Let’s all love newspapers!

I love newspapers and, no wonder, fell also in love with the newspaper boy, an artwork created by “Abante” (2021).

It also brought back my earlier article on ‘The future of newspapers in the digital age’ which was inspired by a letter in a newspaper by a young author called Ronald Guzman Jr., who outlined that news is everywhere from social media to websites, and asked ‘but does anyone still read newspapers in this digital age aside from the so called ‘boomers’?

As I am a boomer and as I am reading four newspapers a day, delivered to my house, and as I am writing weekly columns in two newspapers, I am hooked to printed newspapers.

Why you should read every day?

Because it actively engages your brain. Reading is one of the healthiest hobbies for your mind. Here are two simple tips you can experiment with right away:

• Pick a book you’ll enjoy, and

• Set a reading time and place for your newspaper.

The printed newspaper delivers news, entertainment, business developments, government directives, but also lifestyle, opinions, editorials and sport. Nobody wants to miss that!!

Trust matters

In a world with so much information (and an overdose of social media), it’s essential to know which news is reliable. Newspapers are working hard to fact-check and provide accurate information. When you know you can trust a newspaper, you’ll be coming back for more.

The practice of being aware, right now and every day Does the daily newspaper deliver that? Of course!

Readership is a classic chicken and egg situation. I want to be positive and think that we are not seeing a decline in reading, but rather see issues with accessibility. If we have more books and newspapers readily available, readership numbers will certainly improve.

Envisioning the future, Filipinos must no longer accept information at face value. Instead, they must evaluate the credibility of sources, the robustness of evidence, and the coherence of arguments before accepting them. They must decide by carefully weighing the available options, potential outcomes, and inherent biases. And how do you achieve all this? Reading the daily newspapers you trust will be a major step in in evaluating information.

Let me add, that widespread fake news has blurred our reality enough. Deepfakes are synthetic or falsified media using AI and machine learning technologies to make it look that someone is saying or doing something they did not actually say or do. These could be images, audio clips, or videos that have been manipulated. Let me repeat: if you read daily trusted newspapers, you will immediately understand what’s fake.

In conclusion, remember, trustworthiness is essential, and newspapers are working hard to keep it that way. Therefore, read newspapers you trust daily, delivered to your house or office, or bought from the newspaper boy shown above. I am looking forward to your response. Contact me at [email protected]