No substitute for print: Readers welcome return of newspapers

Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | May 6

“The feel of a newspaper in your hands is magical. We even love the smell of the newspaper in the morning.” These are words of a couple who live around Tinpati in Kohima and were pleasantly surprised to receive the print edition of the newspapers at their doorstep on Wednesday morning. “We were not aware that it is back in print and it came as a nice surprise,” they elatedly express.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, most newspapers in Nagaland temporarily suspended their print editions due to logistical and other issues. Most have resumed, including this newspaper, which temporary suspended the print edition on March 27 and resume on May 5. 

For many readers, there is no substitute to print and the lack of it in the last few weeks had made them feel like something was missing.

Lecho Krocha, who retired as Deputy Director of School Education 10 years back, had never imagined a morning without being greeted with a newspaper. Which is why, it was one of the things he missed the most during this period of lockdown. 

“I could watch the news on TV, but it is not the same thing. There is sheer joy in holding a newspaper and reading it. You can absorb the news better when you read,” he states.

Never having got accustomed to the internet and social media, newspapers is one thing that he looks forward to every morning. An early riser, he would go for a long morning walk and come back to indulge in the news of the day from the 3 daily newspapers he subscribes to. On finding the newspapers back in print this morning, he commented, “it was like finding something I had lost.”

For Thebi Joseph Shupao, a young professional, who gets his daily dose of news from the internet, the experience of holding a newspaper and reading it is irreplaceable.

 “It becomes difficult to enjoy a good story when you are reading digitally. There is nothing like reading the detailed story in a newspaper,” he affirms.

Newspaper is clearly one of the things he also missed the most during the lockdown as he goes on to state that, “when I don’t get the newspapers during the usual time, normally between 7-8, I even go and start asking my neighbours if they have received it.” 

On days when he had to travel to the interior areas of Nagaland on official duty, he informs that “when I get back, I gather all the editions of the newspapers I missed during my travel and read them back to back.”

Meanwhile, Kevi Kent Medeo, a mother of two and a baker puts across that, “I hate reading news digitally. In a way, it is saving trees and cutting down on paper, but one cannot compare the joy of holding the newspaper in your hands and reading.” 

She further impresses upon that it brings ‘comfort and satisfaction’. “Moreover, reading digitally is not good for my eyesight and makes me tired,” she adds.

For Thejangukho Yalietsu, it hasn’t made much of a difference while pointing out the comfortable acquaintance that he has made with social media and everything online. However, he also acknowledges that “the print edition is a lot easier to read.” “There is nothing better than the print edition,” he adds.