A newspaper may be described as a document which is printed and published regularly and consists of news reports, articles, photographs and advertisements which are on large sheets of paper folded together but not permanently joined. Newspapers may be published daily, weekly or every fortnight. Examples of newspapers are the DAILY GRAGHIC in Ghana and the WASHINGTON POST in the United States of America. Newspapers are very important in the lives of many people in the world. As a section of the Press, newspapers have the main aims of informing, educating and entertaining the public.
We the students of West Africa Senior High School at Adenta, a suburb of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, working on Learning Circle Project have found out from our research that newspapers are very important in not only educating the youth but also help in informing and entertaining them in our country, Ghana as well as in other parts of the world.
Newspapers in Education:
-Articles from newspapers give facts about current affairs which may not be found in textbooks in their schools.
-Students learn new or unfamiliar words, expressions and spelling which add up to their vocabulary.
-Newspapers provide topics that students may use in their conversations with their friends.
-The youth are educated on social, political and economic issues when they read articles in the newspapers.
-Newspapers educate both the youth and adults on the opinions and feelings of people in the world on various issues.
-Newspapers educate people about new inventions, discoveries and developments in Science, Technology, Health and Diseases.
-When students read newspapers, they learn about different styles of writing.
-Students who read newspapers regularly improve their reading in terms of fluency and speed as they become familiar with a lot of words.
Newspapers in the information of the public:
-Newspapers provide reports on both local news and foreign news. They provide news on crime, natural disasters, wars, the Stock Exchange, Sports, the weather and many other issues. These news are important in the lives of many people including the youth.
-Newspapers give information on current and existing laws, rules, regulations and bye-laws.
-The youth can easily obtain information on the problems facing their country and other countries e.g. food shortage.
-Through advertisements, information can be obtained from newspapers on types of goods one wants to buy and in which shops they can be located. These goods may be clothes, shoes, computers etc.
Newspapers in Entertainment
We the youth are very much interested in entertainment.
-Newspapers provide advertisement on entertainment, that is, various forms, venue, date and time.
-Some students read newspapers during their free time as a form of entertainment.
-The youth find crossword puzzles and quizzes in newspapers challenging and entertaining.
-Some youth also get a lot of fun from reading jokes, poems, comics and cartoons in newspapers.
Although newspapers are advantageous in educating, informing and educating the youth, they also have disadvantages. Some newspapers, especially private newspapers, contain some articles that are not reliable and therefore not good or useful for the youth.
From our research, about 55% of our students read newspapers regularly. Most of them prefer reading youth newspapers especially JUNIOR GRAPHIC published by the Graphic Communications Group. The students were of the opinion that newspaper reading improves their reading. The students said the youth-focused newspapers write articles that are suited to their needs. Headlines of ten youth-related articles we selected from March 2008 editions of major newspapers are: NGO introduces new methodology for English; Social welfare looks for parents of missing children; Catholic Church announces new youth programme; Dadebo stresses the need for teaching ICT in schools; Child Protection committees set up in 11 districts; Queen advises youth to be self-dependent; Academic excellence goes with discipline; President’s lifeline for BECE failures; NCCE expresses concern about child labour; ENO Environment members mark Day.
We cannot imagine a world without newspapers. In view of the great importance of newspapers, we suggest that all youth should be encouraged to read newspapers especially those written for the youth. Schools should also be encouraged to publish their own newspapers where it is possible. All the youth are invited to the educative world of newspapers. Let us cultivate the habit of reading newspapers.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
What is the Issue? I have decided to read about the Traditional newspapers are becoming extinct. The issue with this is the cost of the newspapers going up and how the Internet is taking over the place of the newspaper. People are now depending on the Internet for their sources instead of the newspapers. The competition-deflecting effects of printing cost got destroyed by the Internet. The newspaper people often note that newspapers benefit society as a whole, but it is getting so expensive to keep newspapers running. The imperatives to strengthen journalism and to strengthen newspapers have been so tightly wound as to be indistinguishable. They are trying to find ways to strengthen the ways of newspapers. "Save newspapers" to "save society" is the big issue of this article. The other issue is to keep the newspapers from becoming extinct.…
- 1277 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
and discussion of the editorial content of the newspapers and what they reveal to the students.…
- 2262 Words
- 12 Pages
Powerful Essays -
This is a focused lesson that can be used with 11th or 12th grade students in honors English and/or journalism classes. (Students should already be familiar with traditional news values/ balance and their role on the front page of the daily newspaper.)…
- 669 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
If you or anyone you know has ever doubted the validity or importance of your school newspaper, consider the following: 1. A student newspaper improves communication between all groups in a school. 2. It can give both students and faculty knowledge and understanding of school issues not otherwise available. 3. It can do the same for parents who happen to read copies taken home. 4. It conveys an image of the school to the community. 5. It helps silence rumors that often arise in the absence of information. 6. It can interpret school rules and regulations and provide feedback on student reactions. 7. Provides a check on student government, an essential for any democratic government. 8. It helps maintain order by reporting violations of school rules. 9. It facilitates the educational process through stories on academic subjects and courses. 10. It encourages study by giving recognition to students who make honor rolls or win scholarships. 11. Students who aspire to staff positions may improve various skills. 12. It helps to inculcate in students an important reading habit which may continue after graduation. 13. Its forum of editorials, letters and signed columns encourages the resolving of issues by reasoned debate. 14. It provides an outlet for student writing that primarily emphasizes service to readers rather than self-expression. 15. The goal of impartiality in news provides students with lessons in fairness and accuracy. 16. The ethical imperatives that facts be distinguished from opinions helps students understand the meaning and importance of objectivity. 17. Staffers who do interviews gain experience in dealing with people. 18. Writing for the press gives staff members practice in taking accurate notes and in using reference materials. 19. Reporting experience helps students to recognize the difficulty of finding firm facts in a maze of stats, propaganda and conflicting opinions. 20.…
- 1034 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The world currently is changing at an alarming rate. Technology is booming at a an unprecedented rate and have brought many changes along with it. However the emergence of the internet isn't the first time that newspapers have had some competition. Both the invention of the radio and of television has allowed for different mediums through which news can be delivered to the public. Both have had it's negative effects on the newspaper industry, but have not completely replaced it.…
- 333 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Mass media not only can have an impact on a child’s learning, but it also influences adults in the way they think and act. When a political campaign is in motion the mass media will post photographs that depict what they want one to see and believe. Catchy slogans will accompany these photos to instill the thought of a great leader. Mass media will focus on only one side of a potential leader,…
- 878 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The process of selection is central to the production of all newspapers. This involves selecting events which are considered to be worthy of being printed as news, and excluding news which is considered to be irrelevant, insignificant or unworthy of news coverage. Thus news is a social construct dependent on what is deemed to be important by those who work in the ‘news industry’ based on certain codes of behaviour which have been learned by news workers in order to do their job. The codes of behaviour which have been learnt by news workers undoubtedly depend on the particular newspaper for which they are working.…
- 2049 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays -
If you are taught about what happens in other places, the curiosity of knowing what is going on outside of where you live encourages you to seek out the truth in adulthood. A study done by the NCES stated that “Students who take classes that require them to pay attention to government, politics, or national issues reported increased interest in them outside of school” (NCES). This study done shows that teaching current events in the classroom have a direct effect on student’s interests outside of school relating to knowing about the world they live in. If a student learns about who is running for president at school, they might investigate how the election works, for example. Current events are a never-ending flow of knowledge that anyone can become interested in, no matter what you agree with or disagree with. So, whether you like sports or the arts, math or science, anybody can find something worth reading about or listening to on the endless news websites and television shows. This helps children use the news for school projects, and personal queries as well. Students can find something about anything they are interested in knowing, thanks to the constant spew of current events on the…
- 1650 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
The article is written for a newspaper and designed to attract the reader’s eye rather than…
- 877 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The mass media is an important part of our life. Now it is an information era. Everyone may get information from the media daily, such as news papers, TV, radio and the Internet. Over 55 million newspapers are circulated a day. Many people are accustomed to reading a newspaper when they eat breakfast or spend their spare time. However, more recently, with the Internet exposure, more and more people would rather surf the Internet to find information than read newspapers. The Internet has become one of most primary ways for finding information and communicating.…
- 520 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Technology has given immense new possibilities to the newspaper and it has thus increased its power. But what we often see today is the deteriorating morality of the press, represented by a number of newspapers in almost every country. These do a disservice to the public by being part of the cheap press and their aim is to make money, to mislead people, to exaggerate events, to publish abusive advertising. But a good number of other newspapers aim at high levels of respectability. We may judge a good newspaper by the standards it tries to uphold as well as by comparing it with the defects of other newspapers.…
- 835 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Newspapers and magazines are a source of information (sometimes entertainment) that has been around for decade’s even centuries of time providing us with fact, fiction, and opinions from numerous stand points. There are a wide range of topics in which magazines and newspapers cover, however it depends on the type of magazine or Newspaper Company and what they are welling to tell us. For example the New York post, one of the highest read newspapers in New York focuses more on entertainment and sports news while the New York Times focuses more on political and world news. However, magazines are a slightly different story from newspapers where they are formatted differently and have more coloring in them. There are people who think of magazines as entertainment or just useless information like cover girl, etc.; but there are magazines that actually cover the political and important aspects of not only the world but life.…
- 581 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Every civil community has newspapers. A newspaper is usually an everyday publication. It contains news, opinions, advertisements, notice and information of all kinds. It also publishes all matters of general interest. It is a very useful mass medium. It keeps people aware about the current events of the world. It publishes views about national and international issues and molds public opinion. Commodity prices, share market reports, race course events, sports news, news about films, fashions and entertainments are some of its regular features. Newspaper has also columns for children and women and even for the students' preparation for examination. In fact, a newspaper is an encyclopedia, a store house of knowledge and information at the cheapest price. Thus a newspaper bears interest of every section of people and is an attraction for every kind of readers. All kind of people can read newspaper and can find news on the sector that matches his/her interest. So developing the habit of reading newspaper can indeed be beneficial in the longer term.…
- 2139 Words
- 7 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Newspaper is the source of information for every type of people. Traditionally, Newspaper is a medium of information and the tool for communication. People in every class have to absorb the knowledge and information from the newspaper to connect and have a discussion to other people, so they always buy the newspaper on the street to read and to be informed the news. In the 21st century, the world has been changed considerably; as a result of it, newspaper is becoming less popular than in the past. Access to the news through other types of media such as radio, television, social network and the Internet is spread among people while in the past newspapers play an important role in people’s lives. People can get news about international, social and political circumstances very easily and conveniently. Although newspapers have a great-depth in detail and have many critical opinions of journalists, the news offered by the newspaper may become out of date. This essay examines how the newspapers why the newspaper may become outdate if compared to other sources of media in the modern world.…
- 973 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
The citizens of America depend on communication and information for their daily activities. These activities include; work, education, entertainment, traveling, personal relationships, and health care (Kearney and Crandall 10). The people use the newspapers or television to get news. They make phone calls, browse over the Internet where possible to make decisions that are based on the information that they need and get. The decisions should be made depending on the values and beliefs that exist in the society. The younger generation, need to have facts and use experience when making certain decisions. The media is the place where most people get the latest and current facts and news on significant issues. Most of the younger generation, therefore, turns to the media, which is a form of entertainment to get news and education. This in effect, has influence on the younger generation. The mass media influences the upcoming generation,…
- 1529 Words
- 7 Pages
Satisfactory Essays