A good morning habit: Read your newspaper

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Dubai - Newspapers cannot vanish because they are important in many ways.

By Atheeqe Ansari

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Published: Thu 21 Oct 2021, 10:40 PM

Last updated: Thu 21 Oct 2021, 10:47 PM

The raging debate whether newspapers are soon going to be relics of the past has advocates on either side, but my vote is a resounding NO. They cannot vanish because they are very important in many ways, and we cannot let a ‘Good Morning Habit’ die.

As life gets busy and responsibilities increase, we find ourselves running short of time. The time we spend reading is dwindling (discounting the millions of messages we read on social media or junk e-mail that make it to out inboxes). Therefore, to let go of the morning habit of reading the newspaper is an opportunity missed.


I read my morning Khaleej Times daily, which has been a habit since childhood when we scurried to read the morning local section or the Young Times supplement that came out every Thursday. No matter how busy a morning is, I do make sure that the daily newspaper gets its privileged scan. While some of the headlines have already flashed during the previous day on my phone, the news that makes it to a newspaper are important by their very nature of being selected for publication, and hence are a reiteration of news that matters.

I can see five distinct benefits of reading the morning paper, and many of you may have similar reasons, or some more. Those who have given up this habit hope it rekindles the love for the morning paper.


1. Cultivates a thirst for knowledge

Your formal education may stop after graduation, but continues with your morning paper as your thirst for knowledge is not just satiated, but also kept alive. You learn a little more about what you already know, and more importantly realise what you know so little about. You keep shedding your ignorance.

2. Improves your language

The newspaper, like any other reading material, keeps your love of the language alive. It expands your vocabulary, reminds you of forgotten words, and teaches you how to improve your conversations. For me it is my dictionary of new words.

3. Exposes you to a wider discourse

The editorial is one page that I do not miss. While news is always supposed to be neutral, it is interesting to read opinions and perspectives of editors that run these institutions. They have a wider exposure to the world, and this helps me to balance mine.

4. Feels good to be part of a physical world

Holding a newspaper in one hand and the morning cup of tea in the other is a feeling one cannot compare with any other. The cold metallic feel of the mobile device is no match to the warm feel of crisp paper, fresh off the printing press. It is good to start the day in a physical world, even though the rest of the day is filled with staring at screens.

5. Read famous writers and columnists

The newspaper is a curated publication and the writers and columnists that feature here have a high calibre. Any Tom or Mary can publish on the net (at times self-publish), but the writers and columnists in the newspaper are reputed, and so is their word. I enjoy the range of literary styles expressing their personal perspectives and prejudices, as it takes me into the minds of these great writers.

These are my reasons why the morning newspaper will never become a relic. I would love to hear your views on this.

— Atheeqe Ansari is CEO of Electric Way


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