Why Newspapers Continue To Be The First Love

The most productive and relishing start to my day is pouring over the morning newspapers with a hot cup of tea. I love the feel of newspapers in my hands the first thing in the morning, turning the pages, savouring the range and depth of news and information from around the country and the world – politics, development, literature, business, entertainment, arts, travel, sports, hobbies, horoscopes, letter to editors and what not! Add to it the pleasure of diverse formats: Editorials, op-eds, interviews, features, columns, crosswords, book reviews, obituaries, advertisements, vacancies, quizzes, announcements, trivia etc. and your day is made.

Sunday mornings are extra special for the additional number of pages, special articles and supplements. Sample this Sunday newspaper for example: Interview with an international neuroscientist, a column on Chinese media tycoon Jimmy Lai, delicious millet recipes, long articles on ecosystem restoration and revolution in cancer treatment, a feature on Bollywood dads, an editorial on the latest Russian Ukraine crisis, the crossword and other puzzles, fashion trends for summer, a book review…just to name a few.

Newspapers are no less than carefully and thoughtfully curated content bound to engross you without any concern for its veracity, quality or distractions. Historically, newspapers have ushered many changes and constructive campaigns reinforcing the role the newspaper played in chronicling change. Weaved into the sociocultural fabric of a country, newspapers traditionally have always enabled trustworthy and insightful journalism and nurtured an intimate relationship with its readers in shaping their mornings.

Like many others growing up in the 80s, my bond with newspapers began in childhood and there are plenty of memorable and pleasant associations that linger from years of newspaper reading. Newspaper reading was informative, entertaining, educative, intellectually stimulating, relaxing and something to look forward to every day. It greatly enhanced my knowledge, language, sense of empathy, creativity and worldview. I felt as if I knew certain writers, columnists and journalists intimately through their writings. The newspaper made my small world feel bigger. It still does. Despite the onslaught of electronic media followed by digital media, a physical newspaper in hard copy is still a source of immense joy for me.

Fortunately, I have never been able to warm up to television news. And in its current form, the less said about it the better. It’s not just ear-splitting but repetitive and boring too. I am not too much of a 24×7 consumer of digital news either unless something important is happening. Real-time news and digital subscriptions have never been my cup of tea and I find jumping over the many paywalls tedious.

We were a generation who thrived on newspaper reading. I had grown up reading The Telegraph, The Hindu and The Statesman. Weekends used to be special as we would get all the time to read the newspaper and there used to be the weekly supplements too. The very sight of the newspapers lying at our doorstep would be enough to start a scramble between me and my siblings about who would read it first!

Even now, I still love fetching the morning newspapers in their folded and wrapped form, a veritable treasure to be unfolded. The fetching is one of the rituals of newspaper reading. It has to be accompanied by a steaming cup of tea/coffee and complemented by a comfortable chair or the good ol’ dining table or even the bed. Then comes the quick glance over the pages and then the deep immersion into the written words. And as the pages unfold, the world opens up.

Growing up, I used to mark articles that I found interesting, either for others to read (which honestly some find annoying!) or to snip and keep as a reference or simply as a reading treasure. I had gathered scores of articles, cut and stored in boxes during my school and college years.

And who can forget the special relationship with the newspaperwallah or the newspaper boy? That person, who unfailingly dropped each morning’s newspaper at your gate or doorstep. Who was always in a rush to deliver the newspapers but would sometimes stop by to have a quick chat or to collect his yearly Diwali and Dusshera Baksheesh. Despite all the brouhaha about saving papers post the digital news content, newspapers were something which was recycled much earlier. Every house stored old newspapers to be lined on shelves, wrap things and to be given to the recyclers every few months to be made into paper bags and thongas.

My love for newspapers intensified as I entered the world of journalism when my count increased to 4-5 newspapers per day. It was a veritable task in itself. Absorbing the sheer range of information was mind-boggling but extremely fulfilling at the same time. And now with more than half a lifetime devoted to feasting on newspapers, there’s no looking back. I relish revisiting it each morning.

Mornings without the newspapers are somewhat empty. Holi, Labour Day, Diwali, and Dusshera are days when we do not receive newspapers. And It is like your favourite morning person missing from your life!

In an ever-moving, constantly-changing cacophonic world, a newspaper with its static content is an oasis of peace and pleasantly welcome. It is such a relief from the usual gadgets and distractions. I read my newspaper in hand, without any unwanted distractions as compared to reading the news on my phone or my laptop where I am relentlessly beckoned to click on one link or another. It’s worse when irrelevant videos appear and disappear and silly advertisements and other articles compete for attention and space, blocking the content I’m trying to read. Mysterious algorithms compel you to articles and advertisements of related interest. Newspapers in comparison hold still and steady. And it’s a relief.

The COVID pandemic was a watershed moment in newspaper readership when access to physical newspapers took a downturn due to repeated lockdowns and restrictions on physical contact. As per data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5  conducted between 2019 and 2021, there was a double-digit percentage decline in newspaper readership since the 2015-16 NFSS-4 among people who read newspapers/magazines, watch TV and listen to the radio at least once a week.

However, despite the fall in newspaper reading, newspapers are ubiquitous. From drawing rooms, offices and tea stalls to airports, railway stations and waiting rooms. And there is always something interesting to read. It’s always worth the while pouring your nose over a newspaper. And who can ever forget the charm of purchasing a crisp newspaper along with a steaming cup of tea as the train halts early in the morning at railway stations?!

For the younger generation and digital fans who scroll and swipe their screens with alacrity, newspapers may seem boring, static and limiting. I have tried hard to inculcate the habit of reading newspapers among my children with moderate success though. Not surprisingly, while my adult son turns to his phone to gather all news information on his phone, my daughter prefers giving a few minutes of cursory look at the newspapers.

For us, the newspapers romantics, there is more to the news than a click. We are readers, not consumers. Reading a newspaper always gives me a greater sense of satisfaction which I usually do not experience while reading online. I feel a sense of community with newspaper lovers like me, not alienated or anonymous while reading content online. In the organic act of holding the pages, you somehow feel more connected to stories and happenings around the world. It allows stories, information and time to absorb, ponder and wander.

Despite the fall in readership, I hope and wish newspapers never die. I am optimistic that they won’t, even if they have to change to survive in the current media and communication landscape. So, while epitaphs for newspapers will continue to be written, for me, the romance of the newspaper will never end.

As the celebrated poet Gulzar’s poem on love for newspaper reading describes, “Bina akhbaar… tabiyat thodi kuch udaas rehti hain, bina akhbaar din bhar pyaas rehti hain” (Without the newspaper you feel a little downcast, there is a sense of thirst throughout the day).