The NEWS Story

When we look back today we all have a very memorable childhood to feel good about.Those were not the age of Xbox and virtual reality and life was much simpler and not technologically advanced.Children used to play outdoors more and they actually met childhood friends in person and not via social media as we see today.Once indoors the options and choices were far limited.You either study,sleep or enjoy fighting with your sibling's.I was no different.Once I was done with my school activities of the day I used to observe my dad,how he spends time indoors after his day in office.One thing that caught my eye was his strict timeline of watching NEWS at 9 PM.During those days we just had the luxury of 2 channels.DD as we say, Doordarshan to be exact and its sister entertainment channel DD metro.Thats how my love affair with NEWS started.I used to patiently watch DD news at 9 and Mr Suneet Tandon used to be the news anchor.News meant News and not crappy debates like we see today in mainstream private media channels.I was only 8 years of age then and my dad saw my interest in knowing whats happening in India and around the globe.But what he did next shocked me and kind of made me wonder what is he upto.He insisted me to watch NEWS for 20 minutes and in the next 10 minutes make notes on my own and then present before him the news summary and boy !! He meant business which means there was no escape.

When I look back today,this exercise not only made me familiar with what was happening around the world,it also helped me in retaining many facts.The next best thing that came out of this exercise was my ability to summarize,conclude and present a picture of whatever I had learnt previously which in turn gave a big boost to my presentation skills.

Over the years I have only bettered this art of NEWS reading and I am proud to say that since my childhood i have always made it a point to spend a hour of my daily time reading newspaper.Thats how my day starts and I hate to go to bed without having my daily dose of news. With experience I have realized that reading newspaper is a skill which needs to be developed.I am no saint which means i did ample mistakes while reading a newspaper.I read everything and never knew the art of selective reading

If you are new to this area then there are some inherent question you are supposed to ask yourself.

Why do you want to read a newspaper ?

There has to be a reason for everything.Find out your reason for having a newspaper in your hand early morning.

Who are you ?

Whenever you have a set of newspaper early morning before starting to read ask yourself Who are you? Are you a student who is studying for competitive examination, are you a young MNC employee, are you a guy who is from rural india, are you a senior government employee, are you a bollywood celebrity or are you just a casual reader.There can be many such classifications.

Knowing Who and Why makes you know what you are supposed to read.The classification mentioned above is all mutually exclusive and ideally there is no need for any category of people to intrude in each others space.The only exception to this is the student who is reading news to keep himself worthy to fight in a competitive examination.India is a young nation and so competition is ruthlessly high,therefore this category requires more pain and discipline as compared to others.Let me talk about other categories briefly before coming back to discuss in detail "the students approach"

If you are a MBA student or a manager the one thing you should definitely read is the Economic times.You should know the macro economics of the country the GDP, growth rate of different sectors and its impact on economy, mergers and acquisitions, quarterly results and performance of companies, financial policies of government and many more.The list goes on.So when you have a newspaper in hand this is what you should be reading first and then go to different sections like local news or political news.The extent to which you read depends upon time availability as well as relevant area of impact in ones professional area.For Example a manager in an investment bank and a manager in a manufacturing company will have their own area of relevance in any news story.

If you are a IT guy keep yourself abreast with latest news in technology sector, government policies impacting field of IT and telecommunications etc.If you are bollywood personality or in a profession which directly or indirectly depends on this sector then your interest would naturally be inclined more towards your own world of page 3 news and world of cinema.Having said that I see today's breed of stars keeping themselves more abreast with national and political changes happening in our country which certainly is a welcome sign.

As you see this question of Who you are is really important.Time is restricted and certainly it is not advisable to spend more time engulfed in newspaper reading something which is of no use to you in your career or work or in future.Encroachment or intrusion in an area where you don't belong is a disaster you would to like to avoid.

Let me shed more light on the "Students approach" and by student i mean just not any other student.A student wanting to read newspaper is the one who is fighting it out in a very fierce competitive world and rigourously preparing for clearing that one interview, that one GD, that one lasting first impression which could make or break his life or career.Trust me keeping yourself abreast on whats going around your economy and country would definetely give you the edge.So how to start or where to start ?

Rule 1 - Never read or watch News because you want to clear an xyz exam.

Yes I mean it.Thats a wrong approach to do a right thing.Just as some wise man has said that "You need money for living and you don't live because you have money.". Same way if you want to build a long term relationship with the newspaper you are holding in your hand,read and enjoy it,then only you would develop interest.Do not just simply read because somebody told you to read it to clear some exam and same way never stop reading once you achieve your goal.

Rule 2 -  Never read News, Read Issues.

Remember one thing, the newspaper in your hand will never have xyz topic in isolation.It is always a series or a story which is being created daily and you are just getting daily updates.For example if you want to enjoy reading a news which says "India's GDP is on track" then you should know the background of India's growth story since independance. If you want to read news on stock market crash you should know other global factors influencing stock markets.

Rule 3 -  Facts and figures.

Any news in newspaper in isolation is actually a fact or a starting point of an issue.Say one morning you read CAG has unravelled a corruption scandal of 10,000 crore in coal block allocation.This is a fact which you should know because todays' fact becomes tomorrows issue and that is exactly how the coal gate scam/issue was born after series of such facts and figures were unravelled.

Rule 4 - Learn to connect the dots.

You should with experience learn to connect two differently or visibly unrelated stories by connecting the dots. For example the high dollar and Rupee fluctuations in 2013 was actually somehow related to 2007-08 subprime mortagage housing crisis and recession that happened in USA.Try to link up stories.It really helps in GD and interview.

Rule 5 - Read the Reader,Read the Writer.

Be aware of the fact that different kinds of newspaper have different approach on reporting a news.There are journalist's who are very critical, there are news correspondents who have a style of writing and may or may not be critical of some news.When you browse through different newspapers for reading the same news you will see the stark difference in the headline, the tone of language used or the way a news is showed to you.There are news papers who may be aligned to a particular ideologies but still are factual in their reporting.So always keep a open mind while reading newspaper and you should be aware of the fact that we all are human's and we make mistake's.So never trust any news in totality.Back it up with confirmation from other sources.This is specially relevant while reading editorials.

Rule 6 - Eliminate the Weed

If you are a student about to write competitive exams then there is no reason you should hold the newspaper which shows Page 3 news.Remember time is limited and you really don't need to waste time reading things thats of no relevant use to you.Understand that any private newspaper is also a business entity and rules of market comes into play which means if there is any news which a casual reader would love to read say "amir khans shocks the world in PK poster" this will definitely be published and highlighted in a manner which is visible and enticing for people to take notice and buy that newspaper.Remember it is a matter of choice.Learn to ignore.

Rule 7 - Ignore political debates on remarks and allegations by one person on another.

Please understand on a normal sunny day when there is no earthquake or Tsunami and everything is nearly perfect even a routine high tide will make news.In this world of 24*7 media coverage they have to survive showing something, such debates involving political or non political personalities accusing and defaming each other on national television has become a normal routine in India.As a student such news program hold no factual significance on ones career or any competitive exams.

Rule 8 - Use Technology

Download app of the news channel or newspaper in your phone you are associated with.Read the headline and decide if you want to read the story.Read on the move and try connecting the dots.Make best use of technology.Remember it is always a matter of choice whether you want to use a Temple run App or a News app on the move.

Rule 9 - Talk the Read

Always discuss with your friend and peers on what you have read in newspaper.The more you discuss and talk on the topics, the more it is retained in your brain to be effectively reproduced in any interview or group discussion.Plus people around watch you and would appreciate the knowledge you have on matters which are of prime national importance.

Rule 10 - No pain No gain

Learn to be patient with newspaper.If you are a student who is trying to read newspaper for the first time trust me it will pain a lot.Initially I used to loose my temper reading so much.But I was patient and I went on reading.Today I read 3 newspapers in a day i.e the Hindustan times,Times of India and DNA and yes i have mastered the art of reading only news that is worth reading.

Meanwhile even after 19 years my dad still watches 9 PM news.No one dare steal this slot from him and I too happily join the party :)

(My next article would be on the kind of NEWS that is making noise since last 2 years)