at school advised us to read a newspaper. Our school subscribed to a couple of Odia newspapers. They were delivered to the headmaster’s quarters, and when he came to school at ten, the peon would bring them. They would be deposited in the library, a small room with a couple of middle-sized almirahs, a centre table, and two long benches. The newspapers were unavailable to us, students. Maybe teachers read them. But during my four years there, I never saw any of them reading. When I passed by the library, I found the library clerk glued to a newspaper, having nothing to do.
One or two of my batchmates and I read newspapers at shops in the town, which were doing well. We didn’t buy anything, but the shop owners did not object to our reading their newspapers. There was no college in the town, and our school was said to be among the ten best schools in the State. This might explain why the shop owners were generous to us, senior students. In the newspaper, we read mostly about the major political happenings in the State, and football matches played in the Cuttack and Calcutta leagues; I gave more time to the latter. We had to be selective because we had at most ten minutes to read the paper, and we read it standing outside.
It was at Ravenshaw College that newspaper-reading was recommended to us by our teachers, once we chose Arts for study at the Bachelor’s level. The Science departments did not encourage their students to read newspapers, which they considered a waste of time. My teachers in the English honours class asked us to read two newspapers a day, at least one newspaper in English. They recommended The Statesman more for language than for content. But for patriotic reasons, some of us chose Amrita Bazar Patrika. Reading newspapers became part of my daily routine for years. While at IIT Kanpur, I subscribed to two newspapers: The Hindustan Times and The Times of India, and continued to do so even after I bought a TV. But why two newspapers then, when you have a TV? Same stuff on TV and in the newspaper. Wasn’t it boring when news was not my career? That question never occurred to me.
A mild tiff with an elderly person in his mid-sixties, I thought, at the Faculty Guest House at IIT Delhi in 1992 helped. In the small lounge, he was reading The Hindustan Times, and I told him that since he wasn’t reading the pages I wanted, could he give me those pages? He took umbrage at my request. If he wanted to read a page, he would have the entire paper with him. That was his attitude. No sharing. He didn’t give me the pages I wanted. In an offended tone, he said, “We don’t read the newspaper for the news; we read it for the views.” He gave me the whole paper and left in a huff. And left me with an idea about the separation of function between the newspaper and the TV!
He was right. If one wants the news, then one must turn on one’s TV. One learns what is happening right then. One sees and experiences the raw reality, almost—a place destroyed by bombing, houses and people being swept away by flood, someone drowning a crowd with their speech, a festival taking place, a football match being played, etc. Sitting comfortably on a sofa in the living room, one could watch a drone attack or a missile strike on a structure on TV. Newspapers, compared to telecasts, give somewhat stale news. In short, newspapers can be a source of news only in the absence of television.
Some, mostly young, some not so young, are saying these days that the “news” in the newspapers, especially the best-selling ones, is no “news” really. They dish out controlled, agenda-driven information—the editorial team executing the newspaper owner’s political and even social agenda. Noam Chomsky has discussed this in his impactful book “Manufacturing Consent”. If you are so inclined, you could choose to watch the film carrying the same title, based on this book.
So, if not in the newspapers (and news telecasts), where then is the “correct” news to be found? On social media platforms, say the critics of the mainstream newspapers and television broadcasts. The information created and disseminated here enjoys full editorial independence. But many believe that democratization of the creation and dissemination of information has generated a great deal of disinformation in the public space. In any case, relevant to our present purpose in all this discussion is that one does not need newspapers to get reliable and authentic news. Then, of what use is a newspaper? As for the views, if the news is not reliable, what value are the views, which cannot question the news? The editorial team controls not just the news, but the news articles too.
Quite a few, again not just the young, are now saying that one need not subscribe to or even read a newspaper because there are online editions of the mainstream newspapers. On a smartphone or an iPad, one can read newspapers for free. So, buying a newspaper means spending money and bringing junk to the house. But newspapers, both in English and regional languages, are thriving.
I, in my mid-eighties, subscribe to one newspaper now—an English newspaper. Most days I am not able to read the whole paper. But if there is no paper at the door till 7 in the morning, I feel uneasy. The same is true of my college friends, living in Bhubaneswar, with whom I have been in regular touch. I can, of course, read a newspaper online, but it’s not the same thing. It’s not the news or the views; I want to feel the paper in my hand. It can be called the “newspaper habit”.
Now, the number of readers of English and regional-language newspapers in our country is increasing. The news industry is thriving, not struggling. And the newspaper habit is not the only reason. It is, in fact, a minor reason. The main reason is that, in this country, with a wide digital divide, the number of readers with the tools to read a newspaper online is very small compared to the millions without. Newspapers meet their need for information. And for that information—well, that’s what they live by!
Newspapers have played a significant role in shaping India’s history. Long before the internet or television, newspapers were the primary source of news and reflections on the news. They informed people, sparked debates, and even helped in India’s freedom struggle. Some of the oldest newspapers in India started in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were printed in English and Indian languages and were read by both Indians and the British. Do you know which is the oldest newspaper in India? It was first published in the late 1700s. Interestingly, it was handwritten at first and later printed. Another lesser-known fact is that it once faced a ban for criticising the British government.
(The views expressed are the writer’s own)
Prof. B.N.Patnaik
Retd. Professor of Linguistics and English, IIT Kanpur
Email: bn.patnaik@gmail.com
(Images from the net)