Advantages and Disadvantages of Newspaper

A newspaper is a periodical publication that has information about current events. It is one of the easiest, most accessible, and most trusted sources of information. Many people in the world are dependent upon the Newspaper for the current events happening in the world. Newspaper reading offers the reader a good sense of educational value and carries information related to sports, politics, economics, entertainment, industry, business, trade, and commerce.

In contemporary times, Newspaper, particularly print media, is facing a crisis. Many newspaper agencies have shifted to online mode and have shut down their physical printing of newspapers due to the shortage of readers in the physical mode. Their readers now like to read the Newspaper in digital format. However, a large chunk of people are present in the world who like the physical Newspaper in a tea stall, salons, vendor shops, and sometimes in the bus and trains. Before the advent of Online news portals, people said they liked reading newspapers and drinking morning tea.

Newspaper agencies in India that print daily include The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Times of India, Navbharat Times, Dainik Bhaskar, etc.

Global print media include the Telegraph, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Guardian, etc. Popular vernacular presses have emerged in India and have a wide readership, including Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi, Sakal, Eenadu, etc.

Newspapers played an important role in the freedom struggle of India. When our freedom fighters were languishing in jail, the Newspaper became their major source of information. Not just information, Newspapers used to carry the nationalist ideas of our leader to the masses. They also exposed the malpractices, rampant corruption, and despotic rule of the British Colonialists. It helped spread protest movements like the Dandi March, the Civil Disobedience movement, and the plight of the poor peasant of Champaran.

Newspapers have a massive effect on the masses and government. Their reportage and columns highlight social problems, expose existing corruption, and make citizens aware of daily events. They are useful for advertisers as they can advertise their products on their newspaper pages. These advertisers are the major source of income for the Newspaper, as Newspaper agencies charge exorbitant fees for the per-page advertisement from the advertisers.

In India, people like to read newspapers in their regional language. However, English and Hindi newspapers are still dominant because Hindi and English are widely spoken and have a massive readership. Newspapers are published on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Some of the daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers are The Indian Express, The Sun, and The Bloomberg, respectively.

Some of the major newspaper editors in India are Sekhar Gupta, Sanjoy Narayan, and Prabhu Chawla. Online media and social media have now become major sources of news in the world. Newspapers are facing rigorous competition from online portals, digital, electronic, and social media. Due to this, many newspaper agencies have to shut down their work or switch to the digital format.

Advantages of Newspaper

• Credible Source: In the era of false, misleading, and fabricated news, Newspapers are still trusted, credible and relevant news sources. The Newspaper provides all the current events in several fields like economy, politics, sports, international relations, trade, and commerce under one roof. Readers do not have to go to other platforms for news from different fields. Newspapers are systematically divided into different sections like business, international relations, sports, business, polity, and entertainment.
• Availability in Multi-Languages: Newspapers are printed or digitally produced in almost every regional language and are available in nearby shops. Since there are few news portals and digital platforms that publish news in the regional language, there is a chance for print media to establish a wide readership for them.
• Source of Entertainment: For kids, it becomes a source of entertainment as these newspapers contain many puzzles, quiz questions, and interesting cartoon stories which children like.
• Enhance Understanding of the Key Concept: If someone is reading the Newspaper from an early stage, he would early understand the current geopolitical situation, conflicts, and politics. People become aware of society, and it provides them with the opportunity to understand conflicting issues that are present in society.
• Expose Corruption, Loopholes, and Casual Attitude of the System: Newspapers in the past have exposed several scams, laxities, and loopholes in the administration's policy-making. Due to these revelations, authorities remain alert and take action based on the report published in the Newspaper.

Disadvantages of the Newspaper

• Paper Wastage: A lot of paper is wasted in publishing news articles. People believe that many things have shifted to online mode, and digital format is easy, handy, and accessible.
• Advertisement: Some newspaper only contains an advertisement, and the news portion is very limited. It irks the reader if they do not find any relevant news material in the Newspaper. They are deeply pained to know that they are paying for the news, not for seeing an advertisement in the Newspaper.
• Partisan News: Some newspaper carries out news in a twisted manner, and the reader also alleges that the Newspaper carries out the reportage in a biased manner and favors one political party. It damages the Newspaper's integrity and erodes the reader's faith.
• Limited Chance of Creativity: On the online portal, the editor can put videos, real-time graphs, and high-definition images. Videos, graphs, and images help the reader understand the news more clearly. It improves the quality of the content. This modification cannot be carried out in the Newspaper.
• Instant News: With social and electronic media presence, people get the news with one click. They do not have to wait for the next day to arrive at the Newspaper. In this digitized world, everybody has mobile phones and gets the news with one simple click.