• Man invented the fire. The world changed.
• He invented the wheel. The world changed again.
• He invented the Internet. The world changed yet again.

The invention of the communication network system we have today has already changed the way we live, and has the potential to change it many times over. With the touch of a button, you can receive and send letters, photos and graphs; you can talk and listen, you can even see the person with whom you are talking who is miles and miles away; and all that while you are the on move from one place to another. Can life be more interesting than this?

Well, journalism is all about communication or the transfer of information. Needless to say, it has come a long, long way ever since Guttenburg printed the Bible in 1455 and professional newspapers first came out some hundred years later. The rapidly changing technology has improved the quality of newspapers. They are not only more attractive today but also carry the latest news.

Will newspapers survive?

What relevance do newspapers have in today’s world of Internet and television, when you can even see many news events live as it happens? Will people ever stop reading newspapers? Will they be content with only watching the news on television or seeing them on the Internet or getting news on their mobile phones? Will newspapers be dead one day?

My answer is no. Newspapers will never die – as long as we read and write. My effort here is not to say that newspapers are superior to radio or TV or Internet. Rather, I would like to stress the fact that newspapers continue to be relevant even with the advent of the Internet. That’s because each of them play entirely different roles in this business of communication.

Now, let’s see how different are these different media of communication. We can see that newspapers, radio, television, Internet and mobile phones are different stages of a communication evolution. The most interesting thing is that each has not eclipsed the other in any way. On the contrary, each has its own advantages over the other. And it’s these advantages that have made the different media still relevant.

Advantages of the printed word

So, what are the advantages of a newspaper? The first one is the permanence of the medium. I mean, what is printed on a newspaper is permanent, whereas, what is seen on television is momentary. You need to be in front of the TV to see the image on it. If you missed it, it is gone. On the other hand, a newspaper is a document that lasts a long, long time. It can be read in the morning in a hurry, later on again in the evening in a more relaxed manner. Many people can read this newspaper almost together, and while they read, they can also discuss what’s written on it.

The second important advantage a newspaper enjoys is the freedom it has to treat a news event in much greater detail than radio or television. TV is called an instant medium. When it reports breaking news, it does so with all the risks of not knowing fully well the implications of that event. It neither knows how the event develops. The news images seen on TV have to be seen in the context of the time of telecast. Often, subsequent events tend to modify preceding events in terms of importance and relevance.

One very typical example is the coverage of a one-day cricket match on TV and newspaper. While the ball-by-ball telecast of the match is exiting in its own way, almost every cricket enthusiast takes great pleasure in reading the match report the next day in a newspaper. And he goes on to discuss with other cricket fans the comments of the reporter.

Another example is election coverage. Once the counting starts television channels go live providing information as to who have won and who have lost. The political landscape often changes through the day until the last vote has been counted. It is exciting to watch the unfolding drama on television, but probably one can’t sit in front of the TV all day long, watching the experts analyse the rapidly developing scenario. Here the newspaper journalist has the time to take a calm and an analytical look at the scene.

Television coverage also has a big limitation in terms of time. Even if an expert likes to make an analysis of an event, he has a maximum of just a few minutes. But a print journalist has lot of time and space at his disposal. The Internet, in fact, goes a step further; as there is no limit to the space available. Thus the web editions of well-known newspapers carry more extensive coverage.

News reports on the Internet can also be accessed later on like a newspaper. Even a printout can be taken. But, the similarity ends there. The visual impact of a printed word on broadsheet or magazine is much more lasting and impressionable than seen on a 14 or 15 inch monitor. The common experience is that even if you have seen a news item on the Internet you still read the same in the newspaper and see it in relation to photographs, graphics and other related news items.

Where radio, TV score

Of course you can read a newspaper standing, sitting, lying down; and with some practice walking too. And, if you like, you can also take the newspaper to the bath.

Where radio and television score over newspapers is in live coverage. People get to know an event as and when it happens. In western countries, where radio and television are far more advanced, even many local events are telecast live. Car radios are very popular and people constantly update themselves about traffic situation, weather, law and order, accidents etc. It helps them schedule their engagements better.

When there are live picture feeds of an event, there is even no reporting to be done since it is all seen as it happens. And the impact the images can have on viewers is profound. One of the most recent examples is last year’s terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York.

This may sound very obvious; but the fact is your morning cup of coffee doesn’t go down well without a newspaper in hand. The thud with which the paper falls on the doorstep is a defining moment for a lot of people. It marks the beginning of a day. And newspapers mean different things to different people. For some it is politics, for others it is movies, or sports, or commerce, or cartoons, or famous quotations, or extracts from religious texts. Nothing more illustrates the continued relevance of newspapers today.

Changing newspaper

While newspapers have remained, what have changed are the way they look and what’s printed on them. Swanky computers and air-conditioned cubicles have replaced insipid editorial rooms scattered with papers, and dingy press with ink fallen all over. Newspapers are no longer mere grey matter. They are colourful and much more attractive than what they used to be. Newsprint and printing quality have also improved manifold.

The content has undergone the greatest change. In order to keep pace with changing times, the way events are reported and the way they are displayed are much more lively.  Once upon a time, newspapers were the only source of information. Now, it is complementary to other media like television. Since rarely newspapers break news, the language of reporting is more interpretative and analytical. People like to read in newspapers what is beyond the visible news that they saw the previous day on TV. So, print journalists go in search of what is called the “news beyond news”.

Newspapers now carry news not just in words, but also in photos, graphics, tables, graphs, illustrations, etc, which add value to the printed word. Moreover, static texts and pictures are best displayed and organised on large papers than on small screens.

Newspapers have survived and will survive, more so in a developing country like India. Remember, computers and Internet are popular only in cities and are still not affordable to the common man.

A society needs options, in communication systems too. And, that is precisely what these different media of communication do. Radio and TV serve the purpose of disseminating news instantly. Newspapers and Internet go one step ahead, for you can read the news in greater detail and at any time of your convenience.

So you can be sure, you wouldn’t miss the paperboy in the morning. He will still be around and deliver your favourite newspaper so that your day begins well enough.