If You Were a Newspaper Publisher in a Local Community, What Types of Stories and Issues Would You Cover to Make the Publication Appealing to Young People? Do You Think the Newspaper Writing Style Should Be Simplified

Newspaper is the most trusted information source that been used to deliver updated information to the whole people in the world. The newspaper industry dwarfs others media by almost every its operation and procedure. Newspaper, as we know, it issued by daily and weekly, consists with folded sheets containing news, advertisement, correspondence and feature articles. Deliver people a lot of information such as what was happened yesterday will be issued in the newspaper tomorrow. Feature articles may contain tremendous issues such as earthquakes, floods, wars, death of very an important person and many more. News are also may deliver via other mass medium such as television and radio. Perhaps they may stolen the glitz and romance of the newspaper once had, which people may miss about how much important is the newspaper. Unfortunately, newspaper is a large industry that occurs in every measure and even facing in crisis enough whereby readers among youngsters are hard to find like to read newspapers. According Thomas Jefferson, the Third American United States President, said that “ were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable”. He displays that how much important is newspaper in daily life, which people are started to miss its significance. In most community, newspapers covers more news at greater depth in competing other media. A metropolitan daily, such as The News Strait Times, Utusan Malaysia, and The Star typically convey more news and more than television and radio’s news. Currently, as publishers, journalists, reporters and other positions that involved in newspaper industry, are facing a big question. For example in our country, in this era of globalization, we can see that young people are tend to avoid reading newspaper and this shows that the young people are dislike to read newspaper, obviously, when we see in the morning, most of customer’s of newspapers are consist by working people in the age of 35 years old and above and it seen as gloominess in publisher’s view. Questions are turn up in all the newspapers publisher’s organization. In this essay, I would like to discuss more about why do young people dislike to read newspaper, how to attract youngsters to read newspaper and should the newspaper writing style has to be simplified in order to be more accessible to young people. In my mind, if I were a publisher, the questions that almost appear, are newspapers dead? Does the youngsters have no interest in reading news in print? These questions generate many debates among media experts. In this view, newspaper needs people to read. In our sophisticated millennium generation, there are plenty of people that don’t know how to read. We go to school and we do learn reading. Reading habit is the basic of education and there are variety types of stories in reading interest. Mythologies of young people as readers in general and stereotypical too, viewed by Gavin Rheeder, the Manager of marketing communication of Beeld, perpetuates five myths of Afrikaans which are young people are in the homogenous group, young people don’t like to read, young people prefer more soft news and they prefer slang language than proper language. Research about the newspaper readers tells that it comes in all categories of ages, no matter old, middle ages and young which in grabbing higher percentage of newspaper readers are old people in majority. Youngsters knowledgeable as a group that has more interest on entertainment such as celebrities, movies and other leisure, likely more to social lifestyle. Obviously, newspaper is not dead in old generation, unfortunately, young people dislikes to read newspaper due of their interest in leisure and enjoyment. In the other side, young people are inspected that they have a high interest in reading comics such as Dragon Ball, Doraemon, novels such as romance and love types, fiction and imaginaries- Harry Potter as an example, gains trillions profits and royalties in print media which attract the youngsters to read the novels, consisting series. Twilight as other example, are also publishing the novels in series, after it comes out with a movie. Magazines as well captivate young people increasingly and it highlighted the updates of fashions, lifestyle and most of it are the stories and gossips among celebrities. Youngsters are tends to idol their favorite celebrities as their icons. Newspaper, as well too, do appear the section of entertainment, but the problem is, young people gravitate towards entertainment pages only. Often happened, young people are observed, they hold the newspapers and despite reading important and educational articles, they read gossips and celebrities news. Nevertheless, young people gain less other part of educational information. For instances, lake in science and economical knowledge and in results, youngsters obtain imbalance information and have minor knowledge. In order to improve the number of readers among young people to read newspaper, tips and tricks has to think due to solve the problem. For me, as a publisher of newspaper, we should arise more attracting and interesting issues. For example, publishing newspaper in university, we should take note the student’s interest and deliver educational information that comes along with their interests such as discuss the problem that has faced by student and instructing a section for student give their feedbacks and responses of any future and highlight news so that they can speak out what they want and their curiosity. Words of the day, thoughts, quotes and phrases are also may magnetize student’s attention. Advertisement such as printing, books and shops are also needed in order to give and provide tips and facile student to search what they need. In addition, by put some funny comics or something character of cartoons may also alluring readers attention and give some relaxation before the readers keep on reading the news. For an example, newspaper such as Kosmo, today, captured student interests and diversions. This show that student are attracted with its contents where they can send and give their responses, critics and praises. In the other side, arising the question that involving the credibility of newspaper should publisher simplified its writing style. As for me, newspaper should not simplify its writing style. Writing style is the credibility of newspaper that we can’t interrogate. Discussing about credibility of newspaper, western media would call our county’s mainstream media with labels such as pro-government, docile and others. But it is not about being docile, where in our country as well, we have to obey the rule and regulation. According Lee Kuan Yew, ex-president of Singapore said that, “ freedom of the press, freedom of the news media, must be subordinated to the overriding need of integrity of Singapore, and to the primacy of purpose of an elected government. Singapore wants mass media to reinforce, not to undermine, the cultural values and social attitudes being inculcated in schools and universities. “ This shows that we, as publisher, should count up with some other sensitive issues that shouldn’t been discuss in newspaper such as culture, religions and races issues. Malaysia is country that practiced democracy and consist variety types of races and religions, such as Chinese, Malay, Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Indian and many more. Press may be separate and being independent of the government but, circumstances has to be count due to prevent unexpected feedbacks from readers will happen. Simplify writing style such as changing proper English to slang English should not occur in the newspaper. It may decay the pride and credibility of newspaper. For instance, the word of want to change to wanna. Newspaper known as a formal reading item which the readers are come from many stages of people. King, Sultan, Prime Minister and other ministers do read newspaper. In other words, changing writing style of newspaper should not exist in order to protect the credibility of newspaper. Young people may see newspaper as a gloom and dull reading utilities, and to fix this perception, it is significant to us as the publisher to tell readers that newspaper is a vehicle in cater and deliver useful information to all people in this world. Newspaper in other words, is a reading item that brings us information and knows what happen in other country. War in Afghanistan for instance, newspaper comes out the articles and discuss by the gurus all over the world. Nevertheless, newspaper function as the medium that connect all people in this wide world to give support and decline for any bad temptation that had exist and happened on earth. Latest news, earthquake that just happened in Philippines drag public to know more about it, and as we can see, newspapers put this natural disaster as the main article. In conclusion, people needs newspaper in order to update news and in addition, it is the cheapest mass medium that can be own every people, no matter he or she is rich or poor. Newspaper definitely act as truthful information source and being fair to people. Proved by Herbert Bayard Swope, an American Journalist and Editor said that,” the first duty of a newspaper is to be accurate. If it be accurate, it follows that is fair “ World is seems half empty without newspaper.