The Role of Newspapers

Twentieth-century is the age of newspapers. They have become a part and parcel of our life. When we get up in the morning, we eagerly wait for a newspaper boy. It is difficult to imagine a world without it. The world is changing very quickly. There is nobody who does not want to know what is happening in India and abroad. So the newspaper gives us the latest news. Pick it up and you will know what has happened in the world. It tells the story of the world from hour to hour and day today. Let a leader say something and the newspaper tells it to the whole world in the evening. It is interested in everything and everybody. It adds to our knowledge and information. It is a mirror of the hearts of the people and their voices. They can get their grievances redressed through it. It is a link between the people and the government. It guides and protects our liberty. It is a source of advertisement and propaganda. It satisfies people of all tastes and occupations. It is a blessing to a businessman, an agriculturist, and an industrialist. It contains valuable articles on scientific inventions, art, literature, politics, etc. An unemployed person reads it for “vacancy”, a filmgoer, for a picture, a sportsman for sports, a bachelor for matrimonial purposes,s and so on. It gives us not only news, but also views, and reviews. Without it, we will be cut off from the rest of the world. If newspapers were stopped, there would be no trade and commerce, no progress in art, literature, science, and philosophy. On the whole, newspapers educate us, mold our opinion, and entertain us. They are a hand-maid of democracy. In the words of Pl. Nehru, they are our masters.