Vishü Rita Krocha
When a most beloved tabloid size newspaper, Nagaland Page announced its closure on January 7 in 2025, it truly marked the end of an era for journalism in Nagaland.
It broke the hearts of some of the most faithful readers and subscribers in the state. The second English Daily in the state, and the only newspaper founded, edited and published by a woman, Monalisa Changkija in the year 1999 remained a favourite for so many people for as long as it existed.
On September 14, 2026, Newmai News Network (NNN), a prominent news agency also announced its closure while recalling its fulfilling journey of more than two decades of its service. Despite its humble beginning that started from a few hand-written sheets of news and its manually carboned-copies for distribution in the early millennium, the News Agency, as also expressed by them, eventually and most definitely "earned the confidence of editors, newspapers, journalists and readers."
"We are in an age when information that once may have taken days or hours to reach newspapers is accessible across the globe in seconds..." It was in this setting, the News Agency also believed that to a considerable degree, the intent with which it was founded has been fulfilled.
The closure of any news organisation is always incredibly disheartening not only because in a way, it threatens the path that journalists have chosen to follow but whenever this happens, it also means a loss of diverse voices, more importantly, that of the community it has served.
In this digital age, the society enjoys the convenience of our smart phones and our other technological advantages including the explosion of information that Social Media is able to provide us with, within a matter of seconds.
But have we ever stopped to wonder what happens to the roots of our communication? Especially the print media is an undeniable part of our communication and our history.
There's the love of ink on paper and the nostalgia with which it comes, but newspapers are a lot more than that. Newspapers hold the heartbeat of a community and a people. It provides verified, in-depth journalism that can never be replaced by social media feeds.
As a people, we need to realise that the print media is much more than a piece of paper, and help uphold the future of newspapers because each time one of them closes, it means one less voice.
This is a guest editorial by Vishü Rita Krocha. She is the Publisher of PenThrill Publication and a senior journalist based in Kohima.
