REGARDLESS of the proliferation of digital and electronic media, the print media or the newspapers are as much relevant today as they were ever before. Whilst the electronic media focuses on sensationalism to attract the audience, credibility and authenticity is the hallmark of newspapers which provide information to its readers in the most comprehensive manner so that they could better understand the whole context of the story either in the realm of politics, economy, sports etc.
It is however unfortunate that the habit of newspaper reading is slowly dying especially in our youth. Once the newspaper reading at the breakfast table was a norm and tradition which is now being replaced by the electronic gadgets. It is in this backdrop that the Newspaper Reading Day is being commemorated across the country today (Friday) under the auspices of All Pakistan Newspapers Society with the aim to connect the younger segment of the society with the newspapers. The newspaper society has also decided to launch a nationwide campaign to draw attention of the society towards the efficacy of newspapers in our daily life, which is indeed a welcome and timely step that needs to be taken forward on a sustained basis. The fact of the matter is that newspapers are the powerhouse of information as they provide critical information to the people on the issues ranging from politics to the entertainment. Especially for the youth it is important they read newspapers not only to improve their language and reading skills but also keep themselves acquainted with the happenings around the world. Nobody can deny the educational value of the newspapers but these are definitely challenging times for the newspaper industry. For the survival, it should evolve with today’s technology driven, short-attention-span world. Whilst bringing diversity in our content, we have to rethink the packaging, to look at what format young people prefer consuming the news in. Secondly, we are living in the digital world with more tech savvy youth, hence, our focus should be reinventing our digital editions and produce such material that caters to all age groups.
